i call myself a feminist...

but what does that really mean? i know i've been asked that question more times than i can count. for me, it's never been about bra burning, hating men or some sexual revolution that happened in the 70s. it has been, however, about feeling empowered whenever i see a strong woman and angry when i see a woman made weak by her circumstances. any man who thinks women have a 'place' (and that place is the home) instantly loses my respect. yet, i do not think that i deserve extraordinary treatment simply because of my sex. all i ask is the same as a man. i also think that becoming a homemaker is a noble and difficult lifetask.

so does that make me a feminist? my plan is to find out. through my interaction with feminists for life, i'm discovering more of the early feminists' words. they are truly inspiring and courageous women. in a time when they were considered property if married and nothing if single, they rose up and called upon to society to correct those grave injustices. they are the reason i, and countless other females, are able to get an education, to vote, to own property and to live a life of freedom. if i want to claim their legacy, i have to know their history.

to begin my quest i've reached back to 1792. mary wollstonecraft's work a vindication of the rights of woman b is surprisingly relevant still. while it's a stern reprimand for society in general, wollstonecraft's main criticisms are directed at women themselves. after all, who better to improve our own circumstances? a few of my favorite quotes:

"...until the manners of the times are changed, and formed on more reasonable principles, it may be impossible to convince them that the illegitimate power which they obtain by degrading themselves is a curse, and that they must return to nature and equality if they wish to secure the placid satisfaction that unsophisticated affections impart."

"but in the education of women, the cultivation of the understanding is always subordinate to the acquirement of some corporeal accomplishment."

"strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience; but as blind obedience is ever sought for by power, tyrants and sensualists are in the right when they endeavor to keep woman in the dark, because the former only want slaves, and the latter a play thing. the sensualist, indeed, has been the most dangerous of tyrants, and women have been duped by their lovers, as princes by their ministers, whilst dreaming that they reigned over them."