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another thought
Jul. 31st, 2006 10:03 pmSemi-related to being hairy-legged feminists...
The gist was that I don't shave my legs and got a lot of "You must be a feminist" comments as a result. In truth, I am a feminist (according to my definition) and I never got into the habit of shaving my legs and have never been one to follow the crowd. Gee, can ya tell?
Several commenters in that thread noted that they felt that the essence of feminism was the right to shave or not-shave your legs as you pleased without being pressured into it by others' expectations.
Does that 'essence of feminism' include the right to dress more or less as one wishes - whether goth or Honky, Salvatore Ferragamo or ugg boot, scoop neck or high-collar, bare-headed or hijab-covered, in jeans or a skirt, one-piece or topless bathing, Vogue magazine or Target, and all degrees between - without being pressured into it by the expectations of others?
Obviously, there are situations where it might be worth your life or physical integrity to wear a bikini (say, in Middle Eastern countries), and one presumes that life and limb are, at that point, more important than the intellectual declaration that one may wear what one pleases, but other than such situations...does the concept of this aspect of feminism as 'the right to display my femininity within societally acceptable limits' extend that far in your mind?
And if not, where does it extend to in the matters of dress code?
Once again, I'm curious. It may be a failing o' mine. Possibly.
The gist was that I don't shave my legs and got a lot of "You must be a feminist" comments as a result. In truth, I am a feminist (according to my definition) and I never got into the habit of shaving my legs and have never been one to follow the crowd. Gee, can ya tell?
Several commenters in that thread noted that they felt that the essence of feminism was the right to shave or not-shave your legs as you pleased without being pressured into it by others' expectations.
Does that 'essence of feminism' include the right to dress more or less as one wishes - whether goth or Honky, Salvatore Ferragamo or ugg boot, scoop neck or high-collar, bare-headed or hijab-covered, in jeans or a skirt, one-piece or topless bathing, Vogue magazine or Target, and all degrees between - without being pressured into it by the expectations of others?
Obviously, there are situations where it might be worth your life or physical integrity to wear a bikini (say, in Middle Eastern countries), and one presumes that life and limb are, at that point, more important than the intellectual declaration that one may wear what one pleases, but other than such situations...does the concept of this aspect of feminism as 'the right to display my femininity within societally acceptable limits' extend that far in your mind?
And if not, where does it extend to in the matters of dress code?
Once again, I'm curious. It may be a failing o' mine. Possibly.
