The Many Misguided Reasons Famous Ladies Say 'I'm Not a Feminist'
LatestSome background: feminism (noun):the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. feminist (noun): a person who supports feminism. And yet…
They like men.
Bust: Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Bjork: Umm.. no.
Bust: Why not?
Bjork: Because I think it would isolate me. I think it’s important to do positive stuff. It’s more important to be asking than complaining.
Bust: So you feel the term “feminism” is equated with complaining?Bjork: A lot, yes. You could probably call my mother a feminist, and I watched her isolate herself all her life from men, and therefore from society.
Bust: You believe she isolated herself from men because of feminism?
Bjork: Obviously, I can’t take her as an example of all feminists, but I find for my generation, it’s important to do things instead of just complaining that things are not right. It’s important to collaborate with both males and females and to be positive.
I don’t really think about things as guys versus girls. I never have. I was raised by parents who brought me up to think if you work as hard as guys, you can go far in life.
I’m not a feminist – I, I hail men, I love men. I celebrate American male culture, and beer, and bars and muscle cars….
[Lady Gaga later revised her thoughts on feminism, but apparently still loves men.]
They don’t like the word.
It’s about labelling. For me feminism is bra-burning lesbianism. It’s very unglamorous. I’d like to see it rebranded. We need to see a celebration of our femininity and softness.
[That word] just puts people in a stereotyped way of thinking. I think creation and doing, being active, is more important than talking about it.
Well, I don’t think of myself as a feminist at all. As soon as we start labeling and categorizing ourselves and others, that’s going to shut down the world. I would never say that.”
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I am a feminist, that can come off as a negative connotation. But I am a strong female. My parents raised me to be pretty independent and I grew up – I have sisters but they’re a lot older than me – an only child. I feel like that contributes to how I handle myself and how I carry myself.
Do you call yourself a feminist?
I never did. I care very much about women and their progress. I didn’t go march in the streets, but when I was in the Arizona Legislature, one of the things that I did was to examine every single statute in the state of Arizona to pick out the ones that discriminated against women and get them changed.
So do you call yourself a feminist today?
I don’t call myself that.
Is there a label you prefer?
A fair judge and a hard worker.
I mean, I kind of do. It’s not a word I don’t really like to address, you know? It’s not even that I want to call myself that. I just sort of go, “Oooooh!” It’s an eyeball roller. (laughs) You know what I mean? It’s like, oh man, it’s a weird question. The word “feminist” is so broad.
They think it needs a caveat:
I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality. Why do you have to choose what type of woman you are? Why do you have to label yourself anything? I’m just a woman and I love being a woman… I do believe in equality and that we have a way to go and it’s something that’s pushed aside and something that we have been conditioned to accept.
They’re not angry.
I don’t think that I would consider myself a feminist. I think that I certainly believe in equal rights, I believe that women are just as capable, if not more so in a lot of different dimensions, but I don’t, I think have, sort of, the militant drive and the sort of, the chip on the shoulder that sometimes comes with that. And I think it’s too bad, but I do think that feminism has become in many ways a more negative word. You know, there are amazing opportunities all over the world for women, and I think that there is more good that comes out of positive energy around that than comes out of negative energy.
They don’t need feminism anymore.
I don’t ever think about [feminism]… I don’t see that there’s any need to be aware of being a woman in this business. It just seems a waste of time.
[My generation] doesn’t need feminism. There are pioneers who opened the breach. I’m not at all an active feminist. On the contrary, I’m a bourgeois. I love family life, I love doing the same thing every day.
They’re really just a humanist.
I’m not a feminist, I’m a humanist.
I am a great supporter of women, but I have never really thought of myself as a feminist, probably more of a humanist because I feel like that’s really where we need to be. I think clearly times have changed and women have made their mark in many different arenas.
I took a page from Wendy Wasserstein’s book. She said ‘I’m not a feminist, I’m a humanist.’
All of the above:
No, I wouldn’t say feminist — that’s too strong. I think when people hear feminist, it’s like, ‘Get out of my way, I don’t need anyone.’ I love that I’m being taken care of and I have a man that’s a leader. I’m not a feminist in that sense.
Images via Getty
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