International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day.

I am lucky to come from a family of strong, smart, outspoken women, and see those same qualities mirrored in my friends now. Living in a culture that devalues all of those qualities has been incredibly challenging.

A few quotes I think span the range of definitions for feminism:

Feminism is an entire world view or gestalt, not just a laundry list of women's issues. - Charlotte Bunch

To be a feminist...is to be critical - to ask questions about how society functions, about how women live in society. Feminism is a process of questioning rather than a 'dogma' or a set of proscribed positions or answers. - Jackie Brown

I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute. - Rebecca West

Feminism is hated because women are hated. Anti-feminism is a direct expression of misogyny; it is the political defense of women hating. - Andrea Dworkin

My idea of feminism is self-determination, and it's very open-ended: every woman has the right to become herself, and do whatever she needs to do.- Ani Difranco

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. - Susan B. Anthony

Any woman whose I.Q. hovers above her body temperature must be a feminist. - Rita Mae Brown

Because women's work is never done and is underpaid or unpaid or boring or repetitious and we're the first to get fired and what we look like is more important than what we do and if we get raped it's our fault and if we get beaten we must have provoked it and if we raise our voices we're nagging bitches and if we enjoy sex we're nymphos and if we don't we're frigid and if we love women it's because we can't get a "real" man and if we ask our doctor too many questions we're neurotic and/or pushy and if we expect childcare we're selfish and if we stand up for our rights we're aggressive and "unfeminine" and if we don't we're typical weak females and if we want to get married we're out to trap a man and if we don't we're unnatural and because we still can't get an adequate safe contraceptive but men can walk on the moon and if we can't cope or don't want a pregnancy we're made to feel guilty about abortion and...for lots of other reasons we are part of the women's liberation movement. ~Author unknown, quoted in The Torch, 14 September 1987

And an awesome blog: www.feministing.com.