Why I am Not a Feminist, or “My Anti-Feminist Manifesto”
26 11 2007Preface: I am not at all in this manifesto saying that other women should not use the terms “feminist” or “womanist” or any other term that they choose to own and identify by. I have great respect for many Muslim women who call themselves “Muslim feminists” and for many non-Muslim women of color who self-identify as feminist etc. I am not trying to in any way degrade these women. This manifesto is not about them, but about how I self-identify. Because I seek the right to identify myself by my own terms, I fully respect their right to identify themselves as they see fit as well.
My Anti-Feminist Manifesto
1. Being a woman, and being a woman of color, and being a Muslim, I choose to not be a feminist or in any way have the term feminist applied to my person, my choices, my thoughts, my writings or my art. I reserve the right to self-identify as I see fit and to define myself in relation to my culture and my ideals. I do not wish to take on the terminology of another’s movement nor bend it or re-invent it to suit my own.
a. As a Muslim, I believe that Islam is the answer for everything. I believe that we have been given the tools with which to free ourselves from oppression here on earth, and I do not find those tools lacking.
b. I do not feel compelled to look to other cultures to find the answers to my problems. Feminism as it began in a movement by and for middle and upper class white women offers me nothing. It is not my desire to take their movement and somehow prove that my movement is the same. It is not. Theirs has its role in their lives, and mine is different.
c. As a woman of color and as a Muslim, I choose to rely upon my own cultural interpretations. This means that while others may think something in my lifestyle is oppressive, I am free to choose what I feel oppressed by and not to agree with outsiders’ application of the term. For example, while many well-meaning women of color would like to champion my right as a Muslim woman to lead prayers, that is not something I need or want. This is a “right” that they feel I need because it is in tune with their own lifestyle but it is not a right I desire.
2. I reserve the right to say that my writing and art is not feminist and that I don’t care to have it limited to such terms and conditions as feminism defines.
a. My writing and art belongs to me. I feel no shame in defining it by my own terms and not considering it feminist, womanist or in keeping with any particular movement.
b. While others may be inspired by it and relate it to their feminism or other movement, I do not feel compelled to limit myself to their terms.
c. I reserve the right to publish my writing as I see fit. I doubt it will ever appear in avowedly “feminist” publications or anthologies because that is not the crowd I prefer to engage nor something I care to align myself with.
3. I refuse to participate in the discussion that expects all women to be proud to identify as feminist, to challenge the “white” notions of what feminist thought is or is not, or to tell other women of color that they are unaware of their role and the oppression they are under because they do not self-identify as feminist.
a. I am an intelligent woman who is fully aware of the effects of colonialization and oppressions upon my peoples and upon myself. I am not ignorant of how I am used by those who wish to further their own cause, nor am I ignorant of how others see me or attempts to keep me down.
b. I do not need other women of color to “save” me any more than I need white women or men to do so. While I engage with other women and support them to do what they need to do for their own improvement, I expect them to support me to do what I need to do for mine. By support, I mean “stand back and let me do my thing”. The best support we can offer each other is to be there with requested resources when asked but not to attempt to take over or impose our own ideas upon another.
c. I am capable of thinking and speaking for myself. I do not ask anyone to speak on my behalf or to make my speech more palatable to others. I say it like it is - you choose whether you want to listen or not.
4. Why I despise the feminist movement and do not care to be a part of it.
a. I am tired of women of color being pitted against men of color because of this mis-notion that allegiance to other women is all that matters.
b. I do not need to make the movement mine. It’s not mine, it never will be mine. I have my own movement that is in line with my Islamic beliefs and values. Western style feminism, by any name it is called, is a secular order that seeks to wipe out my spirituality and force me to selfishly over-emphasize women to the detriment of others.
c. I do not feel the need to make myself a part of something where I am not wanted. It is my personal belief that women of color trying to stuff ourselves into the feminist movement does us an injustice. We do not need to broaden the acceptance of our experience into formal feminist theory. We do not need to make feminism “our own”. We can create our own revolutions, not jump on the bandwagon of that of another and then cry when we are pushed off.
d. I am not academic, have never “studied” feminist theory and do not even care to know most of the ridiculous terminology and theories that abound. I know my reality as a poor, Muslim, Native American woman in the U.S.A. I don’t need fancy theories to explain it. I don’t need my experiences to be supported by the experiences of others or to be validated by academia.
Thank you for this post. It’s given me a lot to think about. I definitely support everything you have to say.
I identified as a feminist before I was a Muslim, then I stopped. Now I do so again, simply because I understand it as a movement designed to give women the basic rights we deserve and in the case of Islam, restore us the rights of the original message. I don’t see it as being Western. Although it began in the West, it was picked up pretty quickly in Egypt. There is an interesting article here
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/569/cu1.htm
I identify with this lie
‘Feminisms are produced in particular places and are articulated in local terms. Creators and practitioners of women’s history taking shape as a new field in the 1960s, and growing especially the during 1970s and 1980s, attested to a plethora of feminisms that had appeared in different global locations. Sri Lankan scholar Kumari Jayawardena’s 1986 path-breaking book Feminisms and Nationalism in the Third World documented feminist movements that had emerged in diverse Asian and Middle Eastern countries and were located within local national liberation and religious reform movements, including movements of Islamic reform. Egypt as we know was a pioneer in articulating feminist thinking and in organising collective feminist activisms. Yet despite a large literature in many languages documenting these globally scattered feminisms, the notion that feminism is Western is still bandied about by those ignorant of history or who perhaps more wilfully employ it in a delegitimising way. Some still speak of a “Western feminism” in essentialist, monolithic, and static terms, belying a certain Occidentalist turn of mind or, perhaps, a political project aimed at adversely “framing” feminism. Feminism, however, is a plant that only grows in its own soil (which is not to suggest than any ideas or movements anywhere are hermetically sealed off).’
But I respect your right to disagree and be defined by your own terms.
I meant agree with this paragraph (although I meant to type line, not lie!!)
I really like this post! Nowadays I identify myself as a Muslim feminist yet I wholeheartedly feel the same way you do about many issues.
Why do I feel the need to identify as a feminist? Mainly for strategic alliance purposes and because I feel that the application of Islam, in some circles, has slandered my deen and been detrimental to Muslim women and families. I feel the need to connect to other women and men through working towards goals/institutions that attempt to slowly eradicate gender oppression through engagement with the various structures that organize our lives (economic, religious, etc. )
Mainly I am an advocate of women’s rights. You don’t have to be a feminist to work with me and many times you can be a feminist and work against me. As an African-American women I am inspired by the work of black suffragettes who worked along the side of and ahead of white women. Remember Sojurner Truth? When I call myself a feminst/womanist/whatever I feel that I am not letting Fannie Lou Hammer’s, Frances Harper’s or Sojourner’s legacy be robbed by the white-washing of history.
[...] On Feminism, part 1 Posted on November 27, 2007 by the angry black woman I came across this yesterday and, considering some of the things we were talking about in the Irrational Men thread, I thought many people would find this interesting. Why I am Not a Feminist, or “My Anti-Feminist Manifesto” [...]
Salaam ‘Alaikum
I am a Nothingist myself. It might sound glib, but I take it seriously.
Wa alaikum as-salaam UZ - not glib at all. You are 100% correct. It may sound simple, but it is actually much more meaningful than people realize.
Salaam!
While I consider myself an Islamic feminist, I definitely identify with your self-identification, self-publication, and choosing what is “oppressive.” Great post!
Oh, and thanks for linking to us under “Group blogs!”
Excellent, pure and simple. Thank you for putting this to page.
I’m a bit baffled by section 4. The feminist movement as I know it doesn’t claim that women are all that matters. Feminism is a secular movement in the sense that it’s not necessarily an outgrowth of any specific religion, but I’ve never experienced it as anti-religion or anti-spirituality. As a white woman, I suppose I might just be unaware of a general message that black or Muslim women “aren’t wanted” in the feminist movement, but again, it hasn’t been my experience. And while there is a strong feminist movement in academia, academia is hardly the whole of the feminist movement.
I’ll grant that feminism is a wide movement, with one heck of a lunatic fringe, so there will be widely different experiences for different people. In my case, I stick with the label because I don’t want to give up fighting the idea that my genitals should make me a second class citizen (any more than my pigmentation should give me an advantage over anyone else). And for some reason “equalist” never caught on
I found you via Angry Black Woman and I’ll definitely be back. Incredible writing.
Thank you for writing this. Not long ago I would have been mystified as to why certain intelligent, politically conscious women didn’t care to identify as feminist, and I didn’t really respect or understand that choice. But lately having become aware of how WOC are marginalized by white feminists, and especially how in mainstream feminist discourse Muslim women are so frequently treated as bits of political boilerplate — well, I can say: rock on. Your post is so astonishingly incisive, hope it goes on to reach more people.
I love this post
It speaks to the uniqueness that is you, and every woman, without the labels attached like so much overly-expensive “stylish” clothing. We pay dearly to be what we think others want us to be. Men fall into this trap also.
God bless you for being uniquely you
Ya Haqq!
[...] in Feminism, Injustice, Muslims, Muslims and the West, Reflections, Society at 7:48 pm by Danya Writeous Sister writes on why she is not a feminist. Preface: I am not at all in this manifesto saying that other [...]
Asalaamu alaikum.
Artemis, Samira, and Zeynab - see, you all hit the point: we don’t have to agree to respect each other. You see value in the movement, and that’s fine if it works for you. I’m not saying you shouldn’t, I’m just saying I don’t. Thanks for not taking it personal (as some non-Muslim feminists have elsewhere who seem to think that my disdain for the movement is some kind of horrible disrespect and intolerance for them personally) and still being willing to work together, inshaAllah.
Irving, you are always so supportive, I don’t know how to thank you enough for the positive vibes you always send with your words. Just seeing that I had a comment from you puts a smile on my face before I even read it!
UmmZ, I know I already said it, but again, thanks. It’s cool that you may not even agree with what I’ve said, but you still “get” me. The truth is, you inspire me more than you know.
Danya, thanks for linking. I’d love to hear your thoughts too though.
Welcome ABW, Latoya, Daomadan & Tlonista!
Thanks so much for visiting and sharing your thoughts and kind words.
Also, welcome Kit. You are describing your own experience, and that is valid. That’s how you’ve seen it. But it is not my reality or how I have experienced the movement. And my view is also valid. Why are you baffled that we could have totally different experiences? And maybe, maybe even just different expectations and needs? It’s good that you realize that your POV is probably because you are white; it is entirely possible that you do not recognize the angst that WoC deal with in the movement simply because it isn’t your reality. I’m hardly the first WoC to bring up most of these feelings, I’m just somewhat unusual in that I took it to the next level of rejection.
I dislike how anyone who doesn’t consider themselves a feminist is then viewed as being the opposite. Do you think that I believe that my genitals make me a second-class citizen? Do you think I believe in inequality? On the contrary, I am asserting my rights by choosing what I accept and reject, by creating my own movement for myself, by accepting that my reality is just as valid as anyone else’s. We may very well have different definitions and priorities when it comes to equality though. Yours is valid for you, but mine is just as valid for me.
This is MAgnificence.
A brilliant piece, Aaminah, forcefully centered, beautifully direct, packed with spiritual power. Thank you for sharing it.
(darn it, misspelled my second name last time I posted). Thanks for the welcome, and the patience.
On a little more investigation, I realize that the “WoC are unwelcome in the feminist movement” was more a reference to the sort of oblivious “Oh, hey, are you still here?” thing rather than the active animosity that gets thrown at, say, men who try to participate. And given that I see that phenomenon across the board, I can’t be surprised you’ve run into it among the feminist movement as well. You’d think folks who complain of being on the receiving end of that sort of behavior would notice themselves doing it to others, but we often don’t.
What baffled me was the idea that those four things define the feminist movement (especially that it’s inherently anti-spiritual and academic). This could also have to do with the fact that I don’t deal much with the academic end of the movement myself. Oddly, though I was raised by an anthropology professor, I have very little patience with the way conversations go on in academia. I don’t think I’ve spent any time on a college campus since my mother died.
I don’t much mind if folks don’t want to embrace the label ‘feminist’ - there’s a lot of baggage there. For myself, enough of the goals of the movement are important enough that I’m willing to deal with the baggage, but there’s nothing wrong with someone taking their own goals and working directly with them.
For me, a lot of the problem boils down to language. I wish we could agree on a handy, neutral term that means “seeks to help some group of women live freer, more powerful lives by addressing a problem that disproportionately affects women.” For many people, “feminist” *is* that term, but for other people that term is too associated with a historical (and ongoing) context full of other kinds of insults and oppressions, and so it just can’t serve that purpose. You might still not choose to apply that imaginary neutral term to yourself, but maybe you wouldn’t despise it? Because that’s the one sentence in your post that really makes me cringe (which is my problem, not yours): in the context of the whole post, it’s clear what you mean by that and I sure can’t argue with it. But man, does it make an unfortunate soundbite. There are a whole lot of people out there who would fixate on that one phrase and say, “See, even smart, articulate women despise feminism! MORE OPPRESSION NOW, PLZ.” And it frustrates me that there’s no way to fix that.
ameen sister!
on the issue of feminism being anti-religion - perhaps that begs investigation, but i would say that a significant part of the canon of 20th century feminist thought perceived religion - the judeo-christian paradigm, i guess, but often with islam thrown in too - as anti-woman, and that is why i have always had that sense, too, that it is “impossible” to be a devoutly religious woman belonging to a (supposedly) patriarchal faith system and be a feminist (as defined by others) at the same time. in fact one book i read said this flat out. (no of course i don’t remember the name or author, i have mommy brain…
that said, i’m sure not everybody or every aspect of the movement espoused that sentiment, and i’m not sure how pervasive it is now, decades after the peak of the western movements…
for myself, just to throw my opinion in the mix, i tried to discard all “isms” years ago, because of all the baggage associated with them. well, for all the reasons you’ve listed here, writeous sister. but i might slip and call myself a feminist once in a while…
[...] Why I am Not a Feminist, or “My Anti-Feminist Manifesto” [...]
Assalamu Alaikum Sis Aaminah
This reminds me of some similar sentiments I had. We are powerful women. Yes, we are, by the will of Allah.
http://southernmuslimah.blogspot.com/2007/08/radical-feminism-la-islam.html
That post just turned my World on its rear. I love it when that happens. I don’t agree with most of it, but respect your right to define yourself as you please, specially on your own blog!
I’ll be back for more. You have a way of making me think.
Aaminah,
Thank you for this post. It is centering with what I passionately agree with and respectfully disagree with.
Many thanks again.
[...] On her blog, Angry Black Woman has a post up called On Feminism, part 1 where she quotes from Why I am Not a Feminist, or “My Anti-Feminist Manifesto”. The author hits on many of the problems that have plagued the feminist movement since its birth. [...]
[...] read Aaminah Hernández’s excellent post earlier today (Nadia linked to it up thread) and saw a specific point saying that [...]
As salaamu alaykum,
I wrote something along the same lines last year. http://hotcoals.org/?p=115
Cool post.
Though how do you feel about people who identify as feminists asking you for your help sometimes, whether you identify as a feminist or not? (You referred to standing back and only offering help when it’s asked for as the definition of support. So…yeah…how do you feel about people who happen to have come to wanting to achieve a goal through “feminism” alerting you to the issue if they get the impression that you might be interested in supporting the achievement of that goal (for reasons besides it being “feminist”)?)
[...] read Aaminah Hernández’s excellent post earlier today (Nadia linked to it up thread) and saw a specific point saying that [...]
[...] and Rejections: Aaminah Hernández: Why I am Not a Feminist, or “My Anti-Feminist Manifesto” BlackAmazon: Why is it OUR problem? The Greatest Trick The Devil Ever Played Donna Darko: More on [...]
[...] Aaminah Hernandez, of Writeous Sister Speaks (see also My anti-feminist manifesto) brings a wider perspective to the debate, namely that the way the blogosphere is reacting is, [...]