Let’s be clear. Feminism is not about man-hating, merely “the advocating of social, political, legal and economic rights for women, equal to that of men.”
But is it needed in 2025? Wasn’t this sorted years ago? Surely women have equality?
I was born in 1965 on the Boomer/Gen X cusp, an old-school second -wave feminist since my early 20’s, I loved reading Germaine Greer, Marilyn French, Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem and as a midwifery student Sheila Kitzinger was a great influence as were the Association Of Radical Midwives, UK.
Seemed the fight for women’s rights wasn’t over especially in the world of pregnancy and birth, and it’s ongoing. And what about women who find it difficult or impossible to claim their rights, feel they don’t have a voice? It’s for them that feminism is so important.
Wouldn’t have labelled myself feminist back then (had a lot to learn) the word had such negative connotations. My community and the culture of 1980’s industrial West of Scotland encouraged women to be amenable and polite, respect authority, keep the peace. Good looks and a thin body helped too. Such lofty goals put upon us.
Feminists were those strident,bolshy, bra-burning types on the telly, ‘women’s libbers’ always making a fuss, what were they going on about?
I took for granted the hard-won rights they and their predecessors fought for, took for granted that I could vote, have my own bank account and credit card, have a mortgage on my own without a male guarantor (1984 here in Australia before that was possible. Beggars’ belief.)
Took for granted I wouldn’t be banished to a mother and baby home if accidentally pregnant, forced to adopt my baby, carry the trauma and shame. Took for granted the walk-in Family Planning clinic down the road dispensing the pill and condoms like lollies. Took for granted I wouldn’t be demonised for leaving a bad relationship.
And my job for more than 30 years has been caring for pregnant women before, during and after birth and in recent years for those dealing with the myriads of problems caused by female sex organs. Many of these women are vulnerable (another reason I’m so invested.) I’ve a particular perspective, you won’t believe some of the things nurse/midwives see in big city hospitals, and not in a good way.
The living-alone-frail-elderly needing in-home care, the intellectually disabled, the domestic violence victims, the floridly mentally unwell, schoolgirls having babies, refugees with security guards in-toe, incarcerated women with backgrounds of abuse and drug addiction.
And let’s not forget women in Afghanistan and Iran, or the women forced into prostitution (don’t get me started on the term ‘sex work’) or commercial surrogacy because of economic necessity, what about trafficked women or the ones forced into child marriage, or suffering the effects of female genital mutilation. All oppressed because of their biological sex.
Nothing is sorted for women unless ALL the women are ok.
Our biological functions and physical size are different from the male half of the population, make us vulnerable in certain situations, it’s not weakness, just the fact of having specific needs for privacy and protection different to the blokes.
I’m surrounded by the very best of men in my own life and see lovely ones in my workplace supporting their women, feeling their pain, worrying for them but unfortunately, not all men are lovely. I see them too. See their impact, see the results of coercive control and physical violence, see the emotional and verbal stuff in action.
We females can never rest on our laurels, we need to keep banging on about our unique needs.
At the end of the day, it’s not men who deal with the inconvenience of bleeding every month, the hormonal ups and downs. Don’t grow babies in their bodies, birth them, feed them. Don’t ever have to consider the physical implications of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, termination. Don’t deal with crazy-making fluctuating hormones in their 40’s and 50’s and the disruptions to their day-to-day life.
So, the option of single sex, female-only private spaces and female-only care providers (if requested) are a basic right for us, especially for intimate examinations or where we might need to undress for any reason. Toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards, clinics and gyms and shelters. And remember, unisex is not the same as female only.
We women can’t take our eyes off the ball, need to keep an eye on politics, on the law and modern trends.
In the name of inclusivity (which of course is important) modern language is changing, terms for woman pop up such as birthing people, chest-feeder, menstruator, ovulator, person with a cervix. If you’re hearing these for the first time, it’s true! Personally, my visceral, gut reaction is to find them dehumanising, describing women by their body parts. Do we do this to men? No! We already have words and language for our female sex, they don’t need to be tampered with.