*I* Am a Feminist

I was reading a very interesting article this week from Camille Paglia about Sarah Palin. Here's the link: http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/09/10/palin/
This quote really stood out to me, "Feminism, which should be about equal rights and equal opportunity, should not be a closed club requiring an ideological litmus test for membership."

It really got me to rethinking my thoughts on feminism. I would never have associated myself with the term, simply because in my view, feminism espouses a belief system with which I could never agree. I am anti-abortion for starters. I believe that life begins at conception, and that it is murder to take that life. Of course if you read further in this article, the author (who is pro-abortion) believes the same thing. I guess I am just different in that I have a problem with murder. Some of the other tenets of what I would consider feminism I find abhorrent. But I have always equated feminism with politics. I believed that feminists were always Democrats or Libertarians, and that I could never find common ground enough with the term feminist to define myself as such.

But this statement made me stop and think about feminism and other terms that tend to be stereotypical. There are people who think that the word Christian is a one-size-fits-all term to include people who blow up abortion clinics and believe birth control is the devil's tool. I would find that term offensive if applied to me, but at the same time if someone calls themself a feminist, I think of a man-hating, pro-abortion, left-leaning nutcase.

So what is a feminist? I don't want to get into redefining a term so that it suits me, but I don't want to leave it at the previously described stereotype either.

Let me talk about what I do for a minute. I am a childbirth educator and a birth and postpartum doula. What does that mean? Well, I teach childbirth classes to expectant mothers and families, educating them on what their choices are concerning their upcoming delivery. There are a lot of choices available to women in relation to their pregnancy and childbirth, and I believe that education is important. As a birth doula, I help women to research their options and choose how they want to bring their babies into the world. As a postpartum doula, I come into the home and help new mothers transition into the role by assuring their households and families are taken care of while they recover from childbirth and bond with their new baby.

I believe that my job as a doula and educator are VERY feminist. No, I am not pro-choice, I am PRO-CHOICES. I believe that education is the key, that women feel empowered when they are given options and the opportunity to choose which ones work for THEM. So maybe I am more feminist than I thought, and maybe even more feminist than some of the more liberal women who are only pro-choice, not pro-choices.