I, Feminist, 2015: Objectify Me.

Let me tell you, it isn’t easy being a fashion icon in this town. For example, nearly every trip requires two complete changes of clothes.

The leaving and the coming

Which is really expecting a lot from a committed feminist like Lady M who has many other issues on her mind.

Lest you think the lure of feminism has died down recently due to the constant drumbeat of racism and the glare of white privilege these past six years, think again sister. Misogyny is still a pressing issue of inequality burdening society and the new year provides the perfect time to catch up. Which is exactly what the Washington Post did with their article What leading feminists want to accomplish this year. In it, they managed to stir up some feminist rage which has been smoldering since it’s hay day during the 2012 “War on Women” meme.

Here are a few examples of the responses the WaPo got from “leading feminists” on what they hope to accomplish in 2015, some of which are inexplicable taken at face value, others which are simply incomprehensible. Butt bless their hearts, they’re still trying to be relevant.  

Janet Mock, MSNBC’s ‘So Popular’ host: “My hope is that feminist, racial justice, reproductive rights and LGBT movements build a coalition that centers on the lives of women who lead intersectional lives and too often fall in between the cracks of these narrow mission statements.”

Woman leading intersectional lives

Lux Alptraum, BinderCon co-founder: “I’d love to see publications make a greater effort to include the voices of women, gender non-conforming.”

Goodness, I had to look “gender non-conforming” up to see what it meant. I really wish I hadn’t:

Stein,  BinderCon co-founder: “I would like to see less digital dualism, which perpetuates the fallacy that online harassment isn’t “real” harassment when in fact so many women writers face threats just for doing their job -writing- on the Internet.”

I still don’t know what “digital dualism” is butt I’m pretty sure I’m okay with that.

Mikki Kendall, HoodFeminism.com co-editor: “I want to see a mass realization that police brutality is a feminist issue and for mainstream feminist organizations to help change those policies.”

Everything is a feminist issue.

Patrisse Cullors, created #BlackLivesMatter: “In 2015 I hope for a movement that is fighting for ALL black lives, and that allows for the stories of ALL black women to be in the forefront of our fight.”

That’s right, ALL black lives matter, butt some matter more than others.

Alicia Garza,  National Domestic Workers Alliance Special Projects Director: “My 2015 resolution is to make sure that black women, especially black queer and trans women, are playing a strong leadership role in the growing movement for black lives and black liberation–because black women are the portals to the future, we can do a lot to shape a new economy and a new democracy for all of us.”

not to belabor the point, and never mind the “black queer and trans woman” part, butt in order for black women to become “portals to the future” don’t they need to – how can I put this delicately?  – actually let the future generation through that first “portal” in tact?

In less cynical times this would be considered ironic.

Whew! Feminism has certainly blossomed from it’s roots! For example, in the early age of Betty Freidan Feminism who could have imagined that Beyoncé – Lady M’s “role model” – would one day be a flag bearer:

And wearing this rather “objectifying” get-up no less:

“Variations of Beyonce’s body suit can be found in brothels, strip clubs and red light districts across the world – where sex is for sale and it happens to be dispensed through a woman’s body.” - An Open Letter to Michelle Obama: Beyoncé Is Not a Role Model

I’ve been around so long that objectification apparently doesn’t mean what objectification used to mean!

The face of feminism, 1970

The “face” of feminism, 2014

“You’ve come a long way, baby!”