I noticed this first in college as I contemplated my future work life. Feminism freed me from the expectation that I would be the primary wage-earner in my family. Where I had once considered a career based largely on how much money I would earn, now I could ask myself: What do I really want to do?
Thus, my interest in going to law school vanished; my passion for writing took precedence. I entered a profession that I still enjoy today.
Hat tip to Feministing.
That's a great article - really the kind of writing that needs to get out there.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see this blog active again.
ReplyDeleteI posted a somewhat critical response to this article here on the blog I share with Daran.
I'm sure feminism has helped me in more ways than I can count.
ReplyDeleteFrom when I was 11 to when I was 14, my long hair and slender build caused me to be mistaken frequently for a girl.
When people figured out their mistake, they always became extremely apologetic, which I found uncomfortable and kind of inexplicable.
In all my life, I think there was one time the mix-up bothered me, and that was when a girl at my karate school whom I'd had a crush on for six months turned out not to have known I was male.
(Although, that *did* explain why she kept picking me for a grappling partner)
At the time, not understanding how privilege works, I didn't understand why people made such a big deal of it, but now I'm very glad feminism has made life as tolerable as it is for feminine and androgynous men.