Recent events in Malaysia has been really got me wondering on how words evolve, their usage, and how powerful the meaning of some words, that it can evoke such strong emotions in people. Currently in Malaysia, there has been great disputes over the usage of the word “Allah”, the issue being whether or not Christians are allowed to use it. Read the article here.
However, I’m not going to get into all of that today, as what it really got me wondering about is: The F-Word.
No, not the four letter one! The other one.
Feminism. Feminist.
It has been a word that has been widely disputed, campaigned for, ideologies have been formed around it, movements have been created, concepts of anti-;black-;post-;pro-; have been formed, and its meanings often contested. It’s a word that we don’t hear very often these days. Often replaced with an increasingly popularized term: women empowerment. I don’t blame this trend. It doesn’t have associations of a strong ( perhaps even negative connotation) past and it has the word “power” in it. Always a good bet 
But to understand why the increasing dis-popularity in the word, here’s a brief timeline of feminism (starting from where it really began to pick up):
Mid-1800s: Used to refer the “qualities of females”
1892: First International Women’s Conference, Paris: Start regular usage of term for a belief in and advocacy of equal rights for women based on the idea of the equality of the sexes.
Early 20th: Term rooted in the mobilization for women suffrage in Europe and US
1920s: First Wave of feminism: To achieve basic political rights
Late 1960s — Early 1970s: Second Wave of feminism: Fight for greater equality across the board — in education, workplace and home.
Early 1990s: Third Wave Feminism: Arose as response to critiques of the 2nd wave. Emphasized “identity” as a site of gender struggle with a post-structuralist take on gender and sexuality.
Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
As history has graciously shown, the concept of feminism itself has evolved from as simple description demonstrating feminine qualities to a full blown movement. The term began to pick up when it tried to capture the commitment to womens’ equal rights. But is it really sufficient enough to capture women’s oppression/position that currently extends into the structure of our societies, culture and perceptions?
I believe that given the controversies of the term, and controversial social movements, the usage of the word has either taken a very taboo or powerful connotation. Taboo in a sense that women organization’s do not call themselves feminist ( often replacing it with empowerment) but powerful, in a sense that when used, the usage is noticed. For example, the Dalai Lama in the recent Vancouver Peace Summit calling himself a feminist.
“I call myself a feminist. Isn’t that what you call someone who fights for women’s rights?” — Dalai Lama
It is tempting to think that in order to avoid the “somewhat” negative associations with the word “feminist”, we try to best articulate our beliefs in women, with other buzz words like “empowerment” to capture the range of meanings feminism brings.
The truth is, feminism has taken on a term to capture views on justice for women, and feminists are committed to bringing about social change to end injustice against women.
So, what does feminism mean to you?