I Am A Feminist- Guest Post

Some of you who aren't as avid of Harry Potter fans as I am are probably ready to read something different - here is a guest post for you all (who may or may not be HP fans) from my friend Melissa!

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I am a Feminist

I said it. The F word. Feminist. Are you judging me yet?

I think that something very unfortunate has happened in today’s circles. Feminist has become a dirty word. It has become a word that some people are afraid to associate with.  It has become a word that conjures up images of stereotypes.

But for me, I am a Christian and I am a feminist.

I have called myself a feminist for a long, long time, but only a year or two ago did I come up with what I thought was a fair definition of how I define feminist. It took me some time because it can be hard to articulate at moments what I know in my heart. After I sat down and thought and prayed about it, I came to realize that I define feminism as valuing women the way God intended them to be valued. That’s my core definition that I start with. I want to value women the way that God intends them to be valued.

But, feminism is also about more than just valuing women the way God intended them to be valued. It’s about action. There is a great quote I heard in my pastor’s sermon last week as I was working on writing this post. We had had a baptism that day and he was talking about the baby who was just baptized when he said, “Love looks like something. When [their] baby cries, they won’t just say “We love you” they’ll feed the baby. Love looks like something.” In that same way love for other human beings and for women in particular, in the case of feminism, looks like something because Jesus did tell us to love our neighbor, including women. It’s not enough to tell a woman hurt by rape or sex trafficking that I love her then do nothing to ease her pain or help her to heal. Am I really loving? Or am I taking the easy route out?

I heard this really neat quote the other day on the matter, from Anne Graham Lotz, and while I don’t agree with the term evangelical feminist, partially because I am not an evangelical and partially because I don’t understand why the term evangelical needs to be added to explain it – why it can’t just be regular feminism, I agree with the sentiments and ideas behind this quote. “So if “evangelical feminism” means women who know what they believe, who are strong in their convictions, who are bold in their actions, who are courageous to stand up and speak out for Jesus Christ, while being godly wives and mothers, then I would count it a privilege to be called one.”

There are plenty of bible passages that I feel point to this as well. Proverbs 31: 8-9 clearly says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Psalm 82:3-4 echoes similar sentiments, saying “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” A third passage, Isaiah 1:17, speaks similarly, “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” Even the wife of noble character in Proverbs 31, who I am striving to be like now that I am married, “opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.” (Proverbs 31:20) 

Those ideas don’t get just a onetime mention, it carries through multiple books. You can even see this in the New Testament with the very famous “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:35-40) I feel like these passages motivate me to be a feminist, to stand up for the rights of women everywhere.

I am a feminist because it is not acceptable that approximately 115,000 women are victimized every day around the world by abortion.

I am a feminist because it is not acceptable that approximately one in four women report having been victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives.

I am a feminist because it is not acceptable than an estimated 21,600,000 women and girls live in modern day slavery because of human trafficking.

I am a feminist because it is not acceptable that 62 percent of female college students reported that they were sexually harassed (and these are only the ones who reported it and only among college students).

I am a feminist because it is not acceptable that 1000 women die worldwide each day from pregnancy or childbirth complications that we know how to prevent!  

I am a feminist because it is not acceptable that 1 in 6 women in America will be victims of either an attempted or completed rape (and this is only in America – this is much, much higher in some other places in the world).

I am a feminist because it is not acceptable that an estimated seven million women in America suffer from an eating disorder.

I am a feminist because it is not acceptable for me to have the love of Jesus for everyone but never do anything to help those hurting and suffering.

Are you a feminist? 

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Melissa is 20 years old, blogs at http://womeneverywhere.wordpress.com, and studies politics and writing. You can find her on Twitter @misslissy

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And for you Harry Potter Fans (and I think Harry would be a feminist btw!):

Day 23: Any particular scene you wished would have been put in the movie but it wasn't?

I wouldn't say that there are particular scenes I missed - more like ideas and attitudes. Maybe some characters. 



It would have been nice to see Dobby more in the movies - he's so funny!


I love Harry and Ron's bad attitudes - while they show this in the movies, it's not as apparent. Just, I don't know. There's something different about Harry and Ron in the books that you don't see in the movies.


Dumbledore's randomness would be nice to see in the movies. He's really ridiculous and crazy - you really think he's a little insane at times. You don't get that.


Although... there is one scene that I thought about as I have been re-reading the books.

Valentines Day as hosted by Gilderoy Lockhart in The Chamber of Secrets.


How great would it be to see the dwarfs dressed as cupids running around Hogwarts singing valentines to the students? 


Too funny!