Feminism: The Other F-Word

The “F-word” is having a new moment. For better and for worse, the word Feminism suddenly seems to be resonating from all angles of pop culture. So much so that Time Magazine included the F-word in its words-to-ban poll for 2014. (Past nominees have included cultural buzzwords words like OMG, YOLO and Twerk). Time’s reasoning:

“Nothing against feminism itself, but when did it become a thing that every celebrity had to state their position on whether this word applies to them?”

From “Beyonce Voters” to #IDontNeedFeminism to Gamer Gate to the Ghomeshi accusations, discussions about the status of women is suddenly the stuff of kitchen table conversation. For years I’ve been talking in bars, at bus stops, at movies, basically with anyone who’ll listen about my relationship with the F-word, and suddenly, to my surprise, other people are talking about it too. Men and women, young and old, seem to be realizing “wait a second! Gender politics is actually still a thing!”

Now here’s the rub: In a post-everything, pluralistic culture, how do we define a word like “feminism”? People seem to react to it like a loaded gun: some feel empowered by it, some feel threatened, some throw up their hands and slowly back out of the room. There seems to be just as many kinds of feminism as there are subgenres of dubstep, and nobody really understands those either.

So we’re going to start a conversation here on the blog about the almighty F-Word in order to flesh out a portrait of that complex but important “ism” that defines the work we do at Urban Curvz. The goal is to reach out to artists and non-artists, male and female, and ask questions about their relationship with Feminism and unpack some cultural baggage.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited. Stay Tuned.