Gloria Steinem Will Break Your Kneecaps

Charis Books is the oldest, largest, feminist bookstore in the Southeast and one of only 14 independent feminist bookstores left in the U.S. A sad fact but true, and I know this because last night I donned my Take Me Seriously Scary Librarian Feminist glasses, a chartreuse sweater dress that in retrospect may have been a poor choice, and marched my sensibly shod feet to the opening of Charis’ 35^th anniversary celebration: “Feminism, Books, & Beyond: Celebrating 35 Years of Charis Community.”

The talk “Founding the Future: A Conversation with Beverly Guy-Sheftall & Gloria Steinem,” was brutal. Well, the talk was brutal, the audience was inspiring. I’m in the South, the Bible Belt, sexism is practically fashionable here. Maybe that’s why the cavernous auditorium was packed. The more it hurts the more you need to do something about it.

Guy-Sheftall, scholar, writer, and editor of many brilliant books including the groundbreaking anthology Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought, said the very words that make me cringe. Her students, she said, “Think racism is over because we have a black president. They say feminism is irrelevant, and everything is just fine now.” Then added, “Young women don’t give a shit.”

Why are young women still so turned off by feminism? This is an old question, we’ve knocked it around for years now. And I still don’t know the answer. Why are they afraid to even say the word? Is it not sexy? Are they afraid no one will want to fuck them? Somewhere in my mind, in a way I don’t really want to admit, I think that’s what it is. We’ve taught young women that their most valuable asset is their sexual availability. And if being a feminist means you have to stop and think about whether or not you really want to be in the next Girls Gone Wild video, then maybe it’s too much work. But I think it takes more work to keep the blinders on. Steinem has it right. She said, “The only thing harder than being a feminist is not being one.”

Is this what a feminist looks like?

Maybe we just need to shake up the word, add some nuance. We’re all just bogged down in stereotypes: feminists are humorless, they’re sexless. But I call myself  feminist and I’ve written some books with titles so post-post-feminist you’d think they were penned by frat boys. I don’t see any reason those things don’t go together.

Guy-Sheftall said she believes she’s not seen as a leader in the Women’s Movement because she’s an African American woman, and the movement is still seen as a straight, white woman’s game. Steinem had the best answer to that when she said to Guy-Sheftall, “Tell me who says you aren’t a leader in the Women’s Movement and I’ll break their kneecaps.”  It was such a badass comment I teared up.

I think Guy-Sheftall was right when she said the only way to create change is to tear everything down and rebuild it the way it should have been built in the first place.  That’s my most constant fantasy. I live to knock down the man and pry the boot off the neck of women ignoring their own oppression in order to survive from day to day. I can’t understand why any woman anywhere doesn’t feel the exact same way. On top of that I can’t imagine why an entire generation of women don’t get hot at the very idea. Tell me I’m not sexy, and I’ll have Steinem break your kneecaps.