I use the quote from Betty Dodson for two reasons, the first being that what she says is true. Even some of the kindest and most moderate minded of people I've known (including myself) have been/are led to believe that the word "feminist," is a bad one. I know that in the past, I have excluded myself and my ideals from the feminist pedagogue due to my belief that feminist dialogue often times opens up a mentality of us versus them. It is my opinion that there are many, many more people in the world who accept feminist ideals, but refuse to call themselves feminist due to a weariness caused from semantics. That is; the utterances of radicals under the banner of feminism, (ie the misconception of the man hating feminist, the anti-sex feminist and financial gain feminist*) sway far too many people away from what the core tenets of feminism are/should be. Those tenets, which in my conceptions encompass a general opposition to violence in all of its forms, the eradication of rape culture and the acceptance and respect of peoples and societies outside that of the Anglo-European one, are ideas that are certainly appealing to the majority of people that I know. Unfortunately, Dodson is right. The media prefers the inflammatory and will always focus on the polar ends of an issue. Regrettably, as in most things, the truth of the matter lies somewhere in the middle and as long as their is bickering between feminism and the rest of society, those in the middle will remain behind. This is a topic that I will return to later, due to my preoccupation with the lack of trust a lot of the public has with a movement whose ideals are based in decent human respect.
The second reason, is that this is the second Betty Dodson quote I've found and liked. Due to her second appearance, I once again looked up the woman and found that she was the founder of sex-positive feminism. Which too, will be a topic I will revisit as it seems to me as though this blog is quickly becoming a sex positive blog.
*I use the economic feminist as one of these examples not because I do not believe in equal pay for women or the existence of work place inequality, but rather to paint a picture. That picture is, the feminist who focuses more on wealth and monetary gain than the social and political aspects of the movement.
