Weekly Participation- Jessica Creager

For this weeks in class interview we had the option of asking two questions. The questions were "Is Feminist a dirty word?" and "Why is there a double standard for race activists vs. gender activists?". I told my interviewee she could chose either of the questions and she chose "Is Feminist a bad word?". She stated that she doesn't believe that feminist is a dirty word, at least not in her opinion. She says that this word means empowerment to her. She suggested that maybe others feel that way because of the negative stereotypes associated with the term. For example, that feminist are bossy or manly. She suggests that the reason why others feel this way about the term is because the did not get the proper information because a lack of education. The reason she believes it is not a dirty word because of the things she has been exposed to though women studies, etc.  Also, that people often associate feminist with the more extreme and severe feminists. The extreme feminists views might not be well accepted by the public, thus making people not want to associate with feminism in general. She also discussed how these extreme feminists are seen as what feminist represent, when in actuality they are only a small portion of the feminist group.