Texas NOW Blog

So all sorts of folks have commented on Laura Bush's recent assertion that she's a feminist.

I am slightly appalled at many of the responses I've seen. Whether we as feminists agree with Laura Bush's political or personal choices or not, there is absolutely no excuse for tearing down and insulting another woman. Whatever we think of her choices, we owe her sisterhood - or at a bare minimum, respect. You gotta wonder if every firebreather who said something like, "Laura Bush thinks she's a feminist" or questions why she's married to a "woman-hater" realizes how much s/he sounds like a patriarch when s/he says that.

I give props to Salon's Broadsheet for bringing attention to the good things that LB has done for women around the world. But here's my favorite response from Hugo Schwyzer:

Is Laura Bush "my kind" of feminist? Perhaps not. Is she someone whom we traditionally associate with feminism? No. Do her views line up with the majority of self-described feminists in the world? No. But her views on women's empowerment and education place her somewhere on what I've long argued is the broad and diverse spectrum of feminisms. To paraphrase the Gospel, "In the feminist house, there are many rooms", and Laura Bush has made it clear she considers herself to be living in one of them.

What heartens me about the First Lady's use of the term to describe herself is that it serves as a useful corrective to the "I'm not a feminist, but..." view we hear so often from conservative young (and not so young) women. By embracing the word feminist -- and at least some basic feminist principles (like the right to education and self-determination) -- Laura Bush gives women who might previously have paused before calling themselves "feminists" permission to take the leap and use it to describe themselves. By making the term more acceptable to women on the center and the right of the political spectrum, she does more traditionally progressive feminists a huge service. How many feminist organizations, how many women's studies classes, may see a boost in interest and enrollment now that the immensely popular First Lady has given feminism her explicit imprimatur?

Amen, brother. Checklist feminism gets us nowhere. Let's keep the conversation open, people.

I would add, too, that liberation isn't a destination, it's a journey. I've considered myself a feminist since I could pronounce the word, but I'm by no means done with figuring out exactly what that means or what actions I need to take to put my beliefs into action. Before I joined NOW and attended a Women of Color and Allies Summit, I had no idea why many women of color, especially African-American women, see reproductive rights differently. I knew about forced sterilization, but I had no idea how prevalent or recent it had been. Was I a feminist before I knew that? Yep. Am I better feminist now that I know it? You betcha. So on this journey, let's respect where everyone else is right now, and always be willing to reach a hand out to help other travelers along the road.