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Confessions of a conflicted feminist
On International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate women’s achievements by creating societies that allow women, and men, to make their own choices on family and work life.
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There is plenty of research but no definitive answer on whether men and women think, feel or behave differently.
PHOTO: PEXELS
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I used to receive invitations to speak, or write on, women’s issues when International Women’s Day rolled around in March. People who know me as a journalist who writes often on socio-economic issues, including inequality, sometimes assume I would have a feminist take on women’s issues.
I’ve hesitated to speak or write on women’s issues, because I’m not sure I would call myself a feminist. The term has so much historical weight to it, tied to decades, even centuries, of ideology and activism, that it is a heavy label to wear. The critiques of patriarchy and the view espoused by some feminist ideology that modern society is built around systemic male oppression of women, made for interesting reading in my undergraduate days. But the ideas don’t seem very relevant to my daily life.
