I apologize, dear reader, for taking this autobiographical sidetrack from classic movies. It is not my habit to use this blog to discuss my personal views. That said, I was led this morning to write this article about feminism. I do not mean to offend anybody with my views and this is not a political rant, by any means. It is simply a metacognitive look at how I became a feminist. It is kind of Katharine Hepburn's fault, so I have allowed myself to publish it here. I am not offended if you are not in the least bit interested. Staye tuned for more posts about classic film history after this!
Although I consider myself a feminist now, I have not
always done so. I was raised in a fairly respectable middle class family; my
parents are conservative and they raised my brother and me to share their
views, without actually forcing them upon us. Bill Clinton was always referred
to as “Slick Willy” at our dinner table, and after 9/11 we put up our American
flag and supported George Bush 100%. But then the United States invaded Iraq I
thought, “Now, wait a minute. Where are you going with this one, W.?” At college
two professors in particular had a profound effect on my political education.
One was liberal and one was conservative, and I am so grateful to both of them
for being such just, fair, open-minded individuals as they encouraged me to cultivate
my own political views.
When I read Katharine Hepburn’s autobiography (Me, 1996) in my sophomore year in college,
I found myself as interested in her progressive upbringing as in her film
career. Hepburn’s mother, Katharine Houghton Hepburn, was orphaned at sixteen,
yet still managed to put herself and her younger sisters through Bryn Mawr College. Both she and her sister Edith threw themselves into progressive reform
work after graduation and marriage. They worked tirelessly for woman suffrage
and birth control, taking what they had learned at Bryn Mawr to help raise the
standard of women’s rights.
As I began studying Progressive Reform Era feminism (1st
wave feminism), I felt myself becoming more sympathetic with the feminist,
gender, and sexuality issues of my own time. Frankly, I am not terribly interested
in politics, as such; the mud-slinging, back-stabbing, and corruption that goes
on in government bores the brains out of me. But I am a compassionate
individual who likes to make informed decisions based on my highest sense of
right. Sometimes this means I support the liberals, sometimes the
conservatives. But I will always support the women’s movement.
