So would it be more attractive now that we are in 2008, to call this
movement 'femininity' now that we aren't embarrassed or ashamed to be women?

Can we start to love being feminine again and to allow our free spirited, creative and open nature to shine? Do we need to fight anymore? Do we need to argue or struggle?

I have a sense that the fight is over. That enough work and enough women have spoken now for us to relax a little and just KNOW that we are equal. KNOW that we have our place and KNOW that we are heard.

Yes there are those out there who haven't quite caught up but I feel that the time is here to see that we can go with the flow. We can allow ourselves to relax and enjoy our femininity and stand tall.

I feel that fighting or defending actually fuels trouble as it indicates that a part of us doesn't actually believe that we have rights. If we don't fight or defend then we are saying that we just KNOW!

I know of course that they are women out there experiencing terrible treatment but my angle is that there is a new way to handle and hold this treatment. Facing it head on is like fighting fire with fire.

It's new to me to be communicating this way so I am trusting that my essence is coming across. I am in no way saying that I agree with bad behavior but what I am saying is that there are new ways of handling it.

P.S. After being mistreated by men myself  for many years, I have intuitively known that as a result, I was living with too male a mind set in order to be safe. Consequently, in the last two years I have sold my home, closed my business and begun to live a life which is guided my intuition and feelings. I am currently spending the summer in Spain and then moving to India to run retreats for women in India and all this has happened by gut instincts, visions, dreams and strange co-incidences. My point is therefore that by letting go and trusting, my life has transformed and I feel more and more myself everyday.

I have recently been in many conversations with people about the term Feminism. While we all seem to agree on feminism and its principles of equality for all people there seems to be confusion with the actual word "Feminist." While "feminist" or "pro-feminist" are titles I embrace, my friends feel that the word sounds as if it is only about supporting women’s rights, not everyone’s equality. This seems different than some fear of the word feminism, but rather a feeling that it is an inadequate description of the movement.

I think your concerns are universal. I think that most people can agree that while feminism isn't a perfect word, it's a good enough word.

That said, it certainly has limitations. For the most part, feminism has focused mostly on women, but really it's about freeing the "feminine" and not exclusively women — i.e., freeing those who have been subjugated and specifically those who have been defined in society as weak. Men who aren't traditionally or uber-masculine are punished for the same reasons that women are — because we don't meld with what has been presented as "normal."

Feminism is trying to change our perspective of normal and trying to get us to move to a place where there are multiple ways of being and no one is valued over the next. That sounds  more touchy-feely that I meant it to, but I hope you get the point.

-- Amy