As a young woman, and someone who has always felt "feminist", or at least liked the idea of feminism from a very early age, I decided that I wanted to know more about it,rather than just stamping the label "feminist" on my own opinions.
So I decided that I would do some research.I got "the classic feminist text" The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer out of the library, and I got on Google.
I didn't get on very well with the book, I must say.I found it quite dry and inaccessable to me.I felt that as most of the "classic" feminist books were written in the seventies, they would not neccessarily be relevant to me now, as developments have been made, and society has changed.
My research on the net showed me that there would be no easy place to start, because once you read "The Female Eunuch" (for instance) you then have to find out about the public reaction, the critique, the backlash, and the other books that it lead to!
I felt like every attempt I would make would just lead me down more different paths, and I could easily imagine myself getting tangled up and more confused than I was before.
My sexuality also complicated the matter, what with my research on the net throwing up "the lesbian sex wars", the idea of lesbianism as a political choice, and during the AIDS crisis (as if it ever went away!) gay women being labelled "the lavender menace" by feminist societies.
So basically, I gave up.The idea of learning more about feminism and exploring my own feelings about it fell by the wayside.
I just wished that I could find "Feminism Made Easy", something that would explain things to me in a way that I could understand, and that would be relevant to a young woman like me, without seeming too militant or "angry".
Then, whilst researching something entirely different, I stumbled across [URL=http://www.thefword.org.uk/index]The F Word[/URL].
Okay, so it's not the answer to my prayers, but it is written by young British women, about topics that are relevant and easy for teenage girls such as myself to relate to.
For instance, there is an article on the lack of women artists in Kerrang! Magazine, and another on the new Tampax scented tampons.
The articles don't go on forever, are written in non-fussy, everyday language (you wont need a dictionary!) and best of all represent a lot of young womens views at this time.
Sorry for writing a bloody essay, but I think it is an interesting little site, and well worth checking out.
