Sororities and Feminism

[SWTXBelle]

The problem with that question is that there are feminists who regard ALL issues as relating to equality. This leads to the "Republicans can't be feminists" argument, or "stay at home moms can't be feminists", or "those who refuse to support gun control can't be feminists", or just about any issue that can be seen through that particular lens. Admittedly, one of the problems is defining "equality".

The difference between a political party (which has a platform and elected leadership) or the Catholic Church (which has its catechism and hierarchy) is that feminism is not an institution. It should be more inclusive given the general nature of its denotative meaning. To argue that anti-abortionists can't be feminist is to commit the logical fallacy of begging the question - it is predicated on the idea that abortion is only an issue regarding the mother and that the father and the unborn baby (or fetus) have no rights. That is an entirely different argument (which I am not interested in getting into), but my point is that one can believe in the equality of women without supporting abortion. If there were to be a Feminist Political Party then I would accept the right of the members to dictate what a Feminist is required to believe. To the best of my knowledge, the late Nora Ephron was never elected spokeswoman for feminists.

Feminists hurt themselves and thus the quest for equality by making issues shibboleths for acceptance.