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Brette Rappleye

Dr. Kendra Parker

ENG113

30 November 2017

Rappleyes Evolving Feminist Manifesto

During these last thirteen weeks, I have discovered a lot about myself, not only as a

student, but as a feminist. Before taking this class, I knew that I wanted to be a feminist. I

believed that women should stand up and exercise their rights to be equal to men on every level.

Be that as it may, I lacked the education required to develop my own sense of feminism--my

feminist manifesto, if you will. When approaching the topic of feminism, every person needs to

ask themselves a list of questions: Who am I? Who do I want to be? What has influenced me as a

person? How can I help? These are the beckoning questions we, as developing and purposeful

human beings, ask ourselves every day, and these are the questions that will lead each and every

person to cultivate a feminism that accommodates to their needs. I, both as a human being and a

feminist, am flawed, messy, and dysfunctional. Yet at the same time, I am tenacious, self-

sufficient, open, and clever. Such is the beauty of feminism. A person can be totally imperfect

and totally adequate simultaneously. Feminism can only be defined by the individual feminist

and that is what makes it so great. I believe feminism is something that is so personal that every

person can find where they belong and join the movement to fight unified causes. It is

intersectional. It is imperfect. It is uncomfortable. It is possible. The most important concept one

can take away from this movement is that feminism is feasible for everyone. My feminism fights

for every individual human being. I am a feminist who acknowledges the differences between
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others and myself and advocates for them, and that is essential for the evolution and triumph of

the feminist movement.

After researching the wide variety of people involved in the feminist movement, and

hearing what they have to say, I feel that Roxane Gay and bell hooks have been influential in

developing my feminist principles. Gay wrote, Feminism can be pluralistic so long as we

respect the different feminisms we carry with us, so long as we give enough of a damn to try to

minimize the fractures among us (Feminism (n): Plural xiii). Although some people believe

that in order to be a feminist one must be flawless, outraged, and spiteful toward both sex and

men, Gay presents a different theory: a woman can hold her own views and opinions and still

remain an important part to the movement. hooks extends this concept by saying, Lifestyle

feminism ushered in the notion that there could be as many versions of feminism as there were

women (hooks 5-6). While hooks adds this has made feminism more acceptable because it

supports womens ability to be feminists without fundamentally challenging and altering

themselves, she reminds us that we need to keep in mind that feminism is a movement to end

sexist oppression (hooks 6). These ideals are essential to my feminist identity because I support

the individuality and eccentricity displayed by each and every feminist. Both of these women

influenced me to be intersectional and active as a feminist, all while keeping the fight against

sexism and oppression at the heart of my feminist agenda.

Feminism will never stop evolving, and because of that, neither will I. As a feminist, it is

my job to incorporate these beliefs into everyday life. Because I am self-sufficient, I will be able

to enjoy whatever career I so choose. I am a woman with the strength and determination to reach

a level of success that would not be possible without feminism. The oppressions and

microaggressions directed toward me as a woman will not deter me from reaching my full
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potential in my career field. And the stereotypical assumptions about feminists hating men and

sex will not prevent me from starting a family. If and when I create a family, they will be loving

people who are accepting of everyone. They will promote the intersectional and open-minded

qualities of feminism. Yet, although I desire to maintain a successful working career, as well as

being surrounded by a happy and loving family, my future goals do not stop at encompassing my

wants and needs. My larger mission in life is to ensure individuals feel they have a lifes

purpose. No one should ever feel as if they are not good enough or as if they are alone. I intend

to make it my job not only as a feminist, but as a human being, to make all those people who feel

hopeless realize that there is a place for them, and there are people who willing to support them.

Currently, I am at a point in my life where unearthing my purpose in life and discovering

who I am is essential. At the mere age of 18, I am urged to have my life planned out to a T, and I

am pressured to be able to define myself in just a few words. This is so crushingly unrealistic

that it is laughable. I am not even aware of what I am going to wear tomorrow, let alone what I

want to be for the rest of my life. And it seems like every time I explain this, I am asked the same

couple of questions: Well who are you? What are you good at? My response is always a short

and simple, I dont know. However, if there is one thing I do know about myself, it is that I am

a feminist. I know where I stand on my feminist beliefs and I know what the movement means to

me.
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Works Cited

Gay, Roxanne. Bad Feminist: Essays. New York: Harper Collins, 2014.

hooks, bell. Feminism is For Everybody: Passionate Politics. South End Press, 2000.