Here are some photos of Salma Hayek at the “Make Equality Reality” event last night, sponsored by Equality Now. According to RCFA, Salma is wearing “a Gucci Spring 2015 forest-green suede eyelet-embroidered V-neck cap-sleeved dress with a black satin Gucci box clutch.” I’m not crazy about the look but it’s not the worst thing ever. Salma attended the event because they were giving her an award for… something. Fighting for equality, maybe. In Salma’s speech, she spoke about Malala Yousafzai, education and… why she doesn’t call herself a feminist. Here’s the full People article, which gave me a GD headache.
Salma Hayek has dedicated herself to empowering women, but when it comes to empowering her 7-year-old daughter, Valentina, the actress and activist says she avoids a heavy-handed approach.
“I don’t preach to her every day,” she told PEOPLE on the red carpet prior to receiving an award from Equality Now at the Make Equality Reality event in Beverly Hills on Monday. “She’s aware that her mommy fights for the rights of women, that there are many places in the world where they are not entitled to the rights.”
Hayek, 48, also shared that her daughter is a “big fan” of Malala Yousafzai – and that the Pakistani activist for female education is making an important impact on her impressionable child.
“She understands who she is and what she does,” she said. “Because of this, it makes her appreciate her own opportunities for education. She knows everything I do for Chime for Change (the women’s charity she cofounded with Beyoncé) and how important it is in my life. That’s all I can do. Just try to live an example of the things I believe in.”
While accepting the award, Hayek also explained why equality for women is so critical and her passion for the charity.
“It is your choice to decide what is going to be your contribution to your lifetime in the world,” she said. “If it’s going to be about women, we will provide the tools so you can know what’s going on. The next step is to create a coalition of warriors who want to create war against violence and against hate.”
Despite her passionate support for women, Hayek told PEOPLE that she does not consider herself to be a feminist.
“I am not a feminist,” she said. “If men were going through the things women are going through today, I would be fighting for them with just as much passion. I believe in equality.”
Does Salma realize that feminists are literally FIGHTING FOR EQUALITY?! I mean, taken with everything Salma said at this event, I think she’s a feminist fighting for women’s education and women’s rights around the world – she’s walking the walk. But she just doesn’t want to label herself a feminist because… in some bizarro world where women held 98% of all the power, Salma would fight for men’s rights. And that is why she doesn’t consider herself a feminist. *headdesk*
PS… Yes, Salma posed with Gloria Steinem.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
That is the stupidest thing I’ve heard all day (and there have been a looooooooot of stupid things said today).
Another one bites the dust. Can someone send a memo to Hollywood that being a feminist means fighting for equality? Unbelievable.
Before you get your SAG card you should be made to define the word feminism. If you get it wrong, no card for you.
While it bothers me greatly that so many people don’t seem to understand the definition of a very important word, I can sort of see why they’re scared of it. The “angry man-hating feminist” has become such a cliche that many people think that’s what a “feminist” is, much like many people associate Islam with terrorism even though the terrorists were only a small group out of a much larger population. They were the loud ones everyone noticed, thus that’s what people associated with the word. It sucks, but there it is.
But the way to deal with that misconception is not to run from the word, it’s to embrace it and show that feminists *aren’t* man-haters. Feminists come in every age, shape, size, color, and gender. The more people who embrace it and thus diversify it, the further we get from exactly those kinds of misconceptions.
I agree with you there. I use the term myself and I’m far from an angry man-hater.
My point was that calling her (and anyone else who says similar things yet actively campaigns for feminist change) is stupid and doesn’t help. Rolling your eyes and saying, “You don’t even know what that word means, dumbass!” isn’t going to change the misconception, if anything it’s going to perpetuate it.
What’s distressing, in our patriarchal society, is the millisecond in time “bra burning” with angrily shouting (short haired) females is to feminism what Camel Joe is to cigarettes. In our media educated society, this freeze frame of angry women is synonymous with “feminism”, and image driven actresses are obsessed with overt sexuality, so along with “make up free angry females” the concept of phrase of “feminism” is staunchly rejected.
Salma will become an angry man-hating feminist when Money Bags dumps her @ss for the newer model … just watch.
I get what you’re saying, but I have to make the point – a woman can still have valid points as a feminist and be considered part of the movement even *if* they are angry and hate men. Because there are plenty of women in the world trapped in situations where hatred of men and patriarchy would be completely understandable, and we owe them the respect of acknowledging their contribution, too.
It’s the privilege of the empowered to say challenges made to prejudice must be delivered in gift wrapped packaging. A black family whose son is shot down on the street for jaywalking has a right to be angry and hateful of the white culture that devalues their children’s lives to such an extent. A girl who was raped and told she wasn’t “traumatized” enough to bring her case to court has a right to be angry and hateful with a patriarchy who tells her that a man’s right to sex is more important than her consent. That’s the extreme version – but anyone who isn’t a position of power is reminded of their “place” in society on both major and minor levels every day. I had a right to be angry with the male manager who told me women were too emotional to be in positions of power when I was 19. Yesterday, I got to watch a man on CNN tell me that I should just put up with street harassment and deal with it like an adult, and whose response to the point that women have been attacked and killed for fighting back was to “buy a gun.” I have to a right to hate him and his complete lack of empathy for what women go through every day. People who have been beaten down and stripped of their right to a voice, who are suffering the impact of thousands of years of oppression and prejudice, have a right to be angry. There is nothing more dismissive and degrading than to tell the oppressed that they have to “play nice.” They’ve spent their entire lives playing nice. Their anger is a result of tiring of it.
I’m proud to be a feminist and while we always argue nowadays that being a feminist doesn’t mean ‘angry man-hating bra-burning women’, let’s just take a moment to thank those very women! It was thanks to those angry women and countless others before them, who helped bring women’s right to the forefront.
Let’s not take the cliched path and put those women down because they’ve also played a tremendous role in strengthening women’s rights.
So……feminists and Muslims should, what, take the blame for the bad apples? Or just not comment on the injustice of being defined by a tiny minority? That’s bigotry right there. But no matter what, don’t fight back because——?
Christ on a cracker, does she even hear the words that come out of her mouth?
Bunch of haters. I get her.
So what you are all saying is that a woman can’t be a feminist if she says she is not, but supports women and has an organization, is a great example and is trying to get education for girls, counting all that you all call her stupid because she thinks that it should be named equality not feminism and she is right. Whatever if it’s called feminism, but if it’s about equality I don’t see the problem if she calls it that way. Accept it or not, she is a great feminist. You are all calling her stupid for not saying a simple word, a word and you forget everything she is doing for women. Think twice before you start attacking people, cause you make no sense.
U guis r jelli h8rs!!11!!1!
She’s a great feminist without being a feminist, huh? That’s a pretty cool trick.
Yes @Falkor She is and probably does more than any of you.
That’s so cool that you’re a psychic! What a gift you have!
I’m not. You just have to actually read this article to know it. Judge her by her actions not her words.
If I were Gloria I would have tripped her so she fell flat on her face! Dumbfounded by her words.
I’ve said this so many times, but I can’t stand this woman. She’s just so darn stupid.
and she’s always been.
This seriously pissed me off. MAYBE YOUR DAUGHTER CAN EXPLAIN TO YOU THAT MALALA IS A PROMINENT FEMINIST! AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So frustrating!
She’s an idiot.
Here we go again. Ugly dress, btw.
blablab
Her face kind of looks like a Picasso
So she’s a feminist but rejects the term. Fine. Whatever. I’m over it. If actions speak louder than words, she’s fine. Make up a new word for all I care. Call yourself a Muppet and move on.
+1
The thing is, though, that the group of people, mainly women, who called and call themselves feminists are the REASON WHY SHE IS ABLE TO STAND UP THERE and say what she wants to say, do as she pleases and fight for what she believes is right. So in that context, it seems disrespectful and ignorant to undermine feminists (especially by not equating their fight with actual equality) who made it possible for her to live her life the way she chose to. Especially as an actress.
True. But I’m just so bored with this debate. So many people equate the term with something extremely negative and mostly it’s not even about women and men fighting for equality but about man-hating, granola munching, refusing to shave lesbians. WTF? When did that happen? I’m ready to abandon the term and move on. Whatever. I’m a linguist and I do subscribe to the theory that language has an impact on our thinking. Not everyone agrees but that’s another debate. So on that front, I agree that it’s disrespectful and – more importantly – stupid. Uneducated. Because if feminist is a negative term, the whole concept might be thought of as negative. She would like to separate the two but I don’t believe that’s realistic. Because … how? I don’t see it.
But there are more important issues to fight for. Just call it a dandelion and be done with it. I just can’t anymore. At least she’s doing something.
ETA: Maybe it wouldn’t even be such a bad idea to coin a new term. There’s a reason it’s called feminism and not fight for equality of the sexes, I know. But times have changed and maybe the whole concept could be updated in terms of what we call it.
@ littlemissnaughty : Yup, get what you’re saying. And I understand where you’re coming from – it is very exhausting sometimes to have a debate on feminism, although it is such an important topic for me, simply because of the negative connotation it sadly has nowadays and also because yes, semantics/pragmatics. I think we can agree that thankfully she is walking the walk.
Forgot to add: Interesting idea to coin a new term. Brought that up in one of my gender classes a couple of weeks ago. Any suggestions from you ladies? 😉
@ Micha: Ooohhh that would be FUN! I’m not a native speaker of English so maybe someone else should have a go.
There is already the concept of Humanism (look it up)
There’s also the term “womanism,” which black women used in the 70s to define their concerns.
Humanism I know, first time I heard of Womanism. Will inform myself immediately. Seriously angry and embarrassed at the lack of in-depth teaching at my uni’s gender classes.
Thanks to all of you though for the educational plattform we manage to create on celebitchy! (all while satisfying our need for escapism 😉 )
@ RosettaStoned: Without looking it up, humanism is not really fitting. First, it’s very much associated with secularism vs. religion, critical thinking over faith (or really, faith vs. science). Second, the modern fight for gender equality can of course be connected – on a philosophical level – to humanism. But humanism (in any of its variations) is a much larger philosophial concept and gender equality is just a part of it. A very specific part.
Her comment reveals she’s still afraid of what patriarchal culture at large will do to her (her career specifically, which has been defined by being a sexually desirable woman) if she uses the word feminist. The word matters, if only to demonstrate to her large audience that women will not live in fear of reprisals for owning it. Not using the word feminist sends the message that men needn’t take her seriously, as she embraces her ethics and politics only up to a palatable point. I mean, she doesn’t want to alienate anyone by seeming like a *real* threat to the status quo, right?
So she can talk whatever empowerment drivel she wants, but she clearly isn’t free from her need not to offend men (and some women) by being truthful, and standing behind her beliefs. I suppose I should feel some sympathy for this–I’m trying to–but given her specific resources and position of immense privilege, it chaps my hide to see a woman who has so much be such a dithering wuss. Own your shit, lady.
I want to marry this comment.
*sigh* The thing is, I absolutely agree with you. With every single word and your analysis of why she (or anyone) refuses to use the term is dead on. Maybe I’m just not in the mood right now. I’m tired and I want to move on. I’ve come to a point where I don’t feel like fighting for the term feminist is a priority but maybe that’s just because it seems like when we do, it tends to be very academic. While that’s great and necessary, sometimes I think that takes up too much of the debate.
I call myself a feminist and I do it proudly. I have no issue with the term at all. Sometimes I look at all these great women who came before us and think “Am I even allowed?”
I know that especially on this blog the argument always seems to be “But you ARE a feminist if you subscribe to this so call yourself one.” Maybe if someone is too scared of the word, they actually shouldn’t call themselves that if what you said about Hayek and her fear of patriarchy is true.
You win with this comment
Well, I’ll hope she baby steps her way up to it eventually. I guess I’m more sympathetic to it when I encounter the discomfort in younger (straight) woman who have less experience in the world and still have so many anxieties about being seen as a certain kind of desirable to young men. But I suppose we all get there when we get there. At least Hayek’s walking the walk if she’s not quite up to talking the talk yet. Though I wonder if this will only happen after her movie career is done. Maybe finally letting go of the sex bomb persona will be the thing to set her free. And I feel you on the academic vs. the boots on the ground conversation. But hopefully the theoretical translates into the more practically political. I’m doing my best every time one of my female students starts a comment in class with “This may be totally stupid and just my opinion…” Breaks my heart.
Diamond @ 11:56am, fantastic comment! Agree 100%
So well said, DiamondRottweiler!
@ Diamond: Yes, I agree. At her age, she should know better than to be this afraid of a word and what it could do to her image. Although what could possibly happen to her at this point? I don’t understand it.
And I’m so with you on the “Sorry, maybe this is a dumb questions …” issue. I was never aware of it until I was already a in the middle of getting my Master’s. And my BA had already included linguistics. I was STUNNED by the revelation not just when it comes to speech but also body language etc. I’ve since tried to stop apologizing at the beginning of half my sentences and I’ve become much more assertive in discussions with men. But Lord, it was difficult and not because men reacted negatively. It was mostly women who at one point or another felt the need to tell me (sometimes even admiringly, although not often) that I’m so confident but also sometimes too aggressive (!) when I have a discussion. That I’m a bit manly when it comes to that. Well then. At least I get to say what I want to say.
A new term, no matter what it is, once it is associated with the fight for equal treatment for women, it will become a ‘negative’ association too. That’s the thing about the patriarchy. Anything associated with the feminine becomes devalued over time. As soon as a career choice becomes mostly female, the wage and prestige associated with that role drops dramatically. To be considered as having feminine traits as a male is an insult. As soon as a name (eg right now it’s happening to Jordan) starts being used for girls primarily, it is then dropped as a name option for boys (eg. Ashley, leslie, etc were only boy names in the past and now no one names boys those names because they started being used by girls) Because the feminine is seen as lesser than the masculine. It’s okay for a girl to be a tom-boy, to have a male name, to have *some* masculine traits, to wear male clothes. But it is not okay for a man to be a ‘girly-man’, to have a female-associated name, to wear womanly clothes, or to have feminine traits. It is still shunned by society.
So I guess we will just need to keep changing the word all the time right? Rather than change the way our society views the feminine.
Anony, brilliant comment! I’m so glad there are so many smart feminists on this blog. You all make my day.
Interesting theory @ anony. Can you back this up with links/sources? Would be greatly appreciated!
(I study Gender Studies and haven’t heard this explanation before. Granted, that may be my own ignorance, so forgive my asking)
This exactly!
@micha as a past GWS student ( it was my minor ) I’m surprised you haven’t come across this in any of your classes. It’s more than a theory it’s been quite proven over the years. See if your college offers a GWS course on masculinity , I had an amazing professor ( male ) who taught one of these courses and he opened my eyes. Everything in society is rooting in masculinity and it usually always affects women in a negative way but also men. Anonys comment is perfect and really explains it.
@tifygodess24 to be fair, they only recently introduced a Gender minor at my uni, and sadly seem to be having issues finding specified sociologists to teach gender classes. It’s still up and coming in Germany, at least where I live.
thank you very much, though! I will certainly look into it.
The word is not the main issue, that was my point. We can fight for the word, sure. But I, for one, have had it. I’d much rather talk about the concept of femininity and masculinity and THEN, maybe, if society is there, we can just all accept the term feminism and know that it includes the man’s role as well without having a knee-jerk reaction of “Oh NO! Inferior! Man hater!” But until then, I’ve had it with the semantics. I’d much rather support someone whose actions spell “feminist” than someone who proclaims to be one and then doesn’t put their money where their mouth is.
Brilliant, Anony.
Equalizer?
Seriously. I started popping over to this blog just to give myself a break when writing. What a pleasure to have accidentally found so many smart people here. Well said, Anony. Also, anyone looking for more information on feminist issues in the present moment might google the VIDA: Women In Literary Arts website (or the FB page). The website resource page would be a good place to start, and to discover the important work VIDA is doing on the depressingly stark gender bias in publishing (The VIDA Count has become a huge issue in the press annually when the numbers are released for the rates of publication for men vs. women writers in all genres). They intend to extend into work on women in film (Cheryl Strayed, Oprah and Reese Witherspoon are very interested in the issues). The problems for women in film are the very worst of all.
DEAR IDIOT: If you believe in equality between genders, then you are a feminist.
Seriously, how hard can it be to get this concept right? Gloria, you’re standing RIGHT NEXT TO HER. Please slap her upside the head on behalf of all of us who just can’t with the stupid anymore.
That is all.
What do you think Steinem would find more appalling: Salma’s dislike of the term “feminism” or the way people are completely ignoring her work and her emphasis on women’s rights in order to rip her to shreds for not getting the definition of feminism correct?
@Bridget good question.
I wish it was just that simple, but the reality is that every time we have to have this conversation about what feminism is and who isn’t and who isn’t, it derails from those actual issues and you have a whole generation of young women confused as hell about equality and feminism. Words are important.
It’s more than not getting the definition correct. By claiming that she’s not a feminist b/c she believes in equality, she is explicitly suggesting that feminists are are seeking to gain more rights than men, that they hate men.
That’s dangerous, and perpetuates an ignorant stereotype. This is the platform that too many politicians have used to justify their campaign against women, and this famous women is giving them fuel.
But at what point is it acceptable to just trash someone for getting it wrong, when the rest of their message is right on point?
Bridget, the words matter in this case, because it’s a concept as a whole and important to understand and define properly. If she can’t do those basic things, then STFU, Salma shouldn’t be involved in whatever until she can define it properly. Because using the WRONG definition IS dangerous. Marie and Josephine are entirely on point. If she doesn’t understand what feminism is at its most fundamental level, what is she even doing?
Do you really think Gloria Steinem ISN’T appalled by Salma Hayek’s latest ridiculous remarks on feminism and equality?
I can guarantee you that appalled or not, Gloria Steinem wouldn’t have resorted to name calling. As soon as you do that, it doesn’t matter what your point is.
@Josephine My sentiments exactly. This is why Hayek’s remark is so problematic. I think some of the problem is that most words ending in “ist” are negative — racist, sexist, misgoynist, elitist, etc. Because of this pattern, people who are uneducated about feminism automaticlly assume that it means people who hate men or think women are better than men. But if Salma’s going to be at this event and declaring herself a women’s rights advocate, it would behoove her to do her homework on feminism.
rrerer
I’m not a TaterHo because I love potatoes.
She’s such an idiot.
are people actually THIS stupid naturally? or do they have to work hard at it?
What the actual F&CK?
Maybe her inexplicable and tortured stance pleases her sugar-daddy , er, I mean husband. Salma has her positives but I have long felt she was a manipulative poser. Something I would think was totally unnecessary for her.
Plus her boob jobs went overboard which I’ll agree is catty of me. ;D
that was my thought too – she might be saying this because her husband might be old-school and doesn’t want her running around calling herself a feminist.
Completely agree. She made her bargain, and has been sitting pretty in her throne ever since.
I want Frida-era Salma back!
Salma is not the brightest woman out there……..
i think she’s saying it that way to say that it’s not just about women, it’s about equality for everyone. a lot of people use the word feminist as a derogatory term, so I think she’s trying to take the focus off the word feminist and put the focus on equality.
People who use feminist as a derogatory term are sexist idiots and catering to them is giving them power.
Salma like so many women is worried men won’t f-ck or want her if she calls herself a feminist and men who hate feminists are scared.
Really, I absolutely agree with you.
i agree with that totally. she’s trying to appeal to men and women. she still wants to reman f*ckable in men’s minds. she doesn’t want to be called a feminist because some sexist men might have issue with it. in other words, a lot of people use the word feminist as a derogatory term. so she doesn’t want to be equated with it. not saying it’s right, just saying her line of thought
100% this. Yes. “Please like me, I’m not a feminist, I swear!”
100% spot on, Really.
As the brilliant Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, using the word equality instead of feminism would be dishonest, because “it would be a way of pretending that it wasn’t women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women. That the problem was not about being human but specifically about being a FEMALE HUMAN.”
Perhaps equally pertinent is the unsolicited advice Adichie received from a male journalist, “His advice to me, and he was shaking his head sadly as he spoke, was that I should never call myself a feminist because feminists are women who are unhappy because they cannot find husbands.”
So maybe Salma has misread Adichie and mistakenly taken this as advice from Adichie. 😉
@Katherine like so many actors who are desperate to be liked but at the same time come off as modern Salma makes the same mistake of swearing off of feminism and rallying for equality.
Love Chimamanda!
Did we expect her to be? She’s married to a billionaire who’s also the father of Linda Evangelista’s child. It’s not impossible that someone who made that set of choices is a feminist, but is it really all that likely?
That’s not a very fair thing to say. She is an accomplished actor and director. She married a billionaire, but she is no trophy wife.
*headdesk*
*headdesk*
*headdesk*
*headdesk*
*headdesk*
*headdesk*
Honestly, I can’t repeat this often enough. Is it time to get the Wikipedia definition out AGAIN?
*applies compress to Sixer’s head*
her creepy husband probably told her that shes not a feminist, so thats what she believes. he probably doesn’t want her to be a declared feminist, so thats her stance.
idk, man, he seems like a creep and she seems like she happily playing the 2nd fiddle for pretty clothes and an ‘in’ with the rich and powerful he’s connected her to since they got together.
It’s so disappointing to read “I’m not a Feminist” and no one bring up the legitimate issues with the current Feminist movement.
There are issues with the ultrafeminist movement which looks to not make things about equality. The feminist movement is about equality for men and women.
I agree with this so much. I mean, I very proudly self-identify as a feminist, but I understand why some people, especially WOC, trans* women, etc take issue with the feminist movement since it often does very little to represent them. For myself, especially as a queer woman, I think that identifying as a feminist and insisting on feminism being a movement that DOES consider intersectionality is the only way to change the problems I see within it. But it really breaks my heart a little that this is NEVER the reason women in the public eye prefer not to identify as a feminist. It always just seems like they have absorbed too much of the inaccurate characterization of feminists as man-haters or that they really and truly just don’t know what the term means.
If we’re going to keep having this same conversation over and over, it would be nice if it was productive and intelligent. Instead, we just keep rehashing the same old same old (although it seems like some of the commenters here are getting increasingly vile about it… I’m glad that previous comment was removed but there was/is some SERIOUS misogyny happening up in here. How can people not see the hypocrisy?)
*sigh* *facepalm* I cannot…I just can’t with women who don’t understand feminism
Yeah, this is just one of those place-my-head-in-my-hands type of moments. Not much else to add to what everyone else has already said.
And here’s another idiot.. frankly I thought she was better than this. I’m so sick of this ‘I’m not a feminist but believe in equality..’ YOU DIDN’T UNDERSTAND A SINGLE F- — THEN! *sighs*
“I am not a feminist…. I believe in equality.”
….. I got news for ya, sister.
But I actually can kind of see the (stupid) point she’s trying to make. She’s trying to say it’s not about supporting women, it’s about supporting equality for everyone, regardless of gender.
But blathering on about a hypothetical alternate universe in which men are treated as poorly as women…. hello. We’ve got some problems here, in the real world, that could use addressing. You can save the poor, downtrodden, discriminated-against men in Bizarro Earth at a later date. Right now, I’d like to have complete control over my uterus, be able to walk down the street and not get catcalled, and get paid the same as my male coworkers. And that requires feminism.
Sigh. She’s a dumbass that is all.
The only thing i have to say is that she looks great for her age. so so great.
i hope to look this great when am her age 🙂
Wow. Stupid and uninformed. WTF Salma?
I don’t get the fear of the word, because it literally stands for everything she has described and everything she is working for. I hate that it’s been turned into something negative, and that someone with such strong opinions about equality is giving in to it.
I feel like because the word itself is derived from ‘feminine’, that it will always be associated with only women’s rights.
i think people get hung up on the word itself, rather than what we’re all trying to agree that it means, which is equality for all, no matter your race or gender or whatever.
I said this above too, A new term, no matter what it is, once it is associated with the fight for equal treatment for women, it will become a ’negative’ association too. That’s the thing about the patriarchy. Anything associated with the feminine becomes devalued over time. As soon as a career choice becomes mostly female, the wage and prestige associated with that role drops dramatically. To be considered as having feminine traits as a male is an insult. As soon as a name (eg right now it’s happening to Jordan) starts being used for girls primarily, it is then dropped as a name option for boys (eg. Ashley, leslie, etc were only boy names in the past and now no one names boys those names because they started being used by girls) Because the feminine is seen as lesser than the masculine. It’s okay for a girl to be a tom-boy, to have a male name, to have *some* masculine traits, to wear male clothes. But it is not okay for a man to be a ’girly-man’, to have a female-associated name, to wear womanly clothes, or to have feminine traits. It is still shunned by society.
So I guess we will just need to keep changing the word all the time right? Rather than change the way our society views the feminine.
See, this is the problem with this discussion. I am a woman and I don’t consider myself a feminist, because it’s just a label and I stay away from labels. They are limiting and charged.
I do believe in equality. That’s all there is to it. Don’t see anything wrong with what Salma says, and if most other women want to label themselves, fine. Equality goes beyond gender – which the word “feminist” implies, and it is a lot more encompassing.
I am praying 4 u.
Again, by saying you want to bring EVERYONE into the discussion of equality you are denying the main issue at hand – not all human have been systematically oppressed but human who are FEMALE.
Goddamn I want to slam my head into the wall. Why is this SUCH a difficult concept for people, above all women, to grasp?
@Julie- So much wrong with this comment.
@Ripley – Ha! So much right with this comment
I get the feeling that she’d also find not wearing make-up EMPOWERING.
Oh for f*ck’s sake.
I seriously didn’t even want to click on this link because I wasn’t sure I could handle such insane dumbness. F***in hell.
I think a lot of you are forgetting actions speak louder than words. If shes practicing what we all believe in then fine, don’t lose your shit bc someone doesn’t want to be labeled a feminist. I care way more about what she’s actually doing than what she calls herself. Idk maybe as a WOC who does not always feel apart of the movement and has multiple systems of oppression im facing at once and cannot place one above the other understand her rejection of the label.
I agree. I get why people feel it’s important for women to be willing to self-identify as feminists, but I’ve stopped caring so much about that in recent years. bell hooks articulated some of my feelings on the matter at a panel discussion last month:
“I wanna be clear that I am not into ‘being feminist’, the ‘I AM’ feminist’.
I am interested in the active practice of a politics that we name as feminism that is not an identity.
And I think that what has taken us in many wrong directions has been the notion of feminism as an identity…Rather than, the question is what is your politics as it relates to feminism, what is your active practice in your life that is working against patriarchy, sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression? Cause you know, we are in the ‘Name Yourself Anything’ generation, and so, what do these names mean? My therapists always tells me ‘Don’t listen to people what they say, look at what they do.’ So that to me, that field of feminist politics is the field of action, of what you do”
Can’t we have both? The work and the understanding of the term? And I’m pretty sure she understands it, but doesn’t want to use it for herself, lest someone deem her unf*ckable.
Salma and Beyoncé co-founded an organization dedicated to advancing feminist practices and ideals, yet their important contributions are completely overlooked.
Salma’s very intelligence is being called into question because of semantics. Beyoncé is widely regarded as a non-feminist because some singer disagreed with some of the content of her past performaces.
Yet here they both are walking the walk of feminism and they still get called out as being disingenuous. Both women are intelligent, multi-talented and deserving of more respect.
This is the problem within current feminism. It can’t all be one thing and plus it hasn’t always been welcoming to WOC and transgendered persons. This is why I’ve had trouble at times with identifying with the feminist movement as a WOC, and currently feel more comfortable as a Womanist although I ultimately believe in equality for all regardless of race or sex, whatever that may be called (equalist?)
I just feel that as long as women are actually dedicating themselves to advancing and elevating equality for women through specific, targeted actions, it doesn’t matter what you call it.
ok i had to read it twice and i think now i understand what she´s trying to say.
She doesn´t call herself a feminist because it has the term “feminine” in it and she also would fight for men rights… so she sees herself as neither a feminist nor a male-ist. Does this make her an equalitist? 😉
An egalitarianist?
In any event, I feel that by saying she’s not a feminist, she’s diminishing the hard work so many women have done for so many years to get to where we are today. The rewards we have now came on the backs of a ton of brave women who put themselves out there facing ridicule, insults and hatred from men. So Salma, just shut up and put your money where your mouth is.
Why is she even entertaining the hypothetical involving men being in the position women are in? It has never been so, it isn’t now and it will never be. There is no reason to give that line of thought credence at all. She’s an idiot.
So Salma Hayek is another one who doesn’t know what words mean. It’s just embarrassing at this point.
I agree. Seriously, why not look up a word in the dictionary BEFORE making a comment on it? I don’t get people. At this day in age, how could you not know what “Feminist” means ? It’s been all over the media lately as well.
I side eye anything she says after she still stayed married to that douchebag who refused to pay child support, or acknowledge his child in anyway. Seriously……I wouldn’t even give a dude half a look (no matter how fine he is) if/when I find out that he has kids and he doesn’t see them (by choice), and doesn’t pay child support.
Well, what can I say. She’s doing more for women’s rights than I am. It just surprises me so much the word has such a negative connotation nowadays. I mean, how can she not know what feminism means considering the work she’s doing?
I was a little confused with her quote, I mean isn’t feminism all about equality of the sexes?
I’ve found out that regardless of the real meaning of feminism,it’s pretty subjective – some people see it differently.
Some of my male friends see feminism as women wanting control over her man or being the ‘boss’ in the relationship. Some see it as an impossible feat and are like “until women start proposing to men and being totally independent then they’d believe in the concept”.
The problem with this fight for equality is that we women aren’t just ‘fighting’ against men but ourselves too. We are our own worst antagonists in this course.
Some women can’t live without a man ,materially,emotionally,physically or otherwise ; they are completely dependent on men. So i can totally understand why a good number of men believe feminism to be rather inconcievable.
It’s rather pathetic the little and common things some women ask of men, like airtime, lingerie, money for cosmetics and body products or a haircut. And the most annoying part of this is that many of them can afford/provide these things for themselves. So poverty or insufficiency isn’t an excuse. So what is?
As women this fight for equality starts with us. When the average woman becomes more self-aware, self-reliant and self-suffient then we’ll be taken more seriously and feminism will be on par with democracy at least.
You need smarter friends. There are plenty of men “materially, emotionally, physically” dependent on women. That’s a two way street. The whole point of fighting for equality is so women have the OPPORTUNITY to be “self aware, self reliant, and self sufficient.” You have things so backwards it hurts.
There goes my like of her. I just can’t with dumbass celebs. They have all the resources in the world to educate themselves on these issues before they open their mouths, but no. They must think that fame and fortune suddenly makes their opinions insightful. She’s not even original in repeating common lame-brain cliches against feminism. When Lena Dunham comes off as more educated than you, that’s a problem.
Clearly, she has never bothered to understand what “feminist” means or what “feminism” stands for.
It’s great that she does good works for women, but she is clueless on the topic of equality.
Arrrgghhh this is so infuriating. I feel like that gif of the cat falling down a flight of stairs saying “God. F*cking. Damnit.”
How did Gloria manage not to backhand her?
People are going to corrupt the meaning of words no matter how strongly you insist the dictionary definition should be respected. Literally. 🙂
I can see a person saying “I believe in equality” as a way of avoiding misinterpretation by others who don’t understand the word “feminism”.
To be fair, most “-isms” suggest a belief in the superiority of whatever it is, which would be contrary to the notion of equality. So one could argue that the dictionary definition of “feminism” is against what the construction of the word implies. “Nationalism” for example tends to suggest the nation comes before everything else. That’s where the common misunderstanding comes from IMHO. If I were her I’d say “feminism is an oft-misunderstood word, so I feel it’s better to say I believe in equality between women and men.”
Can someone please but these twits a dictionary?!
Congrats Salma, you are in fact a feminist.
FAIL
It just…I mean…wha??? Jesus, fix it!
oh and this gem. “When a woman say’s she isn’t a feminist, feminist can’t take no for an answer.” wondering if this will actually get posted. 🙂
Is it possible to be more middle of the road? I think she knows what feminism is. She’s a feminist. but she doesn’t want anyone to dislike her for it. She’s an activist, but she doesn’t want to disturb anyone too much. And they give her an award for it? They must have been really hard up.
I guess actors were never really known for intelligence OR chutzpah.
Does anyone else this the exhausted looks on Gloria Steinem’s face is due to her just having had this exact conversation with SH.
Easy to not be a feminist when you have a sugar daddy to take care of your every need and dream, Salma. Gets a bit more challenging after he dumps your arse for a younger piece – that may be when you begin to see the light of our struggle for the dignity and autonomy we deserve. But meanwhile, shop on his dime and pretend that’s equality.
Uh look. Your definition (this site’s definition?) of feminism has been bothering me for ages. Feminism fights for women’s rights. That’s fine, but that’s fighting for a specific inequality that encompasses women. Is feminism fighting for a black man’s rights? No, and quite frankly you don’t need to. Feminism has enough problems without taking on every single inequality that exists. But please stop calling feminism equality; doing so erases other forms of inequality that are very much present within society.
Le Sigh.
Feminism DOES mean you want equality.
Moron.
This is the same woman who has her pet tigers put down when they get too aggressive. Um, they’re tigers, brainiac. She’s dangerously stupid and an all around horrible person so she can take that award and shove it right up her dumb ass.
Haven’t we established the fact that celebrities are not always the brightest people to look up to? I think so.
Women like Hayek, whose career is based on pandering to men, never identify as feminists. Why would she? She has benefited from sexism, it’s made her very rich.
You’ve hit the nail on the head.
It would be wonderful if, when engaging in intellectual debate, people could focus on the errors in an argument rather than just writing off the arguer as ‘stupid’.
It is still possible to aim for equality without calling yourself a feminist – feminism is, at its core, a collectivist term that defines women’s rights by their femininity.
So, a feminist would say: Salma should have equal rights to men because she is a woman, and women are equal to men.
On the other had, an individualist would say: Salma should have equal rights to other people because she is a person.
The reason may people have trouble self-identifying as feminists is because the term is still exclusionary and defines and people in terms of the group they belong to.
True equality needs to focus on defining people as individuals, where their gender is an salient but invalid aspect of their identify (like race, or hair colour).
Of course, I’m not at all suggesting Salma’s though about it in this way, she could very well be stupid, but that’s incidental to the cases for and against feminism.
I have no problem with people being egalitarians. I’m not sure Salma’s an egalitarian, but I see nothing wrong with women not calling themselves feminists but rather something that could be considered as “egalitarian”. Being a lily-white straight chick in my native Eastern European country puts me firmly into a majority. I’ve nothing to fight for that is wholly gender-specific, most of our problems can be solved by asserting yourself as an autonomous, independent person instead of using your coochie as a cruch. I am not qualified to speak for feminists of underprivileged groups, the best I can do for them is to step out of their way and support them from sidelines. The natural evolution of my feminism is egalitarianism. It’s an idiotic notion that men always have it better. And me, being a person, I don’t prioritise certain issues in my own fights. I fight for those who currently need justice. Sometimes I’m fighting several fights at a time.
Sadly the word ‘feminism’ brings into mind white girls with iPads and neon hair, genuinely saying things like “you can’t use ableist language unless you’re talking to white men”. Don’t deny that there isn’t a very vocal minority among feminists that ruin the movement for all, and don’t use the “no true Scotsman” on me, either. I can’t get stuff done when I’m being dismissed because “true feminists” can’t bring themselves to oust the lunatics who use this noble movement to be prime arseholes and get away with it because “discriminaaatioooon”.
That said, Salma was my first girl crush, but she’s as dumb as a toolbox.
I’m a little bit frustrated today.
Well, English is not her first language. She barely knew it at all when she moved here. I would think that considering the nature of the event, someone would have briefed her…or she’d have taken the initiative to figure out what was going on…but I don’t know.
I mean, obviously she is one.