Cultivating

feminism

Feminism by Jenny B.

Feminism. By definition, Feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights based on the equality of the sexes''. A movement that “comes about defining and defending gender equity, including equal rights for women and girls.”

Growing up in rural Nebraska, feminism was not something you aspired to be, or at least I never thought it was. I grew up believing Feminism (feminists) was extreme. I grew up believing women already had equal rights. I grew up believing women were valued. And honestly, that is what I thought MOST of my life.

Now, I grew up in a VERY small town in rural Nebraska, with an entire population of less than 400. I grew up on a small farm. Most of my friends and those who shaped the way I grew up were farmers or ranchers. We knew everyone in our town, sometimes you knew more than you wanted. And you truly valued and cherished those from your town. There were no strangers in the small town. You stood up and stood by those who lived in your town, there was a pride in belonging to one another. So that set the tone that led me to believe feminism wasn’t necessary.

You see on a farm or ranch, female siblings were expected to do as much as male siblings in a family. Farm or ranch work doesn't see gender. Crops have needs, livestock have needs and whoever was able, tended to those. Age might have been my only way out of work growing up as the youngest of three. I think I got out of a lot by just being the youngest.

I also grew up seeing women in leadership roles. I saw women-run businesses. My mom and other women in my life ran households, worked alongside their spouses, and sometimes had jobs on top of all that too. I saw women running and serving in local public offices. Nebraska even had a female governor when I was in elementary school. There were, while rare, women who ran entire ranch and farming operations.

So feminism was a foreign need. If expectations were the same for boys and girls growing up. Opportunities were the same, right? And I saw all around me strong independent women leading communities, schools, and operations, why would there be a need for feminism? Why in rural Nebraska, why at all?

Even as I started work at a local dual sexual and domestic violence program, the joke was we were “bra-burning feminists.” But as our movement started digging into the roots of the work, the roots of oppression, I soon realized I was and always have been a feminist! I started learning more about my newly claimed identity, I expanded my view to outside my world -- the area in which I had grown and raised my family. I soon realized the work (the feminist movement) was nowhere near complete. There was so much work to be done in the sense of equality for all, equity, inclusion, and racial justice. This revelation was soon followed by a wave of embarrassment, maybe a little shame, it felt insurmountable by the heaviness of the work to be done. But I wanted to fight and join the movement. I wanted to ensure every girl, every last girl, felt as empowered as I did by the women in my life. I wanted every girl to see, know, and feel their value.

But what would my parents think? My spouse? My friends? How would I dare explain my sudden revelation of feminism? How would everyone make sense of it all? More importantly, why did I care so much for girls I didn’t even know?

I recently read an article by the History Channel that talked about waves of feminism. The first wave was for women to be able to lawfully own property and vote. This movement lasted hundreds of years and dates back to Ancient Greece and Rome. Then we had Women’s Liberation in the 60s and 70s. And honestly, once we moved passed those two waves (property-owning, voting, and the women’s liberation movement) many of us thought we arrived. I did. So, I believe many, including myself, felt that anything beyond that was viewed as “extreme”.

Now for those of you still believing feminism is the extreme, hear me out. For those of you who are feminists to the core, hear me out (cause I am relatively new to all this). Feminism is not extreme. Feminism is necessary and work needs to be done at all levels (all waves). Finally, feminism isn’t that far from rural or midwestern values.

Feminism is not that extreme of an idea. It took several centuries for women to own property. It took more than 100 additional years before women gained the right to vote in the United States. And that right only happened only 100 years ago! The mere thought women should even vote for what was happening in their communities, took a century of convincing and only happened four generations ago. So when my dad’s grandfather came from Germany to settle in the United States, my great-great-grandmother (his wife) couldn’t vote. That is mind-blowing for me! Going to a new country, not speaking the language, and not having a say in anything that happened at a societal level. And maybe that is what sparked the strive to create equality on the farm, in the small town?

Now feminism is much deeper than owning property, voting, and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Feminism is not just female. Feminism is a non-binary concept that all are important, valued, seen, heard, and deserving of rights. And not just fundamental rights either! The rights and opportunity to seek and obtain healthcare, wealth, education, love, and respect. For each individual to live their truth and not be denied to live the life they want. Where equity is more important than equality. Everyone gets exactly what they need to optimize their potential. What is so extreme about wanting the best for everyone? What is so radical about a community of love and support? Feminism is about building the most robust communities, nations, and world by ensuring all are seated at the table, heard, and valued.

Now, beyond what I thought I originally defined as feminism, there is much work to be done and we mustn't lose sight of the importance of necessity of the work. I think for many in the area where I grew up we didn’t see passed those two waves, or see the necessity of continuing the work. The community I grew up in had very little diversity. So for most of us, those early waves of feminism seemed to break down the biggest barriers. But those first two waves primarily only worked for middle- to upper-class white women. And while many may not see it necessary to continue in feminism that promotes the inclusion of women of color, LGBTQIIA+, immigrants, and religious minorities. Or the wave (i.e. #MeToo) finally demanding social change. We need to continue or even join this work, because much like in the small town I grew up in, Feminism is much deeper than male and female. The binary concept that there are two equals, leaves out individuals who are gloriously created in the middle, or non-binary. Feminism is about the inclusion of all. Feminism is a deeper understanding of individual needs and desires. It's the concept of belonging to one another.

Feminism is necessary. It is necessary for the prosperity of the world. Not only because if everyone is included and valued, everyone will prosper. It comes down to the basic biological fact that those born with the capability to bear children can grow in life and can tend to those most vulnerable. And those within the feminist movement, which includes SO many individuals who can’t or don’t necessarily want to bear children, are key to ensuring all are included in the conversations about the future. True leadership and momentum of “a better tomorrow” need to come from the idea of “there is enough”. There is enough for everyone to flourish and thrive. No one needs rescued or “handouts” if all are valued enough to be given chances of equity and inclusion. Some may need more support than others, but only at first. If every individual is given what they need, to be safe and secure with who they are and where they are, they will have the opportunity to live the fullest of their potential. Imagine what would happen if individuals didn’t worry about if they would be able to eat if they could make rent, if they could access all their healthcare needs. An automatic natural response is seeking psychological safety in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, From there individuals will have the capacity to arrive at their true point of ‘change for the better’ - self-actualization and growth. We need to have pride in belonging to one another, just like what I knew growing up. A value for those closest to you.

Now, this is where I may lose some folks. Feminism isn’t that far removed from Midwestern values. I may even say....it may be at the core.

Most of the male influences in my life value women. Two hands and a strong young back saw no gender when it came to work. You helped those who couldn’t do the physical aspects of farm and ranch work. I saw women stepping in and leading. I saw women all around me leading with strength, intensity, and love. I saw many women who fit no mold when it came to gender norms, appearance, or beauty standards. I saw them holding strong to who they were and they knew their worth to their community and their operation. And those around them valued them for being a part of something, a part of their community. And I still see these individuals.

Midwestern values are taking care of one another. I couldn’t count the number of individuals I have seen stumble because of illness, death, or financial struggles. And each time I have seen a community rally around those individuals and their families to ensure they are okay. Midwesterners care about one another. We belong to one another. We have created a culture of support and love. It's at our core. The idea of feminism means we need open our circle a bit more and include those many have forgotten.

It means looking beyond our small towns, to seek out to learn for those in small towns in other areas of the world. To extend belonging to one another to a global concept. Because if I have been shaped and empowered by the women in my life, and the men who follow the lead of those women, wouldn’t another girl benefit from that? Wouldn’t an individual who was left on the outskirts of society’s protection benefit from that? Could our midwestern feminism shape and change the world?

Much like a farmer prepares the ground for the bounty of harvest even before the seed is planted. Our Midwest values (loving one another, hard work, dedication, stewards of the land) are prepared to receive us planting inclusion, equity, and abundance. Through that, we can all cultivate feminism and thus change the world.

Much like a farmer prepares the ground for the bounty of harvest even before the seed is planted. Our Midwest values (loving one another, hard work, dedication, stewards of the land) are prepared to receive us planting inclusion, equity, and abundance. Through that, we can all cultivate feminism and thus change the world.