Dear Time Magazine...feminism is my favorite word

If you haven’t heard, Time Magazine released the “Which Word Should be Banned in 2015?” poll.

The list includes a series of words that – even as a millennial -  make me wanna groan, slam my head on a table and simply shake my head at humanity for making them so ingrained in social media (the word  “bae” comes to mind, which is on the list) that they're impossible to escape. 

Bae, basic, literally and obvi are a few that make the short list that seem to be popular in the vernacular of my generation. I hate every single one of them (with the exception of literally which I’m guilt of using literally all the time), but every word has its day, so I’ll continue to roll my eyes into the back of my head when I see or hear them until we’ve moved on to the next catchphrase.

I was pleased to see bossy also on the list, not because it’s annoyingly everywhere like bae, but because the word has a negative connotation used only in association with women in power or in charge. To read more about this, visit this link, which explains the movement to ban bossy.

I was incredibly disheartened, however, by Time’s inclusion of my favorite word –

Feminist.

Time's explanation (which accompanies every word on the list) reads:  “You have nothing against feminism itself, but when did it become a thing that every celebrity had to state their position on whether this word applies to them, like some politician declaring a party? Let’s stick to the issues and quit throwing this label around like ticker tape at a Susan B. Anthony parade.”

Now hold on just a second here, Time.

First off, you should’ve ended with “You have nothing against feminism itself.” There are few things that frustrate me more than “recognizing” a problem and following it up with an exception, which appears to be an all-too prevalent response when discussing women’s issues. I give you #YesAllWomen, which was soon followed up by #NotAllMen. You are not directly addressing a problem or being helpful in reaching a solution by making the issue about you.

It’s also continued to be an uphill battle to reclaim our word, the one you’ve singlehandedly diminished as a “label.” People everywhere are still afraid of this word, still fear to claim it, even when they otherwise embrace everything that it stands for. They’re still confused about its definition, that it’s some twisted form of bra-burning misandry, when it simply boils down to gender equality.

You’ve taken away a word that evokes power, that’s given us strength even in the face of men like Rush Limbaugh, who have torn our word apart and shoved the pieces together with another word that represents a people responsible for the deaths of over six million. We continue to struggle to reclaim feminist after Limbaugh has presented the world with feminazi.

If you’re sick of celebrities being asked about their position on feminism, your issue is not with the word, but with print media itself. Rarely a day passes where a female celebrity isn’t questioned about being a feminist, in the hopes that she’s caught off guard so the media can latch on and spin it so she falls prey to the hounds of the internet, no matter what her stance is on the issue itself.

Never mind the fact that a man is never asked this question in an interview.

(And if you provide me with an exception to this, I will direct you to my first point.)

“Let’s stick to the issues,” you say. But by taking away our word – FEMINIST – you make yourself a very large part of the issue.

But hey, I have nothing against Time Magazine itself, but....