I thought the following would be a good follow-up to Cayce’s blog from last week.

The word “feminist” has been tossed around my house a lot lately. My family knows that I consider myself a feminist. Recently, at dinner my older daughter told us that she also considers herself a feminist. My younger daughter contributed to the conversation by stating that she does not consider herself a feminist but feels that everyone should be treated the same. I then told her that, to me, that makes her a feminist.

Thereafter, I read a blog by a longtime friend who choose to give up her career to stay at home with her  children. In writing about her choice to stay home she wrote, “Obviously I am not a feminist given the choice I made to stay home with my children.” In my comment I wrote, “I do not believe being a feminist is about the choice you made but, rather, your right to make that choice.” An editor for a national website that wanted to publish the blog had a similar observation, she asked my friend to edit that section and categorize herself as a feminist. My friend now realizes, at age 50 that she is, in fact, a feminist.

Lately, I seem to be finding feminism everywhere I look, including Cayce’s blog. But what does the word really mean? What is your definition of feminism?