In Defence of Shailene Woodley

I saw The Fault in Our Stars on Thursday. It was so amazing and funny I was almost worried I was not going to cry even though all my friends had started. Then the movie reached the scene, which while I was reading the book I had to pause and sob for 15 minutes, and I proceeded to openly weep for the rest of the movie.

Needless to say I loved the movie. I loved the support group scenes. I loved Hazel's parents. I loved all the little details like Catching Fire sitting on Hazel's bookshelf. I want to love everything about this movie.

Recent interviews with Shailene Woodley, however, have made that difficult. In an interview with Time.com, Woodley stated that she is not a feminist because she loves men and believes there needs to be a balance between the genders. She later claimed she was misquoted but stood by the opinion. This caused a huge backlash in social media, especially as other female celebrities keep denying feminism for the same reasons. I was as initially defensive as every other feminist on the internet, but I have begun to look at this in a more macro sense.

Woodley clearly has the wrong definition of feminism. Feminism is not about bringing men down. Feminism is about building women up, whether it be through strong female characters in books and movies, a societal shift towards the prevention of violence against women, or laws that ensure equally pay for women. Woodley has given no evidence to suggest that she would be against this definition of feminism. Her misconception is merrily a small part of a larger problem.

The idea that feminists are "man-haters" has been a scare tactic of those against women's rights since before women could vote. Along with that are the stereotypes that feminists are careless abortionists, fifty year old virgins, and, WORST OF ALL, lesbians. This idea has been perpetuated, whether subtly or blatantly, by politicians, parents, and movie producers for centuries.

Movements such as #YesAllWomen have attempted to rebrand feminism as the not-so-radical idea that women should be treated equal to men. But these ideas, while not at all new, are facing an entire history of demonization. Celebrities, despite being the center of mainstream culture, are actually relatively isolated from changes in society. Many celebrities will say that they avoid social media, particularly any content about themselves. So is it any wonder that Woodley and others would have the wrong idea about feminism after being spoon-fed sexist messages for so long? Even I, after spending a half-hour in the social justice tags on Tumblr, am amazed by how discriminatory our society still is.

Yes, Shailene Woodley is wrong, but her comments are a symptom of a sociItal illness rather than the cause. It is up to us feminists to keep spreading the word on what feminism truely calls for. With persistance, people might begin to see that the F word is not as scary as it has been made out to be. Hopefully then we will start seeing a lot more feminist celebrities.