Feministing.com Response

Many points were brought up the night 3 editors/contributors from Feministing.com came to visit. The one that struck a cord with me most was that there is no right answer. There is no rigid agenda or set of values for feminists. For a woman of color, their MO could be getting racial equality and gender equality. For an LGBTQ woman, it's gay rights and women's rights.

This can be a blessing as well as a curse.

For members of the movement that need security in their cause (that like to know just what they're fighting for) this can cause a sense of lack of community and maybe even squabbles. They need then to embrace the uncertainty and flexibility of feminism (or should I say, feminisms). This can cause another problem too.
For people who want to join the cause they might think "Oh it's only about gay rights? I'm more of an economic-rights focused girl." Or if one asked about it, how would a member respond?

It was said at the panel that feminism is wanting equality for everyone that is oppressed. It's working together with any group neccessary to achieve global equality (the disabled community, communities of color, female communities all over the world, etc).

So in conclusion what is feminism's main goal? It's whatever you believe in. Much like what Mariam said about gender. Don't be a boy or girl if you don't feel like either of those fit you. Be a femme, be a butch, be a tomboy, be an androgene, be everything. This ties into their theory that feminism encompasses many spectrums and where you fall in that set of spectrums is the "right" feminism for you.

As a member of a society that loves categories and labels, I was worried to find myself able to free-fall amongst the labels. Queer, female, feminist. What do each of those mean, I'd ask. Well now it's a bit easier because ever since Feministing I ask, "What do each of those mean TO ME?"