Philobiblon

The story goes that tight-fitting T-shirts with the slogan “This is what a feminist looks like” are highly popular on US campuses. Great, I say.

Unfortunately some are complaining:

“I think these T-shirts feed into anti-feminist rhetoric that says that women who stand up for their rights are somehow unattractive, not sexy, humorless and not getting any,” [Pamela] Paul told Women’s eNews. “It may look like a proactive gesture, but what else should a feminist look like? Why shouldn’t a strong woman look good? It’s giving legitimacy to the criticism that is so ludicrous that it doesn’t merit acknowledgement. I think it’s kind of a sad way to represent power.”

Pluh-leese! Someone is supporting feminism, publicly saying: “I am a feminist”. There couldn’t be a better message. And the shape of the T-shirt they put that message on, be it XXXL, or super-tight cropped, does not matter in the slightest, in fact it helps to say “feminists come in different shapes, sizes and lifestyles”, as, of course, they do. And they should support each other in making whatever choices (wardrobe or more serious) they make.