Well, yes, but…
Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, practiced no cruelties.
Its battles have been for education, for the vote, for better working conditions, for safety on the streets, for child care, for social welfare, for rape crisis centers, women’s refuges, reforms in the law.
If someone says, “Oh, I’m not a feminist,” I ask, “Why, what’s your problem?”
Dale Spender
Yes, but.
That’s not an exhaustive list. It’s a list of practical tangible things, but it omits the more fuzzy things. Feminism’s battles have also been for no or better stereotypes, a better culture, fewer belittling jokes, fewer sexist epithets, less harassment, less casual telling women what to do (“Smile!”), less interrupting, more representation…Fewer hurdles, fewer asymmetrical expectations (he is aggressive, she is a bitch), more sharing of domestic work from dish-washing to child care, more representation, more representation, more representation.
That’s the answer to the question, too. “What’s your problem?” Their problem is that that stuff is about every day life, and it’s all the time, and it gets in everywhere. It’s not some quick discreet crisp fix, that once it’s done it’s done; it’s changes in the self and attitudes and behavior and conversation.
On the other hand, the rewards are large.