Feminism and Romance

A conversation I have with some of my students every semester:

Young female student: "I'm not a feminist or anything, but..."
Me: "Well, do you believe in equal pay for equal work?"
Young female student: "Yes."
Me: "Do you believe you should have all the same rights as a man?"
Young female student: "Ummm...yeah."
Me: "Then I'm sorry--you're a feminist."
[Here's where the student usually laughs or thinks I am just crazy. Here's also where I take the time to point out that by this definition, many of the guys in the class are also feminists. They seem uncomfortable with this. I try to tell them that they shouldn't be--girls love guys who are all about girl power.]

Anyway, maybe I should bring this study to the attention of every young female student I have who claims she isn't a "feminist," as if the only kinds of feminists out there are bra-burners, male-haters or, as one of my students put it the other day, "big hairy lesbians." (Freshman can be so poetic sometimes.) In a nutshell:

"They found that having a feminist partner was linked to healthier heterosexual relationships for women. Men with feminist partners also reported both more stable relationships and greater sexual satisfaction. According to these results, feminism does not predict poor romantic relationships, in fact quite the opposite."

Translation: feminsts have better sex and healthier relationships--and their partners are happier, too. This shouldn't surprise us: a woman with a good sense of self-worth interested in a relationship based on equality (with a partner who feels the same way) is in a great position to have a successful relationship, especially compared to women who feel inferior to or submissive towards their partners.

Hey--this might be my most "adult" post yet. So I suppose I should add a disclaimer: I'm just reporting facts, not endorsing any actions. That's just in case my family--especially my parents--ever reads this blog. No worries, Mom and Dad, my own options for testing this hypothesis has been severely limited during my grad-school/job-search/new-faculty/only-slightly-voluntary "man sabbatical" (a term I borrowed from my friend Gretchen).