I don’t call myself a feminist. One reason for this is that people have many different ideas about what feminism is and there is just too much stuffed under the “feminist” label for it to have any real distinct meaning. Another reason is that feminism has become politicized and I would prefer to stay away from politics and political agendas. The point is, I’m feminist by nature -- I don’t need a label to be myself.
It is commonly believed that labels bring people together who are similar, like people who love the "Harry Potter" series, people who love yoga and making pottery, or people who like Linkin Park and wear dark clothing -- you know, those distinct groups of people. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all. I understand that people are most likely to spend time with people they are similar to or share similar interests with, and that is completely fine and understandable. However, labels are bad in that they create walls and exclusivity and limit personality expansion and evolution. We don’t want to divide ourselves, build walls between our neighbors (*cough* *cough* Donald Trump *cough* *cough*) and become alienated from our social nature to create community and connections!
I get that anyone can hang out with anybody they so choose. They don’t all need to have the same thing in common, so then why do we need the labels? What’s the point? Names hold a lot of power and in the socio-cultural context, it can be detrimental to individuality in a highly socialized society. We are too complex and unique (I didn’t say snowflake!) to have labels that simplify everything that makes us diverse and beautiful.
If you believe in equality for all and equal pay in the workforce, don’t call yourself a feminist, call yourself a decent human being, because that’s what you are. Labels may have a purpose, but the overall power they have today is unnecessary and it’s time we drop them.