Does The Word Feminist Have A Place In Our Generation?

In a recent interview with Redbook magazine, actress Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting sent watercooler conversations bubbling by saying she doesn’t consider herself a feminist. 

“Is it bad if I say no? It’s not really something I think about. Things are different now, and I know a lot of the work that paved the way for women happened before I was around … I was never that feminist girl demanding equality, but maybe that’s because I’ve never really faced inequality,” Cuoco-Sweeting said.

The Big Bang Theory actress goes on to say that she cooks for her hubby five days, even though it sounds old-fashioned, and says that she likes the idea of women taking care of their men.

Here’s the bigger question: do many of today’s women consider themselves feminists? Has the term been overused? Misused? Outdated? 

Legendary musician Annie Lennox called entertainer Beyonce “feminist lite” in an interview with PrideSource.com’s with Chris Azzopardi. “I see a lot of it as them taking the word hostage and using it to promote themselves, but I don’t think they necessarily represent wholeheartedly the depths of feminism – no, I don’t. I think for many it’s very convenient and it looks great and it looks radical, but I have some issues with it.”

Let’s get back to the root of the word: feminism. It is defined as the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. Scores of women, by definition, are contributing to women’s rights. From grassroots movements to larger scale organizations such as the Global Fund For Women, women are still working on behalf of their sisters. At Lioness we’ve profiled social entrepreneurs like Jessica Rector who have dedicated their life to making the world a better place for girls. The issue doesn’t seem to be the work, it’s what to call the worker.

We’ve spoken with a handful of female entrepreneurs throughout 2014 who say they don’t like to call themselves feminists – not because they don’t believe in fighting for improvement on women’s issues, but because of the negative and angry woman image that is often associated with the word.

Do you consider yourself a feminist? Is it time for a new word? Does the word feminist have a place in our generation? We want to hear what other professional woman think. What do you call yourself?