Chick Wit: Feminist alert: Don't be afraid

As Halloween approaches, scares pop up everywhere: haunted houses, spooky decorations, horror movies.

The scariest word?

Feminist.

Boo!

Are you terrified? Was Meryl Streep? When asked in a recent interview whether she considered herself a feminist, Streep answered: "I'm a humanist."

My head spun like Linda Blair's in The Exorcist.

I barely flinch at the nervous equivocating or outright rejection of feminism coming from young starlets. I chalk that up to the ignorance of youth or the real fear of alienating the powerful men who remain the gatekeepers in Hollywood.

But my beloved Meryl? Sixty-six years old, 19 Oscar nominations and three wins deep, and she's afraid of feminist?

To use horror-movie jargon, I thought Meryl was our Final Girl. The one who escaped the career-axing patriarchy and survived to tell the tale.

If we lose her, there's no hope for a sequel.

I understand Meryl was trying to say she believes in the equality of all humans (which, for what it's worth, isn't what "humanist" means), but our society does not currently offer equality between the sexes, so if you're for equality between men and women, then you are a . . .

Feminist.

I'm going to keep saying it until we all get comfortable with the word. Exposure therapy is the best way to treat phobias.

And I'm not suggesting Meryl is a sexist; she's not. Later in the Q&A, she articulated several pointed examples of the way Hollywood needs to change to achieve equality for women.

Yet she wouldn't say the word.

I also get that she's trying to sell a movie, and it's imperative that she avoid scaring off ticket buyers. But the irony here is the film is Suffragette.

Somewhere, Susan B. Anthony's zombie hand just shot up from her grave.

Does it matter if someone accepts the word feminist if her actions and opinions support the cause?

Yes.

Words matter.

Imagine you are a child, and you watch adult women shudder and sidestep the word, or you see men roll their eyes at it, what do you learn?

Feminists are bad. Feminists are annoying. Feminists are unwanted. Feminists are scary.

Perpetuating the fear around the word feminist perpetuates sexism.

We fear what we don't understand, so let's review an accurate definition of the word:

A feminist believes men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.

It doesn't mean a person who hates men (that's a misandrist), nor does it mean you think men and women are exactly the same in all ways. It definitely doesn't mean any of the boogey-women that misogynists like to whisper about across a campfire:

"I held the door for one of those feminazis, and she cried, 'Rape!' "

"I asked a feminist out on a date, and when she said 'No, thanks,' I saw that she has never shaved."

These are urban legends for idiots.

And yet the more subtle myths have seeped into the mainstream. For example, women, do you fear that if you call yourself a feminist, boys won't like you anymore?

The ones who won't weren't the ones you'd want anyway.

Men, do you fear that if she calls herself a feminist, she won't need you anymore?

Equal pay will buy sheets with a higher thread count, but it doesn't keep us warm at night.

If you're afraid of a feminist, you've been duped by those who wish to maintain the sexist status quo. The bad juju surrounding the word is all just spooky violin music and jump cuts that the patriarchy adds in post-production.

Look there at that female CEO. She's not a "dragon lady"; you can see the boom mic in the corner of the frame.

That girl with "resting bitch face?" She's not being nasty, she's just not flirting with the male character beside her.

A feminist might be your hardworking mother or your well-brought-up son. We're reasonable people supporting a more-than-reasonable cause, with nary a ski mask in sight.

So I dare you to go into the bathroom at midnight and say, "Bloody Mary" three times, and then look in the mirror - a feminist will appear!

You.

Look for Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella's latest collection, "Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat?" Also, look for Lisa Scottoline's newest novel, "Every Fifteen Minutes," which is in stores now, and her new Rosato and DiNunzio novel, "Corrupted," coming Oct. 27.

Francesca@francescaserritella.com.

StartText

"Corrupted"

Read the first of three excerpts from Lisa Scottoline's "Corrupted,"

in Live Life Love.

EndText