New feature: Confessions of a brand new feminist
by Jess McCabe // 13 July 2009, 13:23
Once Anna Corbett would have laughed at the idea she’d call herself a feminist. Here she explains what changed her mind
My name is Anna, I’m 22 and I’m a feminist. Six months ago, if someone told me that I would write these words, and mean them, I would have laughed out loud. I believed that feminism was outdated; that it created more problems than it solved. Why? Because I, like many of the young, the ignorant and the arrogant, had decided so. With little or no knowledge, research or discussion I had quietly formed my opinions. As far as I was concerned, there was one type of feminism and one type of feminist. I believed that feminists considered women superior to men and that they looked down on all women who decided not to work and stay at home with their children. I assumed that feminists were missing the point of being a woman, using our femininity to get one over on men: flirting for a drink or a job. I even went as far as to presume that they were weak in themselves and needed the support of conviction to maintain their self belief.
Writing these words now makes me cringe, but I must be honest in order to appreciate how far I have come. I was by no means alone in holding these views. Many men and women who I spoke to agreed with me that the battle had been won, and that those still shouting were doing so in vain and out of vanity.
Founder of The F-Word, Catherine Redfern, has co-authored a new book with Kristin Aune. Find out more at the 
