You don't have to identify as anything

As a teenager, I was very hesitant to identify myself as a feminist. My reasons were perhaps partially out of social pressure, and partially because I didn’t actually really know anything about it.

These days, I once again feel unsure when trying to ally myself with feminism. This time around, however, my reservations surface from a much different place.

As I’ve learned how feminism is defined in mainstream spaces, I’ve read a lot of feminist writing I just can’t get behind.

I’ve seen how popular feminism actually has a tendency to alienate people, even leaving large groups of people completely out of the equation.

I’ve had similar falling-outs with my political beliefs, never really feeling proud of the way I ally myself, but rather wishing there were a way for me to stay out of the discussion entirely. I sometimes even have trouble telling people what my major is without also saying, “but I’m not really interested in only pursuing art,” and including an addendum of everything else that interests me.

It seems like everyone around me is making bold choices with their identities. Especially with such powerful online presences, within a few moments of scrolling through someone’s Facebook or Twitter, you suddenly have all of these adjectives to apply to them.

Often I find myself lost in the taxonomy, never feeling like I am given enough to truly understand how people define their politics, religion and sexuality and what it means about them as a person.

President Barack Obama recently announced his plan to introduce new gun control policy, saying “if there is even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try.” I watched my Twitter and Facebook feeds flood with praise for the president. I wanted to feel excited for what I felt could have been a step in the right direction, but I couldn’t help but immediately think of the ongoing drone violence he supports, which kills civilians, children included, and prolongs a difficult, meaningless war.

I could never feel comfortable completely endorsing a president who supports this kind of legislation, but in a world where we’re forced to shorten our beliefs into small, digestible pieces, I often do.

Maybe this makes me seems wishy-washy, or indecisive, but really I just don’t want to say things I don’t mean. I like to think outside of absolutes. I want to be part of social change, political debates and movements I care about, but I don’t want to compromise my beliefs in order to be a part of change.

So, if you ever feel like you are struggling in any way to identify yourself in a world that doesn’t leave you with a lot of options, remember Oprah and Stedman have been together for almost 30 years, and they have a “spiritual union.” Thank you, Oprah.

­— alliston@indiana.edu