Feminism and Me

I am not a feminist. And I am certainly not part of the bra-burning bandwagon, even though several of my actions may suggest so. I believe in the traditional roles of man as provider and woman as nurturer.
Now, before some of the lady dragons here start breathing fire at me, let me elucidate, I am not anti women’s lib. I do believe that women are capable of much more than they are given credit for. And I absolutely promote a woman’s right to dignified survival and education, her freedom to dress as she pleases or walk alone in the streets after dark without fear of repercussions. Does that make me a feminist?
I prefer equality to superiority; a partnership vis-à-vis a match; a more neutral approach. Women are, in most ways equal to, though only in certain others, better than, men.
I am, however, thoroughly contemptuous of the women who take to women’s lib with a principally vengeful (not to mention predominantly hypocritical) female chauvinism, especially while loudly complaining all through the way about male chauvinism. If we are so scornful of men and their bigoted high-handedness, how do we explain Harlequin Mills and Boons selling simpering albeit hot-tempered women ordered around by despotic alpha-male stereotypes at a staggering rate of 200 million books a year, with a jaw-dropping 6 books sold per second? And I am yet to find a man with a Mills & Boon collection, even in the gay community.
With all due deference and admiration for the women who fought against Sati and the ones who are still combating female infanticide, the dowry system, rape, prostitution and other such inexcusable crimes with the quietness and fortitude of church mice, I would certainly like to point out that a certain, and extremely vocal and visible, section of new age bra-burners have altogether missed the prime objective of Women’s Lib. These women have altered the definition of feminism to suit their own selfish agendas. And it is because of this class of women that I shirk from being associated with feminism.
This is not to say that I do not whole-heartedly support the causes of female infanticide, of the dowry problems, of girl-child education, of prostitution and the skin trade, of forced matches and marital rapes and the suppression of women in villages.
So I ask again. Does that make me a feminist?
The answer is no. I do not need to be a feminist to support the causes of women; I fight for a cause because I believe a wrong has occurred and needs to be rectified, irrespective of which sex has been victimized.

PS: I began this particular post with an altogether different intention. I failed to notice when it changed tenor to turn into a rambling of my opinion on feminism. Ah but, what the hell! This is my blog after all....