I am a Feminist

With the political conventions going on and John McCain picking Sarah Palin to be his running mate today, I've done a lot of reading of peoples comments on the Internet, and I've realized a few things.

For starters, people don't read anymore, they just jump to conclusions. Now I'm no great McCain supporter, but I'm frustrated by a few comments, such as:

McCain only picked that so he could get the Hilary vote (I don't believe this) and its insulting to women. (Huh? He picks a woman as his VP running mate and that insults me? I don't get it.)

This is the same ole Bush/Cheney politics. (After seeing Palin's record, I doubt this comment. People that say this just see her connected w/ oil and not what she was doing, which was kicking some butt and taking some names from what I can tell.)

And finally this one from Clinton supporters: Why doesn't she stay home and watch her kids, how dare she go back to work 3 days after she gave birth to her last child.

So I'm not claiming that Palin is the perfect choice or anything, but that last comment really stews me. Here is an outgoing woman, who had decided to be a career lady, but a republican career lady (loves hunting, fishing, is pro-life, etc.) and the feminists of today are attacking her. Then I came along a guy that wrote something that went along the lines of this (sorry I'm not direct quoting him, but I don't feel like going through the pages of stuff where I found the original quote.)

The original feminist goal was not to be defined by their husbands. They didn't want to be Mrs. John Doe, they wanted to be known as Mrs. Jane Doe, and to be recognized for their accomplishments. Women didn't want to be told what to do, they wanted to choose for themselves, be it a career or to stay at home. Somewhere along the line, being a feminist changed into being a liberal Democrat and a woman. Feminism turned into this idea that we have to prove that women are better than men.

This person, really gave me something to think about, and I realized, that yes, I am a feminist. I'm my own person. I'm Marin. This doesn't stop me from loving my husband or counseling with him. We're a team, but I also make my own choices. I am a stay-at-home-mom because I want to be a stay-at-home-mom. My husband didn't command me to be one, or force me into it, I choose it, and I like it. Society will try to tell me that I'm being put down because I'm "forced" to "give up a career" to raise my children. Society would try to tell me that I'm not a feminist, but Society is wrong.

Awhile ago I wrote a post about defining myself. I have many titles. I'm Doug's wife and proud of it. I'm Sariah's Mommy and proud of it. But guess what Society, I'm way more than that, I'm Marin, the stay-at-home-mom and proud of it. I'm Marin, lover of crafty things, and music, and theatre. I'm Marin, I love to read and learn about new things. I'm Marin, the Return Missionary, who lived in Germany and learned the language and loved the people. I'm proud of all these things and everything I do. I'm also proud of my marriage and my family. I'd say I'm the original definition of a Feminist and I'm proud of it.