Isabelle O'Carroll writes...
When I was younger I remember when feminism was a dirty word, I got used to hearing schoolboys make fun of feminists and lesbians using stereotypes that have now become so outdated they're laughable. Time magazine declared feminism dead in 1998, and marking yourself as a feminist then would have been worse than having the plague! Lesbians always seemed to get the raw deal as far as gay PR was concerned, homosexual men were glamorous and shiny, whilst the lesbians were still seen as the dungaree and Doc Marten clad stereotypes.
When I visited JD from Le Tigre's opening for her Lesbian Utopia exhibition in 2005 I realised lesbians had become cool. From belipsticked temptresses to boyish ladies with asymmetrical haircuts there seemed to be no more boundaries and being a lesbian looked like it was a lot more fun that the narrow camp aesthetic that defines the gay mainstream. Women like Peaches, Beth Ditto and BUST editrix Debbie Stoller have given feminism a trendy aesthetic, thanks to them and many others feminism can mean anything from enjoying crafts to being in a band to activism. Many of my female friends born in the '80s, have never faced immediate sexism and as an indirect consequence we have much higher aspirations than most of my male peers. Feminism has almost become an invisible network for women who need solidarity and support, whether they are caring for others or climbing the career ladder. I'm not talking about a sexier version of the Freemasons here, it's just that the amount of interesting and inspirational women in the media is looking very healthy and as far as feminism is concerned it's quite a loyal group.
