Call yourself a feminist?

Actually, yes I do.

But there is more to me than that. The point is I am a feminist, but I am also all sorts of other things.

Some people might say "You can't call yourself a feminist, you make jokes at their expense!" Which is true - if you work with me, I will probably make jokes and comments to you and about you. I may even use your gender as part of that. Whether you are male or female. I will joke with you, not behind your back.

You see, I don't treat women as someone special. You will get treated exactly as anyone else. That is, I believe, the core aspect of feminism - it is not about treating women better as special, it is about treating them as people, irrespective of their gender.

Others might also say "You can't be a feminist, you are male." This is also true, and I am not ashamed of my gender, or of what it means. Let me be clear, I would prefer to look at pretty women, I find them attractive. That is reasonable and natural.

The point is that I don't judge women - or anyone - based on their looks. It is one aspect of a person - some are attractive, others aren't, some are intelligent, others aren't. I try to interact with people based on all sorts of factors, that combine to be a question of how much I respect them.

Feminism is - I believe - about treating women as people. I try to treat people with respect, although I would accept that do not tolerate fools. If you have a problem with the way I treat people, that is one thing. But the important thing is that I treat women as people. I do not "pretend" that they are men, or that they are not actually different.

Women are different. But they are still people. Anything else is mistaken.