5 things feminism has done for me

The "5 things feminism has done for me" meme has obviously been a major force in the progressive blogosphere over the last couple of weeks. I'm a bit late to the party and will probably be duplicating some previous comments, but here's my addition to the list.

(1) Feminism has challenged previous notions of equality, highlighting the fact that equality depends on one's ability to determine society's measuring sticks as well as how one measures up against them. (Though there's still an awful lot left to be done on both counts.)

(2) Feminism has fostered further inclusion by enabling a bevy of minority groups to better point out the barriers placed in their way. Minorities on their own may have faced an even more difficult path toward recognition - but a movement emphasizing the fact that even a majority could be subject to institutional discrimination has opened the door for other groups to raise similar issues.

(3) Feminism has changed the face of my profession. As recently as 50-60 years ago, some law schools were still awaiting their first female student; now over half of law school graduates are female. The result has been not only to double the pool of prospective lawyers, but also to result in exponential development to the law itself.

(4) Feminism has opened up the range of options for myself and my fiancee in planning our future together. Rather than facing a strong expectation of having children quickly, resulting in me supporting a family and her staying home and raising it, we're able to consider a multitude of possibilities (with or without children, with one or both of us pursuing multiple university degrees, etc.) in determining how we want to spend our lives going forward.

(5) And perhaps most importantly to me personally, feminism has enabled many of the people closest to me to be themselves and to develop their strengths. I can't say how many of the strong, intelligent females in my life would have been able to show those traits to the same degree in a society which did more to suppress those qualities - and it's thanks to feminism that the remaining barriers are ones which have been surmountable.