Tiny Feminists of the World: Unite!

Feminism isn't just for grown-ups anymore.

I was exactly like this as a child, although not so much into sports, as I wasn't naturally athletic and I tended to dislike things that involved the possibility that I could lose at something.

And is anyone else curious about the fact that the video is sponsored by Barbie? I mean, when I was younger, Barbie seemed like the ultimate symbol of anti-feminism, but now, when put beside more modern dolls like Bratz, Barbie seems positively empowered. I mean, yes, she's anatomically impossible and wears only high heels, but hey, at least she had a few careers— there was Doctor Barbie, there was Teacher Barbie, I even think there was a Barbie with a business suit of some kind. Those Bratz dolls are not only offensively snotty-looking, they're also pretty shallow, eh? All they do is go to the mall and fish for boyfriends and talk on little tiny plastic cell phones.

Anyways, I digress. What I enjoyed about this video the most is that the featured girl really DOES know what feminism means. Adults have twisted and perverted the word to mean something mean-spirited, but this girl seems to have done her homework and found that feminism simply means "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes...organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests." (Thanks, Merriam-Webster! And while we're talking about M-W, did you know that they have declared "bailout" to be the 2008 Word of the Year?)

Ruby doesn't see feminists as man-haters or as paranoid name-callers. Ruby sees feminists as having diverse and expansive roles. When listing her top careers, she lists "writer" and "doctor" right beside "pop star" and "mommy". She knows that feminism is the reason she— and I— can dare to dream endlessly about what we'll be when we grow up, even though fifty years ago girls were permitted only a handful of such dreams.

It's refreshing to see that each successive generation is a little more open, a little bit more accepting, than the one before it.