Read Online Poles Apart by Terry Fallis - Free Book Online

since.”
    “And you were ‘the funny one,’ ” I said.
    “That’s what they called me. I always believed humour could be a trenchant instrument of change, even social change, if wielded carefully. But most of the activists around me thought it would trivialize what was a very serious issue.”
    “Right. Hence the rift,” I said.
    “Hence the rift,” she agreed. “I think when you take aim at an injustice armed not just with rage, but with humour, you stand a better shot at winning. And I have always loved to laugh, especially at whatever I’m fighting. It shows the movement has confidence. When you laugh at patriarchy, you weaken it. You take away some of its power.”
    “So what do you think of the movement today?” I asked.
    “It was certainly much simpler back in the seventies. You were either a feminist or you weren’t. It was a binary decision. There were no hyphenated-feminists,” she said.
    She paused in thought for a moment before continuing.
    “You know, one of the benefits of a movement that has grown so much and gained at least some ground in the last forty years is that it’s now mature enough to support divergent views. We can sustain differing opinions within the feminist tribe without threatening the whole. So we now have hardcore feminists disagreeing on pornography, and affirmative action, equal pay laws, and any number of other related issues. Having so much internal debate and even dissent is fresh and invigorating and vital. But it can also be challenging.”
    “And a little confusing,” I added. “How do you now define the term ‘feminist’?”
    “The same as I always have. To me, a feminist is anyone who believes that women should have equal rights and equal opportunity in society. It’s as simple and clear as that.”
    “Exactly! I feel the same way,” I replied. “Then what’s with the recent backlash against the term? There’s even a #notafeminist Twitter hashtag going around, often promoted by young women. It’s crazy.”
    “I’ve read about that and it’s very dismaying. Perhaps they don’t realize they’re reaping today what we sowed on their behalf thirty and forty years ago. I think they’ll come around. Perspective often comes with time. But it is troubling.”
    “But on the bright side, we have made some progress. Look at all the laws that have changed,” I said.
    “Agreed. But changing laws is the easy part. The real goal must be to change minds and change attitudes. New legislation helps, but we need people, men and women, to think and act differently before we can truly claim victory.”
    “Amen to that.”
    We went on like this for quite a while, though I can’t tell you how long. I found it fascinating. I found her fascinating. It was amazing to talk with her. She was a time machine. She took me back to my student movement days, eighteen years behind me. She took me back to how it felt to be part of something larger than yourself. I liked being back.
    She folded the fringed cloth and lifted the lid of the trunk between us.
    “Having met so few men feminists as informed and dedicated as you, I don’t think I’ve ever shown this to another man,” she said.
    She pulled out a slim and very old book, bound in faded red cloth, and handed it to me. I cradled it in my hands as if I were holding a baby bird and looked at her.
    “It’s okay, you can open it, gently,” she said. “It’s survived nearly 150 years, and it’s meant to be read. In fact, the world would be a much better place if more people read this short volume.”
    I opened the pages gingerly and made my way to the age-stained title page where I read:
The Subjection of Women
by John Stuart Mill, 1869.
    “Is this a first edition?” I asked.
    “It surely is.”
    “I’ve never heard of this book. I’ve read Mill’s
On Liberty
, but I’ve never come across this.”
    “Who hasn’t read
On Liberty
? We’ve all read
On Liberty
. It overshadows the rest of his writing. It’s