Who's afraid of the "F-word?"

I'm not sure if they still do, but back in the day, Bust magazine  asked their cover model each month if she considered herself a feminist. Not so surprisingly, the answer was usually no. I remember being particularly disappointed that smart, creative women like Bjork and P.J. Harvey eschew the feminist label.
Not that being an artist and a woman means aligning yourself with any particular movement. In my personal experience, most people who call themselves "artists" consider themselves individuals before anything else. And I certainly don't have a problem criticizing feminism as being less than inclusive to women who aren't straight, white, and middle class . But I'm pretty sure that's not what this is about.

Last year, in an interview with the L.A. Times , Lady GaGa called herself "a little bit feminist." (Which, I guess, is like being a little bit pregnant?)

Gaga's casual use of the term 'feminist' was interesting; like many female pop stars, she's rejected the term in the past. But she's evolving. She is growing 'more compassionate,' she says, and focusing more on ideas of community, especially the one formed by her core fan base, a mix of gay men, bohemian kids and young women attracted by Gaga's style and her singable melodies.

I could give her the benefit of the doubt: she's young. I can kind of understand how the "F-word" could signify career death for someone whose star is just beginning to rise. Hermione Hoby , writing for the Guardian on Lady GaGa's much talked about Q magazine cover , where she poses with a strap-on:

In true lads' mag style, the image is of a topless blonde, in black leather-like trousers, one gloved hand coyly positioned over her boobs, the other not so coyly rammed against her crotch. Jutted hip, parted lips and vacuous expression tick the remaining boxes that constitute the mainstream image of sexy.

More heartbreaking still is the revelation that, feeling exploited and uncomfortable, she burst into tears while on the shoot, insisting she would only continue if her boyfriend were allowed to photograph her. The thought of Gaga crying is seismically destabilising – like seeing your parents blub when you're five. This is a woman so formidable that at last year's MuchMusic Video awards in Toronto she shot fireworks from her breasts. Tears, in other words, do not become her.

This isn't to target Lady GaGa, or to declare that anyone who sheds a tear is a traitor to the cause. Er, feminist still cry. We're not exactly soulless automatons whose one true emotion is pure, hot rage directed at the patriarchy. (Though I'm all for raging at the patriarchy.) But it does bring up the greater issue that women are still afraid to call themselves feminist, either through society's limiting, misguided definition of the word, or their own.

(Some info courtesy of Feministing and Bitch Blogs )