Another day, another famous women who claims she isn’t a feminist while exposing the fact that she’s not 100% certain what that word means. Quick recap- it means someone who wants women and men to be equal. For women to have the same rights as men, to make the same salary for the same job. Stay at home mothers and housewives can be feminists. Men can be feminists. Women who wear short skirts and women who wear T-shirts can be feminists. Now that that’s out-of-the-way, let’s wade into Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco’s recent interview with Redbook, in which she explains after being questioned about whether she is a feminist, “
“It’s not really something I think about. Things are different now, and I know a lot of the work that paved the way for women happened before I was around… I was never that feminist girl demanding equality, but maybe that’s because I’ve never really faced inequality. I cook for Ryan five nights a week: It makes me feel like a housewife; I love that. I know it sounds old-fashioned, but I like the idea of women taking care of their men. I’m so in control of my work that I like coming home and serving him. My mom was like that, so I think it kind of rubbed off.”
Yikes, where to start. First of all wanting to cook for your husband (though I cringe at the word “serve”) does not mean you’re not a feminist. Being a feminist just means you want the right, for yourself and all other women, to decide to cook for your husband, knowing you also have the right to work outside the home, all the while making the same as your male counterparts. Another important thing to remember about feminism is it’s not all about you. Cuoco admits her feelings are probably a result of the fact that she never faced gender inequality, but millions of women still do, from the women making seventy cents to a man’s dollar and having their reproductive rights restricted in America, to women forced into arranged marriages and being denied education abroad. Even if you don’t feel like you need feminism (though you do) it’s important to be a feminist to fight so every woman could say they’ve never faced gender inequality. If Kelly Cuoco wants to feel like a housewife, that is completely her right. And while it’s good that she acknowledges the women who came before her who had to fight to make that a choice and not an inescapable destiny, she should count herself amoung the people ready to fight for the choices of all women.
