Am I a F**king Feminist?

I have always questioned why it is that people have such a difficult time identifying themselves as a feminist. It always seemed to me that it is actually quite strange to not call yourself a feminist. I was very surprised when on Monday I learned during a group presentation that both Katy Perry and Taylor Swift do not identify as feminists. I recently came across a website that defined being a feminist the way I would: http://www.amiafuckingfeminist.com/. The website asks “Am I a fucking feminist?”. Below this question it poses the statement “I believe in the complete equality of men and women”. Underneath that, it allows the viewer of the website to click on either “Yes” or “No”. If you click “Yes”, it takes you to a page that says “Yes, you are a fucking feminist” and if you click “No” it says “No, you are not a fucking feminist”. The word “feminist” is hyperlinked and takes you to the Wikipedia definition of the word with the first few lines stating “Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women” (Wikipedia). I found the simplicity and directness of this site comical but also an accurate representation of what I believed one’s thought process should be when questioning whether or not they are a feminist. I began to research online articles and realized perhaps I am not acknowledging how loaded the term is, both  historically and socially. I was aware that some people saw the term as man-hating or embarrassing, reasons I couldn’t respect for not calling yourself a feminist. But after reading several articles I’ve realized there is more to unpack here and that perhaps there is a more justified reason why people (even people I would consider feminist) shy away from the term. Chelsea Fagan in her article “Women Don't Have to Call Themselves Feminists” stated: “From Susan B Anthony proudly proclaiming that she would cut off her right arm before letting blacks have the vote before white women, to radical feminists veiling their hatred for trans women with an interest in protecting us from male bodies, there are many women throughout history who have used the title in distinctly damaging ways”. The article asks the reader to consider woman of color who have been largely excluded from the feminist movement. Furthermore, often times we disagree with the actions or statements of self-proclaimed feminists that we see in the media (such as Miley Cyrus), and do not want to be associated with a title that we feel has been misrepresented. Others claimed that feminism alienates men from the conversation. While after looking into this issue further I will continue to call myself a feminist, I will now refrain from immediately judging those that don’t identify as a feminist.