Not Just Another Ugly Feminist

I was scrolling through Oprah's website the other day, in search of recent episode that a friend of mine was telling me about, when I saw this lovely teaser for an equally-lovely article:

Just reading the caption for this article made me pretty angry. It reads,

"Being a strong, powerful woman doesn't mean you have to be tough, overworked and unattractive. Karen Salmansohn explains how power and success come from being in touch with your feminine, sexy and loving side."

My biggest problem with gender issues is the stigma surrounding feminism, and this article (from Oprah's website, no less!) is perpetuating that stigma is if it were a commonly accepted fact, rather than an unfair and untrue stereotype.

Here's an excerpt:

...Almost from the introduction of the word "feminism" into our world, the definition has become corroded to mean something less than complimentary than its original intent. Somewhere along the line, to be a feminist started to mean a woman who's basically unattractive both in looks and spirit.

I find this negative connotation to be shameful and highly unhelpful. Women could truly benefit from finding a more inspiring word than "feminism" to stand by, as well as stand for, when seeking to become our most powerful and successful selves. We don't have to make a choice between feminine or powerful and successful. We can be all those things....

Though I understand and respect where the author is trying to go with this, the remainder of the article attempts to convince women that they must be independent and pro-feminist to be successful... unless there are men around, of course.

The split personality of a "feminine," helpless, materialistic woman and an edgy, powerful, "unattractive" feminist demands a manipulative approach to life and interaction with the opposite sex, as well as a complete disregard for a woman's individual likes and dislikes. Rather than debunking common myths about feminism and presenting it as it is, the author re-names it as something else in a sad attempt to give it a "feminine spin," which only further perpetuates the original stereotypes in the first place: that feminism, by definition, is unfeminine.