Y’all. ‘Feminist’ is not a neutral/passive identity, like those that can be assigned on the basis of embodied or other characteristics. ‘Feminist’ is an active identity informed by a political commitment to dismantling sexism and related oppressions.

The reason we’re having to say this is that the feminist label has been mainstreamed without the attendant political education and consciousness-raising. Please. There absolutely are standards that people who identify as feminists should be held to, especially political ones.

True, feminism isn’t about women singing kumbaya. But it’s also not a country club that just admits anyone. Even country club dey get membership procedures sef. For a person to be feminist, they must be demonstrably committed to resisting patriarchy.

They can gossip if they bloody well want and we must pushback against the notion that feminism is about women getting along all the time. But there is a political standard to which those who identify as feminists must be held. Everything else is brunch.