As many of us may know, feminism has been the subject of debate and scrutiny for as long as we can remember in our immediate lives. From job inequality to societal values, women have never really seemed to get what they want or even what they deserve. Part of this, it seems, is the misconception that the force that feminists bring to their requests and demands is a statement of vengeance or a superiority complex. In Interdisciplinarity, Moran says that feminism “has been founded on an impatience with the power arrangements…and the way that the experience of women is devalued or excluded” (Moran 92).
What strikes me as extremely important to his assertion is the concept of impatience. It can be mistaken for irritability or a lack of consideration, or aforementioned force; I know that in the past, I have experienced these thoughts towards it. But what impatience denotes is the urgency of change, the need for reform. The less patience one has for change – in this case, the change of a way of thinking – the more dire the situation. To more easily digest this concept, one must put himself or herself in the shoes of someone with a situation that many women face; suppressed job opportunities, being taken advantage of, even mistreatment in relationships.
Considering that these societal ailments can majorly affect the quality of life of a woman, it is no wonder why they emit any capacity of impatience. If I were cursed with these obstacles I would be unsatisfied as well. Thus, this dissatisfaction with the quality of life leads to a yearning for change, for something better. It is impatience, but not impatience out of inconsideration. It is impatience out of the determination to improve the life of oneself and the lives of others. Moran is right that the catalyst for this impatience is inequality; the seed of feminism lay at the feet of the inequalities that, as we know, have grown out of control. In this way I find it a great help to be mindful of the reasons feminism, as a mindset and culture, behaves the way it does. If we understand the reasons for how we behave, we have more respect for and among ourselves.