No apologies, the f-word belongs in this blog title

I'm sort of embarrassed to admit this, but feminism didn't inspire me to start this blog. The universe certainly knows we need more feminist voices gracing the internet blogosphere. Yet I didn't think to live my feminism openly on the internet until just now. In a way I don't quite understand yet, yoga brought me here and inspired me to become a feminist yogi blogger.

Although I haven't always had a label for it, I've been a feminist from the time I could string words together into coherent sentences. I've also been a self-identified feminist long enough to know the wrath that identifying with the f-word can bring. So, why risk it? Why not stay safe and avoid the f-word altogether?

Okay, I'll say it. I was tempted to just omit the feminist part. I had convinced myself that I could host a blog that was implicitly feminist without actually using the f-word. And then there was an aha moment when I realized how incredibly silly it was to think that I could be simply implicitly feminist. Or, more importantly, when I realized that I shouldn't be simply implicitly feminist. (I know it isn't yogi-like to "should" myself, but I think this is a warranted exception.) 

There are many reasons to dare to use the f-word in my blog title, but I'll keep it short and sweet and give you my top three:

1. I'm a feminist. Among other things, yoga teaches us to how to be true to ourselves. Choosing to hide my feminism here wouldn't be very yogi (or really feminist) of me. 

2.  To borrow and modify a tried and true feminist slogan, this is what a feminist looks like and everyone should know it. Misconceptions about feminists are ubiquitous and sometimes dangerous. The moment I step out of safe feminist spaces, I'm quickly reminded of the abundant misperceptions about feminists. By no means do I represent all feminists (that is sort of the point), but proudly wearing my feminist badge everywhere is my small attempt to dispel these misperceptions.

3. Yoga isn't exempt from misogyny, racism, sexism, classism, fatism, homophobia and all other forms of oppression. My experiences with yoga thus far have been beautiful, peaceful and completely accepting. But like all other societal institutions and practices, yoga is also vulnerable to the dangers of patriarchy. For me, the only way to have a healthy, happy and safe yoga practice is to have a feminist yoga practice.