"I have never considered myself a feminist. I've not burned my bra nor carried a sign in the rain, but I do believe in equal rights and recognition for women."

So begins an essay by North Carolina writer Shirley Uphouse in a 2001 issue of a regional literary magazine. The essay itself is feminist in nature, and represents a kind of consciousness-raising experienced by its author. The first sentence, unfortunately, represents the kind of drivel we hear all too often from women: the "I'm not a feminist, but..." routine.

Feminism is a belief that women should have social, economic and political equality with men. Ms. Uphouse and others like her are feminists, yet they don't want to acknowledge it. Why? Probably because they have allowed the news media to define feminism as a ridiculous movement involving man-hating women. But what kind of woman allows the sexist and ignorant news media to define who she is? A typically passive, unknowledgable American woman, I suppose.

The other question the author's statement raises is: If you don't participate on the street level of a movement, are you still a member of that movement? Let's say, for example, that Ms. Uphouse is a registered Republican, but she doesn't attend her Republican state meetings. Does that mean she isn't a Republican? Or perhaps she's an Episcopalian but isn't involved with her church's organizations. Does that mean she is no longer an Episcopalian? Only with feminism are women likely to say "I didn't carry a sign, so I'm not one."

For the record, I did carry a sign in the rain, though I can't see that it did that much good.

And also for the record, there is no record of a bra ever having been burned in the Second Wave of the feminist movement. The news media made it up. But the news media is where Ms. Uphouse and thousands of her peers get their information.