Ariel Levy got it wrong. In the feminist author's 2005 book, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, Levy posits that female chauvinism entails a celebration of sex at the expense of one's dignity. She cites soft-core porn offerings, such as Girls Gone Wild, as evidence of the feminist movement's inadvertent effects and bemoans the fact that women are now empowering themselves through sexual exploitation. While I could pen reams of criticism on the ill effects of so called "raunch culture," I must find fault with Levy's definition of female chauvinism. In my estimation, female chauvinism is what feminism has become.

If you look at the literal definition of chauvinism...

1: excessive or blind patriotism
2: undue partiality or attachment to a group or place to which one belongs or has belonged
3: an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex; also: behavior expressive of such an attitude (definition via Merriam-Webster)

...one can't help but see the similarity to modern feminism. It needn't be an issue of believing women superior to men; the "undue partiality or attachment to a group" will suffice. The most marked aspect of modern feminism is the immutability. There is a dogmatic devotion to its beliefs, and no amount of evidence will shake it. Any dissent is blasted and characterized as "misogynistic" no matter how cogent or sincere. People who agree with feminism at its core, but find fault with some tenets of the movement, are simply not welcome at the clam bake.

The idea that women should be afforded more choices than merely wife and mother, or that all human beings should be equal in the eyes of the law, are hardly radical notions. Certainly they do not appear that way to a 28-year-old who's been told her entire life, both explicitly and implicitly, that she was superior to those lowly boys so beset by their primitive instincts.

As a teenager I identified with feminism, more so out of societal pressure than a genuine desire to become part of the movement. I spent my adolescence in the 1990s, a surprisingly liberal and earth-friendly period of time which had many similarities to the current "green" movement and mainstreaming of feminist theory. I was schooled on Sassy, the only feminist teen magazine. I idolized people like Courtney Love and Kathleen Hanna for their aggressiveness and masculine rock-star poses. Eventually I grew out of it. My opinions became more nuanced. Suddenly, feminist theory looked rife with holes and inconsistencies. When I couldn't make my personal beliefs jibe with the feminist party line, I had to abandon it.