Truthfully, most of us are feminists to some degree. A man who believes that women should stick to working as transcribing secretaries or midwives and leave the "good" jobs to men with families is more feminist than a man who believes in strict segregation of the genders or who insists that a woman shouldn't leave the house or speak to strangers. A "trophy wife" who does nothing but apply eye liner and lipstick and go to parties is still feminist enough to believe she shouldn't be hostage to her husband, unable to go to the police if he attacks her for telling him "no" Many of us are feminist indeed; we work in blended groups of men and women, dividing tasks according to ability and interest, read books without caring about the gender of the author, and listen to female teachers as well as male ones with equal attention and respect.
说实话，我们中的大多数人在某种程度上都是女权主义者。如果一位男士认为女人都应该坚持做记录员或助产士，而把“好”工作留给需要养家的男人，那么，他与一名信奉严格的性别隔离制度或一名坚持认为女人不应该到外面或和陌生人说话的男性比起来，要更加具有女权意识。即使是一个只知道画眼线、涂唇膏和参加聚会而其他什么也不做的“花瓶太太”，她也具有足够的女权意识，认为自己不应该是丈夫的人质，不应该因对丈夫说“不”而遭到殴打也不敢报警。我们中很多人实际上都是女权主义者；我们在男女共事的团队中工作，依据各人的能力和兴趣分配任务，读书时不会在意作者的性别，听课时不论老师是女是男，我们都心怀敬意，认真听讲。
Yet even the most feminist environments have barriers we need to tunnel through. For example, we might criticize successful female solicitors for not devoting enough time to their families, or look down on those women who stay home with children for not being ambitious enough to take up a career. We might look down on men who disobey female bosses for not being team players, or look down on other men who obey the same bosses for acting insufficiently masculine.
然而，哪怕是最具女权主义的环境也有我们尚需逾越的障碍。比如，我们可能会批评成功的女律师没有花足够的时间照顾家庭，或者歧视那些呆在家里照看孩子的女性，认为她们缺乏远大的志向去从事一份职业。我们可能会看不起那些不顺从女上司的男人，认为他们不具备团队意识；也可能会歧视另一些听从于这些女上司的男人，认为他们行为举止缺乏男子气。
These seem like small problems, the lingering ghosts of greater issues, but they're significant when they're happening to you. Culture isn't easy to change; even if you think a woman has every right to speak loudly and swear like pirates, you might have trouble imagining that any man would date her. Or you might have trouble relaxing around a man who is comfortable making less money than his female friends. Clearly, our thirst for equality must never be fully quenched. But feminism cannot become an appendix at the end of a history book, or an artifact of a bygone epoch. We must remain vigilant if we hope for a continuance of the rights of women.
这些看上去似乎只是小问题，是大问题的一些残留末节而已，但当它们真正发生在你本人身上时就是大问题了。文化是不容易改变的。即使你认为一个女人有足够的权利大声说话，可以像海盗那样咒骂，你可能仍然无法想象哪个男人会愿意与她约会；或者，当你面对一位即使赚钱比女性朋友要少却依然感觉舒坦的男人时，你可能仍然会不自在。显然，我们对平等的渴望永远也不可能完全得到满足。但是，女权主义不能只作为一本历史书最后的附录，或一件远古时代的手工艺品。如果我们希望女性的权利持续，我们就必须保持警觉。
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