The feminism I fell head over heels for was a big feminism. It is about how all people grow and become themselves. It gives people, all people, personal choices and access to resources.

I grew up in a time when everyone talked about trying to make the world more fair, but that didn’t ever seem possible or even desirable. Making a world I could live in wasn't about meritocracy, which is a nonsense concept in a complex world.

The "level playing field" is about as real as Narnia -- a wonderful place I dreamed about as a child, but have never gotten to no matter how many closets I plowed through.

And besides, we all came from different worlds and wanted different things. Instead of making everyone the same to make them count as people, feminism evolved from the radical idea that women are people to the radical idea that all people are people, whoever they are and whatever they happen to be doing and wanted to do next.

Hard to believe women won the right to vote less than 100 years ago.

My definition of a feminist: someone who can defend themselves in whatever their beliefs are.  Respect. Modern feminism is far too involved in trying to turn far too many women into victims for cheap political gain. 

If you're interested in the decline of the feminine and rise of patriarchy you should read The Alphabet versus the Goddess for some keen insights in historical, cultural context:

"Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking and this shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in patriarchal rule..."

http://amzn.to/1c65krX

Because of writing?!

It's an intriguing theory with some correlative merit throughout history.  Hard to say it's causal though.