Joss Whedon & Feminism

"Oh" says my flat mate, looking at me as if he'd just realized I had two heads. "I had no idea you were a feminist."
"I'm not," I counter immediately, "I just...” I just what? My mind wandered back to a conversation I'd had with a friend some months before. He couldn’t understand how any woman could say she wasn't a feminist. Isn't feminism about having equal rights for women? Are there women out there saying, "Equal rights? No thanks, I'll sit here comfortably repressed" I don't think so. If a man cries out for equal rights, would he be judged as unusual? There is in fact a male version of feminism, known as masculism (amazingly the paper clip disagrees. Masculism is not a word. Equality in action *headdesk*). Here is not the place to get in depth with either feminist or masculist arguments (though I am going somewhere with this), but take a look at the wikipedia article and see what you think. Amazingly masculism and feminism arguments complement each other quite nicely. I find myself agreeing with a lot of their points. Can I consider myself both a feminist and a masculist? Can a woman even be a masculist? Can a man be a feminist?

The reason I bring any of this up is because I've been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the afternoon (highly recommended, sci-fi channel 2pm, then on sci-fi + 1 at 3pm), a show filled with these amazingly strong female characters, both physically and mentally. Absolutely inspirational, and a complete match for any of their male counterparts. Because of shows like this, Joss Whedon gets asked all the time why he writes characters like this, and it seems he gives a different answer every time. One day it's because of his mum, because of his dad, because they're hot... but really I think it comes down to these three answers.
"But, these strong women characters…

Why are you even asking me this?! This is like interview number 50 in a row. How is it possible that this is even a question? Honestly, seriously, why are you -- why did you write that down? Why do you -- Why aren’t you asking a hundred other guys why they don’t write strong women characters? I believe that what I am doing should not be remarked upon, let alone honored and there are other people doing it. But, seriously, this question is ridiculous and you just gotta stop.

So, why do you write these strong women characters?

Because equality is not a concept. It’s not something we should be striving for. It’s a necessity. Equality is like gravity, we need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and women who’s confronted with it. We need equality, kinda now.

So, why do you write these strong female characters?

Because you’re still asking me that question."

I think the question we should be asking is not, "why do you write these strong female characters?" but why don't more people write them? Why don't you consider yourself a feminist?