Interesting Buzzword on The Horizon: Femivore

[Tuesday Afternoon]

femivore

a woman who chooses to look after her home and family as her main job, and who grows and provides food herself as much as possible
femivorism

'… femivores argue the same ideals that sent women to the workforce – self-sufficiency, autonomy, and personal fulfillment – sent them to the garden.'
TrèsSugar 15th March 2010

'What is femivorism? Well educated, stay at home housewives who take their role as providers of health and well being as a statement of womanhood through back yard agriculture.'
The New Farmer's Blog 23rd March 2010

A carnivore eats meat, a herbivore eats plants, and a femivore eats … women? Well, no actually, nor even other plausible interpretations, like someone who only eats the meat of female livestock. A femivore is in fact an educated, stay-at-home woman who makes sourcing and growing her own food one of her main occupations.

in the context of the current economic situation, it's argued that … being able to feed your family whatever the circumstances seems preferable to a high-earning mum out of a job

The new term femivore lies somewhere at the intersection of the concepts of feminism, the belief that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men, and self-sufficiency, the ability to provide food and other household needs independently. The movement, correspondingly dubbed femivorism, is based on the idea that women who choose to stay at home to look after their family, worthy though this task is in itself, further enhance their contribution to society by feeding their family clean, wholesome food, reducing their carbon footprint along the way. The femivore grows her own veg, keeps her own chickens, and maybe even provides her own meat by rearing livestock. In the context of the current economic situation, it's argued that the femivore's ideal of providing a literal rather than a financial 'nest egg' is a safer bet – being able to feed your family whatever the circumstances seems preferable to a high-earning mum out of a job.

For some however, the concept of femivorism is flawed on various levels. From a feminist angle, it's argued that a woman shouldn't feel obliged to enhance or justify her role as a homemaker by taking on the mantle of self-sufficiency or greener living. From a practical point of view, there are physical aspects of farming and full-blown self-sufficiency that some women might struggle to cope with, an issue discussed by the self-identified femivore in this blog post.

more at link:
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/buzzword/entries/femivore.html

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. The term is wrongly constructed.

"Femivore" literally means "eater of women," just like "carnivore" means "meat-eater," "herbivore" means "plant-eater," and the newly-trendy term "locavore" means "one who eats locally-produced food. When I saw "femivore" in the OP title I thought, WTF, is this some awful combination of sexism and cannibalism? The concept is interesting but maybe there should be a different word for it.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. I understand but, it is too late, I think ... from the OP =

A carnivore eats meat, a herbivore eats plants, and a femivore eats … women? Well, no actually, nor even other plausible interpretations, like someone who only eats the meat of female livestock. A femivore is in fact an educated, stay-at-home woman who makes sourcing and growing her own food one of her main occupations.

There is an article quoted from 2010 using the word.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Oh. Well, then, it's still a dumb word.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. ok. And the concept behind the word ... ?

[TexasProgresive]

5. The concept behind the word is in danger of being lost because of the word.

I suppose someone thought they were being cute in minting femivore, but for anyone who knows words they are going to read "woman eater" and never get to the concept. Words have power.

Here's a true femivore :

Jose Luis Calva
Mexico
In 1969, Jose Luis Calva was born in Mexico City. He had a traumatic childhood that was full of sexual abuse and the death of his father. In October 2007, the Federal Preventive Police visited Calva’s home to arrest him for the disappearance of his girlfriend Alejandra Galeana. As the police entered his home, they found Calva eating a dish of human meat seasoned with lemon. Inside his flat, the police found the mutilated body of his girlfriend in the closet, human remains in the refrigerator, a frying pan full of cooked human flesh, and muscle tissue in a box of cereal. Calva tried to escape by jumping through a window, but was injured and arrested.

Inside his apartment, the police found an unfinished novel titled Cannibal Instincts that bore on its cover a masked image of Hannibal Lecter. Police also found a picture of Anthony Hopkins portraying Hannibal Lecter. The Mexican press dubbed Calva the “cannibal poet” and the case shocked even the most hardened veteran of the Mexico City police. Jose Luis Calva was charged with two counts of murder in Mexico City, convicted, and sentenced to 84 years in prison. There is circumstantial evidence that links him to the murder of eight separate girls. In the early morning of December 11, 2007, Calva committed suicide in prison and was found hanging by his belt.
http://listverse.com/2012/03/04/top-20-human-cannibals-by-country/

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. Thanks. and Now, excuse me while I throw up.