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Mel B. Doesn't Think She's A Feminist, Breaks Spice Girls Fans' Hearts

Scary Spice Apparently Doesn't Really Believe In Girl Power
Television personality Mel B walks the
Andy Kropa /Invision/AP
Television personality Mel B walks the

If you wannabe Mel B's lover, you have to get with her friends — and not call her a feminist.

In a Time of London interview last week transcribed by Styleite, the Spice Girl formerly known as Scary Spice, who is currently one of the judges on "America's Got Talent," said, “I wouldn’t call myself a feminist. I try to live by the girl-power motto. It’s about believing in yourself, no matter how bad a day you’re having, and lending your support to other women. It’s empowering to have that camaraderie with other women.”

To which we have to respond, that sounds like a pretty solid definition of feminism to us. So why the hesitation in using the term?

During the height of the band's popularity, there was plenty of debate as to whether or not their particular message was "real" feminism, so it's no surprise each of the five women who comprised the Spice Girls has been asked about the "f" word since their late '90s heyday. And while they may have embraced the "girl power" message the band so famously touted, they certainly didn't agree on labelling themselves that way.

"For me feminism is bra-burning lesbianism. It's very unglamorous," Geri Haliwell (a.k.a Ginger Spice) told the Guardian in 2007. "I'd like to see it rebranded. We need to see a celebration of our femininity and softness."

For her part, Victoria Beckham (a.ka. Posh Spice), who once said she wasn't a feminist because she "[likes] a man who opens doors for me," eventually became a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for women and children, noting "It's taken me getting to 40 to realize I have a responsibility as a woman and a mother," reported France 24.

But it was probably Mel B (a.k.a. Sporty Spice) whose view on feminism was closest to the real definition of the term. In a 2014 with Yahoo Lifestyle, she noted, “[we] were so determined and we were so appalled to be told that girl bands don’t sell and it’s all about boybands. That spurred us on to want to be successful but want to be for girls and to empower girls."

And as far as what feminism means? “I think feminism is different things to different people. Personally for me it’s about equality, about no one being better than anyone else,” she said.

Sounds pretty comprehensive to us.

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