The problem about abandoning the word "feminist" is that when we deny we're feminist it implies all sorts of negative things. It implies that we reject the image of feminists, part of which is being strong, outspoken women. It also implies we've been put in our place and accept our traditional role. It implies that…

Really. Like I said, I absolutely acknowledge that there are perfectly valid reasons for rejecting the label. I also acknowledge the reality that most women who reject the label (like the women quoted in the article) do so because it's the safer, easier choice.

I care when people say, "I want women to be treated, but I don't to be associated with attempts to make that happen." That doesn't really sound like a strong belief in equality to me.

Why the FUCK is burning a bra the worst thing a woman can do? Geez. I never understood the negative connotation there. So some women took the initiative to stand up for their rights and demand equal treatment - this is not a bad thing. I am happy to be associated with them.

If you are how you say you are, you're going to get labeled a feminist no matter what you do. And I'm sure if someone said "Oh, so you're a feminist, then," you wouldn't shy away from that label; it sounds like you're just not that worried about the word someone uses to describe you. I understand and normally fully…

No, I didn't outright say that you are caving. I did say that letting Fox define the terms for us is ridiculous, and that old feminists like myself are tired of fighting the same fights over and over because young women don't want to be labeled or organized.

And that's the thing. The gains of the 60's and 70's are…

I think the word is important. "I'm not a feminist, but I think women should be equal to men." That sentence is, in my opinion, giving up part of the game. The word "feminism" is bad because feminists are confrontational. But feminists should be confrontational! They're looking for a reversal of, like, millenia…

The "safe answer" thing really hits the nail on the head. The vast, vast majority of women who reject the term do so because it's easier in the patriarchal society we live in not to identify with a term that stands for something said society finds abhorrent (i.e., the idea that women are every bit as human as men and…

The fact that the word has such a negative connotation is itself a problem that needs overcoming, and I think the way to overcome is by more people understanding what feminism actually is. It's not about "man-hating" or anything like that, it's just about acknowledging that women are humans who deserve to be treated…

This is why I find all the "oh, it's too much work to explain to people that feminism isn't evil—let's just find a new word!" arguments so ridiculous. Feminism wasn't demonized because it was called "feminism." It was demonized because women fighting for equality scares the hell out of people, and makes them very,…

Bravo.
I'm a feminist and I tell everyone and anyone I'm a feminist and I don't give a shit what they think.
And, interestingly, nobody who knows me thinks I'm a strident man-hater, even though I often DO rail against men. Maybe it's because I call myself a feminist without fear or apology.

Except.... the great majority of people who reject the word "feminism" do reject it largely because it's been so successfully demonized by people like Rush Limbaugh. There are certainly valid reasons for rejecting the label and feeling the movement does not represent you, but pretending that's why most people are all…

I like the word "equalist" in theory. In practice, everyone I know who has called themselves an "equalist," right down to the Jez troll with that user name, have been giant MRA assholes who think men are hugely oppressed by women.

Yeah, words never matter! Particularly words that make people upset. Certainly no one should ever consider the power dynamics behind word choice and should simply accept whatever makes people comfortable. You have cut the Gordian knot!

RuPaul said "What other people think of me is not my business."

As a man, I can't tell you ow happy it makes me to see how well the concerted decades-long effort to demonise that word and strip it of meaning has worked! Any way to minimise the importance of systemic discrepencies related to gender and reduce it to meaningless platitude driven terms like equalist, thus stripping…

The things you are saying show me exactly *why* women need to embrace the label. I don't think you can have true gender equality until we boost women to the level of men, hence why I am proud to be a feminist.

Yeah, I didn't want to associate myself with them either. Until I got mugged by reality and found out they were right all along. Abused yelling people are often unattractive.

What I learned from the gay-rights movement is that abused, yelling, scary people are much more effective. We got used to queer being here…

For me? No, it's no about equality generally. It's about bringing "women" up to the status of "people". If you can see women as people, and a shocking number of men don't, then odds are you're better at the equality business generally. But primarily? No, it's about women.

I'm not telling them it's their job to reclaim the term. I'm calling them on actively reinforcing the stereotypes. Many of them aren't just saying "I don't call myself a feminist", they're saying "I don't call myself a feminist because feminism is just about complaining/being angry/hating men/...". Which pretty much…