When you look up the term feminazi in Urban Dictionary, you get definitions like these:
- “A militant feminist that believes anything that deals with men is oppressive and that men should be done away with. Doesn’t understand how to act normal and refuses to accept facts.”
- “Basically a woman that wants the same rights as a man, but then wants the same pampering as a woman, so really just a lazy power hungry bitch that wants to have it easy but have power at the same time without contributing to society.”
- “These women claim they only wish to abolish the patriarchal dominance and proclaim any male regardless of age to be a misogynistic rapist. These women truly do not want equality but rather to glorify themselves and have men treat them as their Queens.”
But is the term actually used as a synonym for a radical feminist like the definitions suggest, or is it just a slur for feminists in general?
I’m not here to argue that there isn’t a loud presence of radical feminists, especially online, calling for the complete destruction of gender roles and advertising extreme ways to raise awareness (e.g. free bleeding). There definitely is.
I am, however, arguing that “feminazis” are not a thing and that the term is a result of the patriarchal pushback against the movement, similar to the recent connotation of “snowflake”.
While it was officially coined in 2012, the term was most popular in April 2015, during the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump’s riling of Silent America, coupled with Hillary Clinton’s political focus on feminist ideals, led to a face-off of ideals and a pushback against social progression.
Instead of encouraging the new wave of feminists fighting for equal pay and intersectionality, the (extremist) opposing side compares these feminists to Nazis. Women who bring up current gender and social issues are called bitches, power-hungry and delusional.
In the aftermath of 2016, every liberal is a snowflake, every feminist is a feminazi and every conservative is a racist. It’s a world of generalizations, extremism and hatred.
But generalizations do not lead to progress. Instead of immediately generalizing someone based on their politics or beliefs, take a second to consider that they may actually have a real concern. Privileged social groups are often blind to minority concerns because they don’t apply to them. Don’t be blinded by ignorance.
Therefore, would I consider myself a feminazi? Maybe. I guess it depends on who you ask. Either way, I’m proud to be a feminist.