Even if White Supremacy were defined as "the advocacy of equal rights for people of all races", I still wouldn't identify myself as a white supremacist because the term itself contains the word "white" and that mantle has historically been used excessively by racists. Similarly, "feminism" is a gendered term that has been used excessively by people who argue for things that have nothing to do with gender equality.
A lot of people refuse to adopt the label of "feminism" for precisely the reason many people think it's so important that they adopt it -- to appear to provide a uniform front under a common term even when people disagree over what the problem is and how to solve it.
I call myself a feminist. When you say you're not one, you discredit me, my work, and the work of so many others before us. When you say you're not a feminist, people see the "raging bitch" stereotype instead of people like you and me.
Imagine the same thing with the term "white supremacy" and a complaint about how the racists are ruining the term. Unfortunately, a lot of people who fit the stereotype have picked up the same mantle and lots of people don't want to appear to support them. How about you change to a neutral term like "gender equality" instead of a biased one like "feminism"?
You probably don't want to do that for the very same reason that others don't want to adopt the term you prefer.
There are real problems with gender equality in this country. But if you'd prefer to fight over a term rather than unite with people who want gender equity as much as you do, that's your choice. But the people on the other side feel as strongly as you do.
I understand your critique of a gendered term and that there are huge issues surrounding gender equality. In this case, I was responding to someone who specifically stated that she "wasn't a feminist" (in bold) in a post talking about women in the tech industry and thought the term "feminist" would be appropriate in my response for her.
There is much intersectionality of other gender equality, race, class, and social issues. I'm a woman in tech. I wrote about feminism specifically because it's something that I feel needs specific attention and it's relevant to me. I was also directly responding to someone who was saying she wasn't a feminist. She's actually making a positive assertion, disguised as a negation. So actually in your example:
It would actually be "white supremacy" and a complaint about the people who say they're not white supremacists.
I believe in equality. I'm a feminist, gender-equalist, LGBTQ ally. All those issues have issues specific to them, and a lot of them have issues that intersect.
My post is a woman speaking to another woman about being a woman in tech--to unite each other. The term feminist is perfectly acceptable.
If you want to start a fight about terms, go elsewhere.
I am a woman in tech and I am not a feminist, and it is offensive to me that you blame me for how you were treated
You wrote an article about people calling themselves "feminists" and about what the term means. Neither of us started this fight, but your article is entirely about an existing fight over a term.
No, I wrote a response to a specific woman about her use of the phrase "I'm not a feminist" in an article about women in the technology industry that got a lot of attention. This response/post is about my experience in the tech industry, my work, and how the use of the phrase "not a feminist" impacts my work. I'm using a gendered term because I'm addressing a gendered issue. I'm speaking about my experience as a woman to another woman. I think this is very different than the difference between saying you're a gender equalist and a feminist.
As you say, what triggered your response was the use of the phrase "I'm not a feminist" from someone who, by all accounts, seems to fully support gender equality. The issue is whether "feminist" and "feminism" means gender equality or something else.
Perhaps my use of the term "entirely" is unfair. But certainly this was a major point of your article.
You can insist on the term "feminist" or "feminism", but you will alienate people who could be your allies in a fight for gender equality. You would be insisting on a gendered term to represent the fight for gender equality. There are some people, both men and women, who cannot accept that and so long as neither side gives in, the common cause will not advance.
Joelkatz,feminism is an established term,with an established definition. Feminism has gotten a lot of unfair bad reputation because men a lot of men(and a fair amount of women) feel threatened by it,and they do not want to see realities like the ones Kat and Susanne describe. This, however does not change the definition of a term You can always make an etymological analysis,or look it up,but this does not change the current meaning,as the meaning of a word in lingvistics is based on usage,not etymology.
feminism (countable and uncountable, plural feminisms)
(obsolete) The state of being feminine; femininity. [from 1851; less common after 1895] [quotations ▼]
A social theory or political movement which argues that legal and social restrictions on women must be removed in order to bring about equality of both sexes in all aspects of public and private life
If you don´t have a problem with seing that we live in a sexist society,and you want to change it,why pick on words?
As I said, for precisely the same reason you are. You also are unwilling to accept that I fully support gender equality but object to the term "feminism" or "feminist". It's a gendered term. Why can't you agree to abandon it in favor of a gender-neutral term? Surely the concept of gender equality is gender neutral. Why are you fighting over a word?
This matters to me for precisely the same reason it matters to you. You are defending a gendered term that you want to use in a gender neutral way. I'd prefer a gender neutral term. Surely you'd understand a woman who didn't want to be called a "fireman" and preferred "fire fighter", despite the fact that the definition of "fireman" is not gendered. I fully support gender equality but don't like using a gendered term for gender equality.