feminazi

 

Feminazi (also spelled femi-Nazi or femme-nazi) is a pejorative, derogatory term used predominantly in the United States and Canada by political conservatives to characterize and belittle feminists whom conservatives perceive to be intolerant of conservative views.^[1][2][3][4] The word itself is a portmanteau of the nouns feminist and Nazi. The on-line version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term as used in a "usually disparaging" manner, to describe "an extreme or militant feminist".^[5] The term does not relate to the National Socialist Women's Organization or any other organization of women who served Nazi Germany.

Popularized by Rush Limbaugh

The term was popularized by conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who credited his friend Tom Hazlett, a professor of law and economics at George Mason University, with coining the term.^[4] Limbaugh originally stated that the word “feminazi” not only referred to an extreme feminist but a woman whose goal was that there should be as many abortions as possible, saying at one point that there were fewer than twenty-five true feminazis in the U.S.^[6]

However, Limbaugh has used the term to refer to members of the National Center for Women and Policing, the Feminist Majority Foundation, and the National Organization for Women-- which has over 500,000 members.^[7][8][9]

Other contexts

The term "feminazi" has developed various connotations. In colloquial usage, "Feminazi" has been used as a derogatory way to refer to a lesbian, regardless of whether or not the lesbian identifies herself as a feminist. ^[10]

Among some men's rights and father's rights groups, the term is used to refer to feminists they believe are persecuting men.

It may also be used to refer to females that exhibit or support misandrous beliefs (e.g: a woman that believes all men are misogynists may be referred to as a a feminazi).

Response

Persecution of feminists in Nazi Holocaust

Some consider conservatives’ use of the term “feminazi” ironic because German feminists and other political dissenters were among the victims of Nazi concentration camps and Nazi work camps.^[11][12][13] Gloria Steinem said in an interview, "Hitler came to power against the strong feminist movement in Germany, padlocked the family planning clinics, and declared abortion a crime against the state--all views that more closely resemble Rush Limbaugh’s."^[12] Many prominent German feminists like Helene Stöcker, Trude Weiss-Rosmarin and Clara Zetkin were forced to flee Nazi Germany. Nazi philosophy explicitly opposed gender equality.

Term used to minimize progress

Liberal feminists have argued the term is used as a way to dismiss all feminism and any group run by (or for) women as being extreme. (An example of this can be seen when Rush Limbaugh referred to the National Center for Women and Policing as feminazis - Rush Limbaugh Show (broadcast 22 June 2005).)

Many cultural theorists believe the term feminazi is one way in which social conservatives attempt to minimize and marginalize the work of liberal feminists. This work includes equal pay initiatives, sex discrimination and sexual harassment laws, reproductive freedoms, promotion of diversity, and legislation that helps protect women from violence.^[14]

Young feminists have observed that social conservatives, like Rush Limbaugh and men's rights groups frequently use the term feminazi to stereotype the entire feminist movement.”^[15] As a way to co-opt or de-fuse these derogatory connotations, some feminists have employed the term in a satirical way. One group posts ironical photos and humorous writing on a website as a way to undermine the stereotype.

Libertarian response

Libertarian feminists (who should not be confused with liberal feminists with whom they are often in opposition) have proposed their own term, “gender feminist”, to replace the term “feminazi”.^[16]

Feminazi in popular culture

• A similar term Femnazi was coined earlier as the name of the male-hating female inhabitants of the fictional planet, Femnaz, in a Legion of Super-heroes story from a 1964 issue of Adventure Comics written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel.

• In an April 2006 episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert used the word femistapo in his “The Word” segment. Femistapo is a portmanteau word combining feminist and Gestapo. It is a parody of the word feminazi.

• In an episode of The West Wing, Josh Lyman refers to C.J. Cregg as a “feminista”, a portmanteau word combining “feminist” and “sandinista”.

See also

• Godwin's law
• Feminist Majority Foundation
• German-Jewish feminists
• Gloria Steinem
• Jewish feminism
• Kinder, Küche, Kirche
• Liberal feminism
• List of Jewish feminists
• Men's rights
• National Organization for Women
• Rush Limbaugh
• Women's rights

References

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