"Feminazi" is Never an Appropriate Term

"I agree with feminism, I just don't support people like feminazis."
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that one... Here's the thing though, as frustrating as it is when people misunderstand the apparently "extreme" messages of feminism as dictated by the patriarchal lense, it's worrying to see the social acceptance of a term like feminazi.

Etymological history: The phrase first appeared in the 1990's in relation to the abortion debate, as feminists who supported abortion were likened to Nazis because they killed babies like the Nazis killed Jews. Since then it has evolved to refer more to feminists' militaristic attitudes towards social justice. Firstly, feminism tends to be quite anti-fascist, so Nazism is a pretty far-flung comparison.
Secondly and much more importantly, a woman's autonomy over her own body and life choices should never be equated to the genocidal ideology of a crime against humanity. Phrasing it that way certainly puts things in perspective, but then why is it that society is so keen to ignore that message and continue the use of "feminazi?"

Aside from that fact that it has a certain punny ring to it *unappreciative tone*, using social aversion to Nazi imagery to vilify feminists works wonders in the patriarchy's favour. As we have repeatedly discovered on this blog, feminism's core theory on the superficiality of gender roles, and its aim to undermine them threatens the patriarchal status quo. Even men are vilified when they dare to challenge the strict standards of masculinity as dictated by current society. So it comes as no surprise that patriarchal institutions seek to invalidate feminism by negatively characterising feminists. Enter the "feminazi". She is a woman who dares to point out the inequalities in society, and as such is deemed an extreme threat to the fragile balance of planet earth. The immediate reaction is to undermine her message by describing her views on basic equality as "extreme", "militaristic" and hence, like that of a Nazi.

Understanding this reactionary behaviour really highlights the fragility of the masculine status quo, as it must work so hard to ensure a only a superficial, low level of social justice is being achieved. When people say "I agree with feminism but I don't condone feminazis", what they're doing is echoing the intolerance of the patriarchy towards anything that challenges its power. The level of feminist "extremism" necessary to warrant the label of feminazi is actually very low; people who speak out against the assumption of "reverse oppression" or gender roles, i.e. everyone who has a basic understanding and appreciation of intersectional feminism, is lumped into this lovely category. The "good" feminists who don't yell and scream in fake German accents (apparently) are usually the ones who only advocate for milder reforms, or who don't speak out but politely say they are feminist when asked. This latter category shouldn't be villainised, but it's worth noting how society is largely intolerant to anyone past the mild, easy-to-swallow entry level advocacy. So what we see is the immediate criticism of anyone taking feminism "too far", when this standard of "too far" is anything beyond what the patriarchy can comfortably handle.

That is, anything that is actually effective in tackling oppression.

It's a pretty standard tactic to silence troublesome upstarts: create a connotation with something abhorrent (Nazism), and ensure that any threatening momentum gained by the movement is immediately associated with said issue in order to create a general understanding of its inappropriateness. If it sounds dystopic, that's because it is.

Words have power in our society; language creates communication and communication requires meaning. The word "feminazi" doesn't exist in a vacuum where anything can be a harmless joke - it encompasses serious social narratives that undermine the entire movement of feminism and holds all of society back from progression. Due to the simple fact that "feminazi" is used to devalue feminists and silence women who speak out about sexism, we really do just have to abolish the word.
It's not an issue of "but free speech", it's not an infringement on your human rights, it's about allowing social vernacular to include a space for women to seek empowerment without fear of ridicule or being compared to mass murderers.

Comment below!
Hannah