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| In the extreme formulation, feminazis are seen by some as women who persecute men or who desire their elimination from the public discourse and any involvement into public affairs. The term is often used either as a derogatory term for ] or conversely, as a specific term to differentiate between mainstream feminists and an extremist minority. | In the extreme formulation, feminazis are seen by some as women who persecute men or who desire their elimination from the public discourse and any involvement into public affairs. The term is often used either as a derogatory term for ] or conversely, as a specific term to differentiate between mainstream feminists and an extremist minority. | ||
| Some ] and ] advocates |
Some ] and ] advocates use the term feminazi to describe radical feminist views of men and gender, arguing that ], like Nazism, establishes a two-class society in which a privileged group may target and discriminate against another group based on immutable traits (in the former case, gender, and in the latter, religion, heritage or other inherent characteristics). | ||
| ==Response== | ==Response== | ||
Revision as of 05:59, 9 July 2007
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Feminazi (also spelled femme-nazi) is an invective neologism, used predominantly in the United States and Canada, political rhetoric to characterize women whose ideas are believed by others to be vehemently misandrous; i.e., having an irrational and extreme hatred of men. The word itself is a portmanteau of the nouns feminist and Nazi. The term does not relate literarily but metaphorically to the National Socialist Women's Organization or any other organization of women who served Nazi Germany.
Origin
The term was popularized by conservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh, who credited his friend Tom Hazlett, a professor of law and economics at George Mason University, with coining the term. Limbaugh originally claimed that the word "feminazi" meant not just 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 25 true feminazis in the U.S. Limbaugh also uses the term for women, who in his opinion represent radical feminist opinions. James Joyner noted upon Andrea Dworkin's death that she seemed to typify what critics were calling a "feminazi."
Context
The term feminazi has developed various connotations. To some pro-life conservatives, it equates feminist advocacy for abortion rights with promoting a holocaust. Others use the word rhetorically to suggest feminist views are being expressed in a unilateral manner.
In the extreme formulation, feminazis are seen by some as women who persecute men or who desire their elimination from the public discourse and any involvement into public affairs. The term is often used either as a derogatory term for feminist or conversely, as a specific term to differentiate between mainstream feminists and an extremist minority.
Some men's rights and father's rights advocates use the term feminazi to describe radical feminist views of men and gender, arguing that radical feminism, like Nazism, establishes a two-class society in which a privileged group may target and discriminate against another group based on immutable traits (in the former case, gender, and in the latter, religion, heritage or other inherent characteristics).
Response
The term has garnered a good deal of criticism over the years. Many feminists argued it was simply a way to dismiss all feminism or even any group run by or for women as extreme or man-hating. An example of this can be seen when Rush Limbaugh referred to The National Center for Women and Policing as feminazis : The Rush Limbaugh Show (broadcast June 22 2005) Others have pointed out that it would seem contradictory to attempt to associate feminists with Nazis, who were generally opposed to gender equality. The counterpoint to this argument is that the politics and actions that fall under the term have an inherent bias against men, and thus, are opposed to gender equality. Other women have attempted to reclaim "feminazi" by redefining it in their own terms to subvert what they describe as the patriarchal connotations of the label; however, many feminists and others disclaim the Nazi epithet as being offensive to anyone with a memory of World War II.
Some feminist-friendly speakers have made some effort to use the term in a satirical way. Still other feminists have posited their own term, "gender feminism," to refer to statements by other feminists (such as Dworkin) that they consider to be intolerant of men, without using the term "feminazi" themselves.
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 "sandanista".
- In the satirical We will hang Billy Clinton-song, often sung in universities by conservative and libertarian fraternities, former first lady and current senator for the state of New York Hillary Rodham Clinton is referred to as Bill Clinton's feminazi boss.