So often, I see people saying: "Feminism just means supporting equal rights. Do you support equal rights? Well then you're a feminist."There are two major flaws to this approach, so let me break them down for you:
1. Feminism claims to FIGHT labels (like “whore,” “slut,” etc.), and yet many feminists seek to label others as feminists.
It doesn't matter whether someone believes in equality or not, they're a feminist if they want to be, and they're not if they don’t want to be. In this country, citizens have a right to free association, and all people, even well meaning feminists, need to respect that. Labeling others as feminists against their will while simultaneously claiming to fight labels is inconsistent. You aren’t “helping scared men overcome the misconceptions of feminism,” you’re just being hypocritical.
2. Feminism is not synonymous with a belief in equal rights.
Don’t take my word for it, Google the definition. It is, however, synonymous with “the women’s movement,” and “women’s liberation,” and “women’s rights.” To say that feminism is simply about equal rights and doesn’t take a gender perspective is false. By definition, feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of ... equality to men.”