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{{short description|Pejorative term for feminists}}
{{short description|Pejorative term for feminists}}
{{italic title}}
{{italic title}}
According to Dictionary.com regarding American Slang, the term "Feminazi" is "an offensive slur for a feminist whose views are considered radical or extreme."<ref>[https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/feminazi/ Definition of "Feminazi" on Dictionary.com]</ref>
{{Feminism sidebar}}


The term was popularized by "shock-jock" American radio host [[Rush Limbaugh]].<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/feminazi-history-limbaughs-trademark-slur-against-women Media Matters Quotes by Rush Limbaugh and Others Regarding "Feminazi"]</ref> Rush Limbaugh stated:
'''''Feminazi''''' is a [[pejorative]] term for [[feminist]]s, which was popularized by politically conservative American radio talk show host [[Rush Limbaugh]].


{{Quote
==Origin and usage==
|A feminazi is a woman, a feminist, to whom the most important thing in her life is seeing to it that all abortions possible take place. That's why there aren't very many. I don't know more than twenty in the whole country. A feminazi is a woman who gets mad when a woman decides to have a baby, is talked out of having an abortion. I really don't understand that, if choice is what this is really all about.<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/feminazi-history-limbaughs-trademark-slur-against-women Media Matters Quotes by Rush Limbaugh and Others Regarding "Feminazi"]</ref>}}
According to ''The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang'', ''feminazi'' refers (pejoratively) to "a committed feminist or a strong-willed woman".{{refn|name=Barrett}} The term is a [[portmanteau]] of the nouns ''[[feminist]]'' and ''[[Nazi]]''.{{refn|name=Merriam-Webster}} The American conservative radio talk show host [[Rush Limbaugh]], who popularized the term,{{refn|name=Lacy}}{{refn|name=Kimmel 2013}} credited the university professor [[Thomas Hazlett]] with coining it.{{refn|name=Limbaugh 1992a}}

Limbaugh, who has been vocally critical of the [[feminist movement]],{{refn|name=Jamieson & Cappella}} stated that the term ''feminazi'' refers to "radical feminists" whose goal is "to see that there are as many abortions as possible"{{refn|name=Barrett}}{{refn|name=Wilson}} and a small group of "militants" whom he distinguishes from "well-intentioned but misguided people who call themselves 'feminists'".{{refn|name=Jamieson & Cappella}} However, the term came to be widely used for feminism as a whole;{{refn|name=Levit}} Limbaugh has used it in reference to the [[Feminist Majority Foundation]] and the activists [[Gloria Steinem]] and [[Susan Sarandon]], among others.{{refn|name=Wilson}} Steinem writes that "I've never met anyone who fits that description [of wanting as many abortions as possible], though [Limbaugh] lavishes it on me among many others".{{refn|name=Steinem 1995}}

Limbaugh states that ''feminazis'', as opposed to mainstream feminists, are those "who are happy about the large number of abortions we have" in the United States. The anti-violence educator [[Jackson Katz]] argues that "no such feminists exist", and that ''feminazi'' is a "clever term of propaganda" intended and used to "[bully] into complicit silence women who might otherwise challenge men's violence".{{refn|name=Katz}} In his book ''[[Angry White Men]]'', the sociologist Michael Kimmel says the term is used to attack feminist campaigns for [[Equal pay for equal work|equal pay]] and safety from [[rape]] and [[domestic violence]] by associating them with [[Nazi genocide]].{{refn|name=Kimmel 2013}}


== Cultural impact ==
== Cultural impact ==
According to [[Helen Lewis (journalist)|Helen Lewis]], deputy editor of the ''[[New Statesman]]'', "the idea of conflating a liberation movement with Nazism is just deeply ignorant. It’s self-undermining, because it’s so over the top." [[Laura Bates]], the founder of the [[Everyday Sexism Project]], has said that "It’s a desperate attempt to demonise us, and it’s frustrating, because if it wasn’t such an offensive word, you could actually start to embrace it and own it".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/15/feminazi-go-to-term-for-trolls-out-to-silence-women-charlotte-proudman "Feminazi" The Go-to Term for Trolls Out to Silence Women"]</ref>

Gloria Steinem has suggested a boycott of Limbaugh for his use of the term,stating, "Hitler came to power against the strong feminist movement in Germany, padlocked the family planning clinics, and declared abortion a crime against the state{{emdash}}all views that more closely resemble Rush Limbaugh's".<ref>"The Guy's Guide to Feminism" by Michael Kaufman, Michael Kimmel</ref><ref>[https://womenintheworld.com/2015/10/24/gloria-steinem-explains-who-turned-the-word-feminism-into-a-bad-word/ Gloria Steinem of "Feminazi"]</ref>
According to [[Helen Lewis (journalist)|Helen Lewis]], deputy editor of the ''[[New Statesman]]'', "the idea of conflating a liberation movement with Nazism is just deeply ignorant. It’s self-undermining, because it’s so over the top." [[Laura Bates]], the founder of the [[Everyday Sexism Project]], has said that "It’s a desperate attempt to demonise us, and it’s frustrating, because if it wasn’t such an offensive word, you could actually start to embrace it and own it".{{refn|name=Williams}}

Steinem has suggested a boycott of Limbaugh for his use of the term,{{refn|name=Ask Gloria}} stating, "Hitler came to power against the strong feminist movement in Germany, padlocked the family planning clinics, and declared abortion a crime against the state{{emdash}}all views that more closely resemble Rush Limbaugh's".{{refn|name=Ask Gloria}}{{refn|name=Kaufman & Kimmel}}


== See also ==
== See also ==
{{div col}}
{{div col}}
* [[Angry Black Woman]]
* [[Misogyny]]
* [[Angry white male]]
* [[Angry white male]]
* [[Antifeminism]]
* [[Antifeminism]]
* [[Chauvinism#Female_chauvinism|Female chauvinism]]
* [[Chauvinism]]
* [[Radical feminism]]
* [[Reductio ad Hitlerum]]
* [[Reductio ad Hitlerum]]
* [[Sexism]]
* [[Sexism]]
* [[Social justice warrior]]
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}


== References ==
== References ==


{{reflist|30em|refs=
{{reflist}}

<ref name="Ask Gloria">{{cite web |title=Ask Gloria: Excerpts from Q&A's with Gloria Steinem |url=http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/interviews/steinem1.htm |website=Feminist.com |date=October–November 1996}}</ref>

<ref name="Barrett">{{cite book |editor-last=Barrett |editor-first=Grant |title=The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang |date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-530447-3 |page=105 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hc7x96jE5EcC&pg=PA105&dq=feminazi}}</ref>

<ref name="Jamieson & Cappella">{{cite book |last1=Jamieson |first1=Kathleen H. |last2=Cappella |first2=Joseph N. |title=Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-974086-4 |pages=102–103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=139Oa4MOsAgC&pg=PA103&dq=feminazi}}</ref>

<ref name="Kaufman & Kimmel">{{cite book |last1=Kaufman |first1=Michael |last2=Kimmel |first2=Michael |title=The Guy's Guide to Feminism |date=2011 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-1-58-005362-4 |page=42}}</ref>

<ref name="Katz">{{cite book |last=Katz |first=Jackson |title=The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and how All Men Can Help |location=Naperville, Ill. |publisher=Sourcebooks |date=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TZs-PBVD_p8C&q=feminazi |page=75 |isbn=978-1-40-225376-8}}</ref>

<ref name="Kimmel 2013">{{cite book |last1=Kimmel |first1=Michael |title=Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era |date=2013 |publisher=Nation Books |isbn=978-1-56-858696-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7WVGDgAAQBAJ&q=feminazi |pages=42–44}}</ref>

<ref name="Lacy">{{cite book |last=Lacy |first=Tim |editor-last=Chapman |editor-first=Roger |title=Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints and Voices, Volume 1 |date=2010 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=978-0-76-561761-3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Culture_Wars.html?id=vRY27FkGJAUC&q=feminazis |page=323 |chapter=Limbaugh, Rush}}</ref>

<ref name="Levit">{{cite book |last=Levit |first=Nancy |title=The Gender Line: Men, Women, and the Law |date=1998 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-81-475295-1 |page=127 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4qHVrCsh80C&pg=PA127&dq=feminazi}}</ref>

<ref name="Limbaugh 1992a">{{cite book |last1=Limbaugh |first1=Rush H. |title=The Way Things Ought to be|date=1992 |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=978-0-67-175145-6 |page=193 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDVMk6q_pm4C&q=%22Tom+Hazlett%22}}</ref>

<ref name="Merriam-Webster">{{cite web |title=feminazi |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminazi |website=Merriam-Webster}}</ref>

<ref name="Steinem 1995">{{cite book |last=Steinem |first=Gloria |title=Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions |date=1995 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |location=New York, N.Y. |edition=2nd |isbn=0-80-504202-4 |page=xv |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVHmzw43TgkC&q=feminazi}}</ref>

<ref name="Williams">{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Zoe |title=Feminazi: the go-to term for trolls out to silence women |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/15/feminazi-go-to-term-for-trolls-out-to-silence-women-charlotte-proudman |work=The Guardian |date=15 September 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book |ref=harv |last=Wilson |first=John K. |date=2011 |title=The Most Dangerous Man in America: Rush Limbaugh’s Assault on Reason |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-31-261214-6 |page=56 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCy4-K4nar8C&q=feminazi+feminazis}}</ref>

}}


== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
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* [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=feminazi Google Trends for "feminazi"]
* [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=feminazi Google Trends for "feminazi"]


{{Feminism}}


[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]
[[Category:The Rush Limbaugh Show]]
[[Category:Political neologisms]]
[[Category:Criticism of feminism]]
[[Category:Words coined in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Stereotypes of women]]

Revision as of 09:17, 22 August 2019

According to Dictionary.com regarding American Slang, the term "Feminazi" is "an offensive slur for a feminist whose views are considered radical or extreme."[1]

The term was popularized by "shock-jock" American radio host Rush Limbaugh.[2] Rush Limbaugh stated:

A feminazi is a woman, a feminist, to whom the most important thing in her life is seeing to it that all abortions possible take place. That's why there aren't very many. I don't know more than twenty in the whole country. A feminazi is a woman who gets mad when a woman decides to have a baby, is talked out of having an abortion. I really don't understand that, if choice is what this is really all about.[3]

Cultural impact

According to Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the New Statesman, "the idea of conflating a liberation movement with Nazism is just deeply ignorant. It’s self-undermining, because it’s so over the top." Laura Bates, the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, has said that "It’s a desperate attempt to demonise us, and it’s frustrating, because if it wasn’t such an offensive word, you could actually start to embrace it and own it".[4] Gloria Steinem has suggested a boycott of Limbaugh for his use of the term,stating, "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".[5][6]

See also

References

Further reading

  • Dye, April (30 March 2006). "Angry Feminazis and Manhaters: How Women Develop Positive Feminist Identities in the Face of Stigma". Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Women in Psychology, Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor, MI.
  • Ferree, Myra Max (2004). "Soft Repression: Ridicule, Stigma, and Silencing in Gender-based Movements". In Myers, Daniel J.; Cress, Daniel M. (eds.). Authority in Contention. Research in social movements, conflicts and change: an annual compilation of research. Vol. 25. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-7623-1037-1. ISSN 0163-786X.
  • Hazlett, Thomas Winslow (December 1987). "H.L. Mencken: The Soul Behind the Sass". Reason. We could really use him now, what with Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, Tip O'Neill and Jerry Falwell, Gary Hart and Donna Rice, the Moonies, the feminazis, the Naderite crusaders, and the television evangelists.
  • Limbaugh, Rush H. (1992). "The Limbaugh Lexicon". The Way Things Ought to Be. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-67-175145-6. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  • Martirosyan, Lucy (August 3, 2016). "Check out this cumbia response to the word 'feminazi'". Public Radio International. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016.
  • Rudman, Chelsea (12 March 2012). "'Feminazi': The History Of Limbaugh's Trademark Slur Against Women". Media Matters for America.
  • Skutta, Peter (1997). "Linguistic politics and language usage in the debate on "Political Correctness"". hausarbeiten.de.
  • Waisanen, Don (2013). "An Alternative Sense of Humor: The Problems With Crossing Comedy and Politics in Public Discourse". In Rountree, Clarke (ed.). Venomous Speech: Problems with American Political Discourse on the Right and Left. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. pp. 308–9. ISBN 978-0-31-339867-4. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)

External links