Feminazi

Feminazi is a term popularized by radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Feminazi is a portmanteau of the nouns feminist and Nazi. The term is used pejoratively by some U.S. conservatives to criticize feminists.

Use and history of the word

In his 1992 book, Limbaugh credited his friend Tom Hazlett, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, with coining the term. In the book, Limbaugh also stated that the word refers to unspecified women whose goal is to allow as many abortions as possible, saying at one point that there were fewer than 25 "true feminazis" in the U.S. Limbaugh has used the term to refer to members of the National Center for Women and Policing, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women, and other organizations at the March for Women's Lives, a large pro-choice demonstration.

There were times when Limbaugh shied away from using the term due to the controversy it caused. In 2000, Limbaugh found it expedient to defend his use of the term, and make distinctions and changes in its use. According to Slate.com, in 2000:

"[Limbaugh] has all-but-dropped the term 'feminazi.' When he was lambasted for mocking AIDS victims, he quickly apologized. He stopped performing 'caller abortions.' Other political talk radio shows stumble because their hosts put the politics before radio (see sclerotic Bob Grant). But Limbaugh never makes that mistake. He is a genuine conservative, but 'he is a political entertainer and a consummate pro,' says John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, who helped write Limbaugh's first book. 'Don't forget he was a DJ.'"

In 2005, however, Limbaugh defended his use of the term: "I haven't used that term on this program in years. But it still gets to 'em, doesn't it? And you know why? Because it's right. Because it's accurate."

Other political commentators have also made comparisons between militant feminism and totalitarian ideologies. In 1994, Camille Paglia described some feminist groups as "Stalinist" for engaging in what she describes as censorship and quashing of dissent. In 1983, a year before Limbaugh debuted as a political talk-show host, anarchist Bob Black wrote an essay called "Feminism as Fascism".

Criticism

In a 1996 interview, Gloria Steinem characterized Limbaugh's use of the term “feminazi” as ironic since feminists and other political dissenters were among the victims of Nazi concentration camps and Nazi work camps. According to Steinem, "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." In her book Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Steinem elaborates on the repression of feminism under Hitler, noting that many prominent German feminists like Helene Stöcker, Trude Weiss-Rosmarin and Clara Zetkin were forced to flee Nazi Germany while others were killed in concentration camps. The term feminazi functions as a pejorative because it associates or compares feminists with Nazis, which makes the term an example of reductio ad Hitlerum.

See also

• Reductio ad Hitlerum