General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Yes, I am a Feminist. Deal. With. It. [View all]davidn3600
(6,342 posts)It's a generational thing, I think.
Most young women today believe in the core beliefs of feminism. But they don't want to be called feminists. You talk to young women about this and you will hear a very similar phrase from most of them, "I believe in equality, but I'm not a feminist."
Now I understand the older generation views it as the same thing. That feminism means equality between men and women. But today's youth wants to take a step further...they don't like the idea of being part of a movement that has only one gender in the name. They are not comfortable with that. They support women's rights, but they want to support men too. So that's why you see this trend, especially in the youth, dropping the feminist label but keeping the beliefs.
And I don't know if you can really ever fix that now. For one thing, the right wing has done a very good job tainting it. Second thing is the RadFems have done a good job tainting it too. And 3rd thing, women would just rather say they support equality for everyone.