EmBOOsa apology accepted although TBH I'm very surprised that you misread my posts to the extent of them reading to you as though I'm telling people what to do.
I am bewildered by women who support feminism and see the need for it but refuse to identify as feminists themselves on the basis of being afraid of fringe views. I really really am. I don't get the point of it and to a certain extent it seems a rather dissonant position and one that depends on other women standing up and being counted and speaking out in individual support of the movement. I think that is why I care at all about this discussion. There are women who make themselves targets due to being 'out' as feminists and making our collective voices heard. If we cannot even stand in support of these women then I'm not sure we are very deserving of their energy and struggle.
And yes, a political movement does need analysis, literature and aims in order to actually achieve anything - otherwise it isn't a movement it is an academic subject. Such is the case with Egalitarianism - it is a trend of thought, a political philosophy, a subject to be studied at university.
Feminism is by nature and definition a grass roots movement. It is a movement born out of lived and shared experience, solidarity and support.
I'm also utterly bewildered by this swerving away from 'labels' indeed I'm a little
at the term label in and of itself as used here. It comes across as an entirely apolitical position and erosive of solidarity and the strength of numbers.
I don't agree that fringe elements of all movements receive the most attention. I doubt there are many people in the UK who know very much about the fringe views held in feminism. (I don't doubt that many people could tell you about the stereotype of these fringe views however.)
We have had plenty of posts on this thread citing these 'fringe views' as a reason for distancing oneself from feminism (even if one believes in the movement) but no actual concrete example of what these views might be.
If people are apolitical or don't believe in the need for solidarity or don't actually agree with the need for feminism, I can understand why the wouldn't wish to call themselves feminists. For a woman who does see the need and benefits of feminism, but disses the movement, bangs on about extremism or refuses to be even in spoken agreement with the movement by identifying as one of its number, well, that strikes me as attempting to gain a free lunch. And I think it is very destructive (even though that may not be the intention).