why is it so wrong to call yourself an equalist instead of a feminist?

[IWouldNotCouldNotWithAGoat]

I have heard it quite often here that people are quite scathing of those who choose to call themselves equalists or humanists rather than feminists. Can I ask why?

feminist is not an exclusive term. You can be a feminist and a capitalist and an anti-racist, because they are all different things. You can support your village football team, and Chelsea and the England team.

That's very true. A great many men in society are victims of it too. And capitalism is the root of all evil

I agree with everything you say - where power lies, that a true and just society would have no need for any causes, that power must be shared equally...

So feminism isn't really about women because they're women? It's about redistribution of power from whoever has it, to groups currently disadvantaged by where power and wealth is currently, and how it is used in order to make sure things stay how they are!

So feminism is a political movement? Calling for great change in distribution of wealth and power?

yes but claig - if a match was being played by all three, on the same day, at the same time, - which would you attend?

It's not a case of priorities or ranking. It's a case of noticing a problem (as opposed to pretending a problem doesn't exist)

good point. Whichever one you thought was the more important. It depends if they were friendlies. You can think that anti-racism is more important than feminism, but you can still be a feminist. I don't think you have to think it is the most important thing.

And any male "victims" of patriarchy, are in that situation because of other men , not women.

what a strange concept, Hecate
Which match would a disabled black woman attend- as a person who suffers more than a disabled man, and more than a black man, because she is a woman

I wouldn't see a contradiction if you said 'I'm a feminist but I don't get to many feminist football matches because they tend to clash with the anti-racism ones and disablism ones and those are more important to me personally.'

That's a very good question and a good challenge to me. I would indeed say I was against racism, and discrimination against disabled people, and oppression of women. Discrimination in all its forms, clearly. Any time any of those issues arose in my life. I would protest, argue, do whatever I could.

You have really challenged me. I am firmly opposed to discrimination in all forms - so clearly one of the things that makes me is a feminist.

So why, when clearly I object most strongly to the oppression that women have suffered and continue to suffer, do I not call myself Feminist?

So that brings me back to my original thing - what makes a person equally opposed to all forms of discrimination, call themselves a feminist?

That's all I don't understand.

"I am equally opposed to all forms of discrimination and because of that, I call myself a feminist because..."

That's the thing. If feminism means the interests of women, how can it mean you have the same strength of feeling about all discrimination, regardless of target? Doe it not mean that your focus is women?

There's nothing wrong with that! But I see that my mixed race, disabled sons, in a predominatly white area will probably have more difficulties in life than I will!

I need to think hard about all this, what feminism actually is, how I feel. What I am.

well my daughter is also mixed race and we live in a racially homogenous area. I know she is going to face far more problems for being female than for being mixed race.

TBH, I do know where you're coming from.

I still don'T think of myself as a feminist in all honesty, and noone except DH knows me as a feminist IRL.
It's just that, honestly, since seeing all the opposition against women asserting themselves, it has made me understand that identification with a label is necessary sometimes and on some occasions.

x posts with dittany.

It's since realising that lots of people have a problem with women fighting for women, that I realise we need the word "feminist"

I have no issue at all with other people's focus being on women (or whatever group they choose!). That's their choice. My point is not now nor has it ever been what other people should do. I have only ever talked about myself, my feelings, my thoughts. what I call myself. My reasons for not calling myself a feminist. My confusion over what being a feminist means, my understanding of focus.

Have there ever been threads asking if we label ourselves as Anti-Racist, or if we label ourselves as Anti-Disablist?

I see threads asking Are You A Feminist?

I don't see threads asking Are You An Anti-Racist.

So it's not like I have answered no to the first and yes to the second. iyswim.

However. You are right. If someone was to ask me - are you anti-racist. I would indeed reply yes. Same for anti-disablist.

If someone was to ask me if I am opposed to the oppression of women, I would reply yes.

So tell me - what does that make me?

That was where I was trying to explain my struggle with focus.

I think, Dittany, that you are right. I am sexist. Am I sexist or am I a female victim of sexism?

Because you're right. I would stand up and say yes, I am anti-racism. And I am opposed to the oppression of women. And the treatment of women in our society makes me so angry that I feel like my head is going to pop right off.

So why does the idea of Feminism make me think that it is 'cutting out' all other groups?

Am I brainwashed?

• not expecting answers, just typing out my thoughts!

You have really made me feel that my whole take on this is arseways up.

female victim of sexism? I don't think that's what I meant. A victim of sexism, a female collaborator, something along those lines.

Hecate if you think of it along the lines of someone who supports Cancer Research charities rather than Age Concern - why should their focus be on cancer, rather than the problems of old age. It's not that they're not concerned about the specific problems faced by the elderly, it's just that when they're doing a 10KM run and raising money, they choose the cancer research one. Each to their own.

But I suspect that many people's discomfort with the word feminist, is that it has been portrayed by the anti-feminist media as one-dimensional, caricatured wimmin who don't care about anything else. Very few other political causes or charities are portrayed in that way, I don't think - although there are a few, like Islamic extremists, communists, neo-Nazis - ie people who all embrace very violent philsophies, unlike feminism.

Why are we all so keen to cover ourselves and everyone else with labels? Slot everyone into pigeonholes.I disagree with any prejudice or discrimination of any kind but that is just part of who i am. Opinions, morals, ethics etc make up the only label any of us really need. 'Me'

Because otherwise shivermetimbers, it's impossible to have an intelligent discussion or a political movement. Why bother having labels for anything really - well, because it's useful. If we all describe things differently and have different terms for them, we wouldn't be able to commuicate. "Come to the table" wouldn't make sense, if some people thought the table was the thing with keys and strings which you sit at and play songs on, some thought it was the thing with cushions that you sit on, some thought it was the box with moving images and sounds that has disagreeable people like Simon Cowell in it and some thought it was the big metal thing outside with 4 wheels, which can go so fast that you can get to your grandmother's house in 40 minutes even though she lives 30 miles away. And only the person saying it, perceived the table as the piece of wood with 4 legs, that we use to put plates on and eat at.

Labels serve as shorthand to communicate and organise ideas. They are necessary.