Femalism / Femalist

[GNCQ]

I watched Posie Parker on YouTube last night but I won't link to the video.

However, I did want to reference where I first heard the term.

She says, because "feminist" has basically been taken by men, and by women who are not centering women in the slightest, and doesn't mean what it should mean anymore (we're all familiar with "Everyday Feminism" with Riley J Dennis right?), there's a new term in need.

I think Femalist works quite well. Where "Feminist" seems to be linguistically linked to "feminine" (probably not the intention of the term but you can see it there) "Femalist" looks to be quite obvious what it's about.

Posie Parker is against "Gender Critical Feminist" as a term because in doing so you're basically supporting the idea of gender but from a protest position.

Protest Politics is not a position of power.

What's your opinion? I quite like the term instead of GC Feminist.

@SmokedDuck what "different set of boundaries" do you think would be more likely to succeed than those drawn by the word "feminist" or "feminism"?

Whatever word we use becomes a target. It becomes more obscure. Let's fight for the words that everybody knows rather than retreat and fight for a lesser prize.

[quote AssassinatedBeauty]@SmokedDuck what "different set of boundaries" do you think would be more likely to succeed than those drawn by the word "feminist" or "feminism"? [/quote]
It's nothing to do with succeeding. It's just that a word that means the same thing is less likely to be used, as arguably superfluous, or to subject to the same pressures and so be distorted in a similar way.

A word that means something somewhat different would have a purpose of its own.

I like femailist- though it kind of makes me think of the Daily Mail and their Femail section. I also like womanist/womanism but then that doesn't work for girls

If a group of basketball players started telling everyone they were actually footballers I doubt the FA would change the name of the game to be accommodating.

I don't believe you can both be a feminist and be pro gender (sex based stereotypes). It's a contradiction. I'm not keen on "gender critical" as a term but do use it for short hand sometimes - I feel the same way about "gender non-conforming".

Femalist sounds like you're prejudiced against someone because they're female (see racist and sexist). I really dislike it, and don't see why, when we're trying hard to hang on to our own language of woman, female, breastfeeding etc, we should be changing feminism to something else. As a pp has said, whatever it might get called will be up for attempted colonisation. And then we're back at square one.

I don't like the term Gender Critical for the reasons Posie gives, but I don't see anything wrong with radical feminist to describe myself - as the issues important to me on feminism are broader than just gender, for a start.

No. Not ceding "feminist". I won't stop using a word just because others use it incorrectly.

When my Grandma was 90+, she routinely confused the words "refrigerator" and "microwave". Nevertheless, her refrigerator never did succeed in heating her tea, nor did the world at large believe that it did or could.

I'm not keen either. Firstly because as already said, moving on to a new word just makes that word the next target (look at how the activists already moved from "transwomen" to "trans women" and then "trans females", why would this be any different?) - and secondly, why should we give up our perfectly good word just because a few idiots are misusing or appropriating it? Barely anyone in the real world has even heard of Riley etc, and of those who have, I doubt more than the tiniest fraction buy into Riley's takeover of "feminism" - as far as I'm concerned, that is obviously NOT real feminism, and nor is any "feminism" that wants to give up women's spaces and rights, so we should still feel free (or even obliged) to keep using and defending the word in its true sense of fighting for women's rights.

I also don't think of myself as a "gender critical feminist" because a) this does kind of imply buying into, although disapproving of, the concept of "gender", whereas my take is that "gender" in the sense that it is currently used (gender identity etc) is a load of harmful made-up nonsense, not a real thing (compared to "gender" in the older, feminist sense of the roles/expectations/stereotypes imposed on us from outside based on our sex, which I would say IS a real thing, but is also harmful!), and b) as previous posters said, if you are a feminist in the true sense of the word, it should go without saying that this means fighting against both "gender identity" ideology and the sex-based stereotypes, expectations etc. that were originally described as "gender".

A lof of people don't consider GC feminists to be feminists at all

But as those people aren't feminists themselves I'm not sure we should put too much weight on their opinion.

Feminists believe that women have been oppressed because of our sex (not our 'identity') and this is a situation that can and should be rectified.

@NotTerfNorCis

A lof of people don't consider GC feminists to be feminists at all

But as those people aren't feminists themselves I'm not sure we should put too much weight on their opinion.

Feminists believe that women have been oppressed because of our sex (not our 'identity') and this is a situation that can and should be rectified.

I would contest that. Mona El Tahawi for example is a formidable feminist. I just read her Seven Necessary Sins for Women and it is stunning.

Femalist sounds like you're prejudiced against someone because they're female (see racist and sexist)

That's true, 00:21MuggleStudiesResearchProject

I hadn't looked at the word in that way but can see how confusing it could potentially become.

Haha maybe we should start calling LibFems "Femalist" meaning against women! That's the problem with inventing new words and terms I suppose.

I would contest that. Mona El Tahawi for example is a formidable feminist. I just read her Seven Necessary Sins for Women and it is stunning

Yes she is I agree.

Which is why it's so disappointing that she has such a blind spot to gender ideology and how harmful it is to women and girls.

Although, it's not surprising seeing as her life focus is addressing very serious problems that hurt women and girls in the Middle East and Asia, she probably hasn't given this American ideology much thought and I don't blame her.

A lot of people don't consider GC feminists to be feminists at all so I think it's probably a good move to change the name - it will improve clarity on the issue

So?

Feminism has been around for far longer than the trans movement and intersectionalism, and it is not acceptable for you to feel you can colonise and appropriate all language in this way.

sounds like you're prejudiced against someone because they're female (see racist and sexist)

Doesn’t the suffix “ist” just indicate a person with a particular set of beliefs. Marxist/anarchist/feminist/philanthropist etc.

Though , I agree that 'feminism' has 'femininity' as its root word, and feminists tend to be against enforced gender constructs.But still, it is part of the history of the women's movement. Perhaps those that don't believe in the reality of sex can call themselves genderists because that seems like the most accurate description.

I just looked up the etymology of 'feminism' and found:

"Femalist already had been taken as "courter of woman, a gallant" (1610s). "

www.etymonline.com/search?q=Feminism

I'm a feminist. Ive been a feminist since i was about 12. Im not changing words to suit someone else

Dead right, RufustheSniggeringReindeer and I'm the same. A "GC feminist" is a feminist. You don't need the extra letters. Anyone who centres men, as in allowing them into women's spaces, is not a feminist.

If I ever feel the need for a qualifier I go with ‘proper’. 😀

Have a look at this

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Femalism

seems someone got there before Kelly Jay, or did they...?

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me, I'll stick with feminist thanks.

I know what I mean by feminist. If other people think it means something else then that's their problem. Though I would quite like to adopt Terf as a positive adjective.

rather we reclaim feminist. Here is a femalist definition:
Noun
femalist (plural femalists)
(rare) Someone who courts or pursues the female sex; a womanizer. [from 16th c.]
Not sure that is what Posie was thinking. But then once it all about Posie it is ok.

Traditional Feminist or, as a PP said, ‘proper’. Although seven syllables is kind of lengthy, it’d be shortened to Trad Feminist, which some would mis-hear as Trans Feminist, and everyone would be more confused than they were before 😂

For me I always equate the critical in gender critical as being the same as the critical in critical thinking rather meaning 2 as it were rather than meaning 1. I accept that this may not leap out to everyone

1. expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgements.
2. expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature, music, or art. ...(or idea or theory)

"she never won the critical acclaim she sought"

I do tend to use GC rather than GCF as yes I guess I don't feel much desire to be included in that particular party I guess.

Beyond that I'm heading back in the direction of Women's lib.

Feminist - and not the fun kind