A Few Words on the Word "Femnazi"

There have been a few linguists out there who claim that politicians can sometimes create a "story" that sticks in the public mind so well it ends up framing the entire debate around an issue, whether that issue be the war on terror, poverty, abortion or whatever. While the degree to which they succeed is debatable, I think it's impossible to deny that the story of the "ugly, hairy, lesbian, man-hating feminist" has been one that sticks, even among women and even among feminist women.

Right-wing commentator Rush Limbaugh contributed one of the most egregious tools in the perpetration of this story when he popularized the term "Femnazi" in his book The Way Things Ought To Be (wikipedia has a quote). In the quote, he labels feminists "femnazis" because they perpetuate the Holocaust of abortion. However, Rush Limbaugh has used it to mean far more than that. Even if you do believe that abortion is murder, it's impossible to deny that Rush says some crappy, anti-feminist, bullshit.

If you believe any of what he says is reasonable, then fuck off, because this article isn't for you, but I digress.

Feminists, for one reason or another, have sometimes appropriated the word "femnazi." I've seen maybe one occasion where the woman in question genuinely hated men, but more often I see feminists using the word "femnazi" to refer to themselves, as a way of taking back what would normally be a slur. For the most part, I'm cool with this.

However, I have ALSO seen it being used by self-proclaimed feminists use it to refer to ... well, THOSE feminists. Who "those" feminists are depends on the woman using the word. "Those" feminists can range from misandrists to lesbian separatists to radical feminists to pro-abortion feminists to someone who just doesn't like your favorite TV show. The point of the word is to make a distinction. The user of the word is one of the "good guys," not like "those" feminists.

I do not advocate censorship, but in my life I've found it necessary to strike words from my vocabulary, and "femnazi" is one of them. I agree that there are no bad words, but bad intentions, but if you use some words in certain ways, like using "gay" to mean "stupid" or "pussy" to mean "weak," you ARE using the word with a bad intention. ("Gay" to mean "homosexual" and "pussy" to mean "vagina" I'm fine with, though.) In a similar vein, if you consider yourself a feminist, and use the word "femnazi" to mean "those" feminists, you are using the word with a bad intention, one that hurts the cause of feminism far more than any perceived help.

( There are many reasons why )

And for those of you who think this issue isn't important 1.) BLAH! and 2.) give a hand to those low-income women of color left behind as Hurricane Gustav approaches (got from morchades who got from badgerbag who got from lavendertook who got from La Chola although I can't find where wait here it is). (my father bought for two zuzim, chad gadyaaaaa ...).