The blog entry I couldn’t recall yesterday on why the word feminist shouldn’t exist is here: https://ronniehurd.wordpress.com/2015/02/20/the-word-feminist-shouldnt-exist-heres-why/

He concludes:

I’m not saying to cut ‘feminist’ out of our lives cold-turkey, nor do I have any disdain for whypeople that use it to describe themselves. However, I do believe that by using ‘feminist’ to describe yourself, you’re feeding the idea that feminists should have to defend their position, when in reality it needs no defense. It implies that at some point you began to form feministic views in the same way you began to lean Democrat or Republican. One day, children will be embarrassed to have misogynistic and anti-gay relatives the same way we’re embarrassed to have racist ones now. Leave the long list of titles for the barbarians, the rest of us are just…people.

My friend Hope posted the following response to an anti-feminist rant singer Johnette Napolitano gave at a recent gig (copied in full with permission):

And what a shame that I was so terribly distracted by your little speech on feminism, and why you’re not a feminist.

I gather it started out on Twitter, and someone, whose opinion you discounted based on their age, called you out for eschewing the label “feminist,” while still espousing feminist ideals.

I’m 44. Maybe you’ll deem my opinion valid?

You said you weren’t a “feminist” but rather a “humanist,” and that you didn’t like “the woman box” — “woman musician,” “female singer,” “lady guitarist.”

You know why we need feminism? Because of “the woman box,” for starters. There are two kinds of musicians: “musicians,” and “female musicians.” Guess which one is the default setting? I’ll give you a hint: It doesn’t have ovaries.*

It’s like the brouhaha over “Black Lives Matter” versus “All Lives Matter.” Do all lives matter? Of course. But no one is saying that white lives don’t matter.

Feminism is about leveling the playing field and giving women equal opportunities as men. Are you seriously saying you’re opposed to that?

*Generalizing, of course. There are plenty of transmen, intersex men, XXY men, and other men who have or have had ovaries.

That nails it quite well, sadly. Another blogger, Amy Steele, called Napolitano on this as well.