I am a feminist, and I am not ashamed of it. I think there is still absolutely a very real need for feminism in this world, and I will continue to support the rights of women globally until the day I die. Just look at Malala Yousafzai, who was literally shot for trying to go to school. There are endless examples of areas in the world where women do not even have basic human rights, and I do not want to live blissfully in a world like this just because I happen to have been lucky enough to be born in a country where women’s rights are respected. That being said, there are some ways in which America does a very poor job indeed, particularly in the rhetoric which is used against the feminist movement.

The term “feminazi” in particular is one I’ve seen used far too many times. Really, this points to a different problem in our rhetoric, where any party that disagrees with your opinions is inevitably tied to the Nazi party. We see the Democrats do this to the Republican party, and vice versa, and from everyone else in between. This is disrespectful not only to the group you are criticizing but also to anyone who was affected by the Nazi reign of terror. A woman marching shirtless with ‘Free the Nipple’ written on her chest is not part of the fascist group that killed nearly twenty million people. When the two are equated in an argument, it indicates to those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis that their sufferings are equivalent in the eyes of those arguing. So no, that particular movement that you’re against, whether it be feminists or people who correct grammar, are not “anything-nazis”. They are just people who happen to disagree with you.

One particular incident which heightened the use of this term occurred during the third debate of the 2016 Presidential campaign. According to Wikipedia, Donald Trump interrupted Hillary Clinton while she was answering a question about Social Security by saying, “Such a nasty woman,” into the microphone. This incident sparked a movement in which many feminists took up the title of Nasty Woman, and a poem of the same name, written by a Tennessee teenager, was recited at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. However, many critics of this movement have heard these “Nasty Women” and termed them “feminazis” because they are loud and unapologetic.

Honestly, I don’t understand exactly what these women have done to earn the title of “-nazis”. Yes, they are loud. Yes, they are sometimes rude. And yes, sometimes they do cause harm. There are a lot of problems with the feminist movement, mainly that it does not do enough to include more than just cisgendered white women. Feminism should be for these as well as transgendered women, women of color, and, oddly enough, also men. Feminism is about allowing everyone to dress, talk, sit, and move any way they’d like, regardless of their gender. It is for boys who want to talk about their feelings more often and it is for male survivors of sexual assault. It is for the girl who is whistled at and catcalled as she walks home from school wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. It is for anyone who has ever been told that they cannot do something because of their gender, and it means standing up unapologetically and saying, “No. We will not be told what we can and can’t do.” This is what these women are saying, and they do not have to say it quietly or in a way that pleases their critics. They can say it however they want, because that’s sort of the whole point.