But why say you're a FEMINIST when you could say you're an EQUALIST?

And so the saying goes every time somebody dares to declare themselves a feminist.

Source: Julie Jordan Scott, Flickr.

I was recently confronted with this very problem in the form of a Facebook status. I know what you're thinking, why on earth are you wasting your time getting angry about a Facebook status? And honestly, I have no idea. I think I was just feeling that way out.

The status is question was not specifically related to women's rights, however the comments quickly turned into a discussion about feminism. One person stated that 'the feminist movement is now tainted by man-hating maniacs and tumblr fanatics', and others agreed, with one commenting skeptically that 'Apparently feminism nowadays is about bashing on every male who ever makes a statement that involves women... And there I was thinking feminism was about equality'.

And there I was thinking that we had begun to move past the idea that 'feminism' is a dirty term, but hey ho. 

The comment that bothered me the most, however, was one that provided the belief that anyone who wants equality should call them themselves an equalist, not a feminist. 

And to that comment I call absolute bull- well, let's just say I don't agree. 

To me, 'equalist' is a blanket term that refers to a basic belief in equality. 'Equalist' is also the umbrella held over all movements towards equality: anti-racism, feminism, LGBT etc. Someone who calls themselves a feminist is an equalist - the two stem from the same belief, it's just that one is general and one is specific. 

It's exactly the same concept as somebody being a gay rights supporter considering themselves an 'equalist'. You wouldn't ever catch somebody calling out the LGBT community on being too exclusive because it ignores race/religion/gender.

Again, it harks back to this idea that feminism is full of man-haters. 

Like we have time in our busy schedules of being mothers, daughters, wives, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, balancing work and leisure, at the same time as trying to self-improve through things like eating more organically or taking bubble baths because Cosmo says we should, to actually specifically target men and bully them.

I don't know about anybody else, but I am getting very tired of people assuming feminism is a direct hit at men, rather than a direct at the ascribed power and privilege that surrounds them. 

So next time somebody asks me 'Why are you a feminist rather than an equalist?' I am going to refer them to this: 

Hopefully they will see the word 'equality' in there, and make the connection between that and 'equalist' in their heads before feeling very, very silly indeed.

And if they're still feeling left out because of the words 'women's rights', I'll point them in the direction of the millions of women who have felt exactly the same way due to society advocating men's rights over the centuries, and see how they feel then.