Stereotypes and

Misconceptions Associated
with Feminism
Who profits from the semantic derogation of the term
“feminist”, narrowed to mean “unfeminine-hence-
unattractive man-hating lesbian”?

Ivan Lavinia-Aurelia, 3rd Year, EN-GE

Gender and Discourse 2022

“Are you a feminist?“

◉ apparently, even I (the presenter) used to have

misguided ideas as to what the word “feminist”
means.
◉ Can easily be mistaken for something else.
◉ Why this tendency of not admitting that you’re a
feminist?

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Signifier and Signified

Signifier Signified

◉ when you read/hear the signifier “feminist”, do

you ever really think of a man as the signified?
◉ “feminist woman”? – redundancy
 stereotype 1: ‘Only women can be feminists.’
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 [Twenge and Zucker, “WHAT IS A FEMINIST? Evaluations
and Stereotypes in Closed- and Open-Ended
Responses”,1999, p. 592]

In other words: hate the feminists, not the “females”!

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Some keywords
◉ feminists: “ugly”, “aggressive”, “man-hating”, “lesbians”
 the following stereotypes can be deduced:
 stereotype 2: ‘To be a real feminist, a woman cannot be
feminine or demure.’
 stereotype 3: ‘Feminism is about fighting men, hating men,
and eliminating men.’
 stereotype 4: ‘Feminists are opposed to marriage and
motherhood.’
[T. De Rozario and H. Zheng, 11 Myths and Facts about Feminism,
https://www.aware.org.sg/2010/02/myths/]
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Google search: “stereotypical feminist look”, first image:

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More recent studies (Twenge and Zucker, 1999) – generally more positive view
upon feminists (instead of “ugly”, “aggressive”, “man-hating”  “assertive”,
“career-oriented”, “independent”)

Yet: “antimale”, “radical”

(p. 603)

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Other stereotypes:
5. ‘“”Feminist”” is the female equivalent of “”chauvinist””’
6. ‘If I am a sexually liberal woman, I am a feminist.’
7. ‘Feminists believe that women's actions are above criticism and can always be
excused because of the discrimination they have suffered. Therefore they never
have to take responsibility for their behaviour.’
8. ‘Feminism purports that all women are disadvantaged in our society and that all
men are privileged by their gender.’
9. ‘The fact that there are some women who have a higher social and economic status
than some men means inequality has been eliminated.’
10. ‘There is no more need for feminism: women have the vote, they have jobs. The
goals have been met.’
[T. De Rozario and H. Zheng, 11 Myths and Facts about Feminism,
https://www.aware.org.sg/2010/02/myths/] 8
◉ All those stereotypes – deliberately radical,
unappealing, so that the word “feminist” remains
“taboo”
◉ a “divide and conquer” kind of approach – no
concept to unite them
◉ distracting men and women from the common,
subtle “enemy”

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So who profits from the semantic
derogation of the term
“feminist”?
◉ on the surface: misogynists (using “feminist” as a derogatory term
to justify their views)
◉ misogynists  agents of the patriarchy
◉ The “beneficiary”: not an identifiable person/ group of people
◉ Preserves the capitalist logic of exploitation:

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 So who profits from the semantic
derogation of the term
“feminist”? (2)
◉ The idea of equality between men and women (basic premise of feminism)–
undesirable for those who profit from maintaining the status-quo of inequality
(the six analytical structures)
◉ Ridiculing “feminist”/”feminism” – a way of silencing men and women who
question this status-quo
◉ Preventing them from what they should be pursuing together  a revaluation
of values (from patriarchal values “individualism, material wealth, leisure,
entertainment, traditional power, influence, and status ” to new values, like
“integrity, fairness, honesty, kindness, openness, hard work, love, community,
loyalty, faith, sharing, justice, and charity”. 
https://feministmasculinity.com/home/2019/11/6/the-benefits-of-patriarchy 11
Thank you for your
time!

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