Before discovering that it was entirely separate from “raisin,” I used to hate the colloquialism “craisin.” Dried grapes are called “raisins”, while dried cranberries are simply “dried cranberries.” “Craisin” sounds like a lazy blend of cranberry raisin… which you can’t do.

Raisins are grapes. Simply by definition, a “craisin” - or a cranberry raisin - cannot exist because raisins are grapes. We’ll ignore cross-breeding. Craisins will never be cranberries because their definitions are fundamentally different.

Likewise, simply by definition, femi-Nazi’s will never be feminists.

The definition of feminism is “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” If you believe that women deserve equal pay for equal work, equal employment opportunity, and equal healthcare, then you’re a feminist. If you believe women deserve equality socially, politically, and economically, then you’re a feminist. It’s not “who you associate yourself with” so much as a dictionary definition.

Femi-Nazis, the radically liberal group of people who call for women’s rights over men’s rights, are not a left-leaning branch of feminists. If you’re not for equality, than you’re not a feminist. Femi-Nazis are female chauvinists, not feminists.

By touting “feminism” in their campaigns, they sully the word and promote their own flawed definition… which in turn hurts the cause for true feminism. Thanks for ruining it for the rest of us.

Of course, we can’t ignore the negative connotations that have unfortunately been associated with the word “feminist.” “Retard,” which originally was an objective description of someone’s mental development, has been so commonly used as an insult that its original definition is obsolete in today’s society because of its negative connotations.

But I like to believe we’re haven’t gone quite so far yet.

Saying “I’m an advocate of equal female rights but not feminist” is like saying “I’m an echinoderm from the class Holothuroidea but I’m not a sea cucumber.” Sorry to break it to you, but you’re a sea cucumber. Or a feminist. Yes, it’s a label, but so is your name. Don’t be afraid to call yourself one and educate the ignorant about the true definition of feminism.

If you know the difference between raisins and craisins, then you can figure out the difference between feminists and Femi-Nazi’s.