SuaveSocialist said:
Then you've never seen or met a feminist. Feminism by definition is pursuit of equality (Women|Men); Women>Men is the formula of misandry and there is no overlap. "If you want equal rights for both men and women, you are a feminist." --Props to Teeqoz for saying it better. |
That's unfortunately not how language works, or has ever worked.
Words don't operate based on prescriptive definitions. They operate based on common usage. That's why definitions change over time and why some words in a dictionary will have multiple definitions.
The common usage of feminist does NOT match the dictionary definition because the behaviour of people who call themselves feminists does not match that definition. It's really quite simple. That's why if you poll the general population, they overwhelmingly say they're in favour of equality but don't identify as a feminist: http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2015/04/09/82-percent-of-americans-dont-consider-themselves-feminists-poll-shows/
People who just bury their heads in the sand and try and claim ownership over words just get slowly but surely erased by history. Usage is all that matters.
