Straw feminism

Straw Feminism is a straw man argument whereby exaggerated or fabricated elements of feminism are used in an attempt to refute and / or derail feminist arguments. A Straw Feminist then is a fabricated character used by those arguing against feminism to devalue and derail feminist arguments. Straw Feminism often incorporates oversimplifications, misrepresentations and stereotypes of feminism in order to easily discredit feminism as a whole. These beliefs or practices are then exaggerated and made into the Straw Feminist. Straw Feminism is employed in everything from television shows and films to news shows.

Philosophical Background

The straw man argument is the basis of Straw Feminism and the Straw Feminist. The straw man argument is one where the impression is given that a claim is being refuted when actually the claim being argued against was never raised or is an exaggeration of the original claim.

Structure

The Straw Feminist argument would appear in the following format:

1. Person 1 argues a feminist point X
2. Person 2 argues against a point Y as if it were point X. Point Y may be related to point X, but it regards a different matter or is a distorted version of point X.
3. Person 2 declares that because of their argument against point Y, point X is invalid or incorrect.

Examples

Straw Feminism is employed in a myriad of ways in feminist and anti-feminist discourse. Most often, the strawfeminist is used to derail conversations about feminism.

Rush Limbaugh has popularized the term "Feminazi" as a way of creating a Straw Feminism that involves the demonizing of men and the warping of feminist standpoints on issues like abortion. In his 1992 book The Way Things Ought To Be, Limbaugh elaborated on the term.

A feminazi is a woman to whom the most important thing in life is seeing to it that as many abortions as possible are performed. Their unspoken reasoning is quite simple. Abortion is the single greatest avenue for militant women to exercise their quest for power and advance their belief that men aren't necessary. They don't need men in order to be happy. They certainly don't want males to be able to exercise any control over them. Abortion is the ultimate symbol of women's emancipation from the power and influence of men. With men being precluded from the ultimate decision-making process regarding the future of life in the womb, they are reduced to their proper, inferior role. Nothing matters but me, says the feminazi. My concerns prevail over all else. The fetus doesn't matter, it's an unviable tissue mass.

In a 2012 article for Fox News titled "The War on Men," Straw Feminism is employed as a means of misrepresenting feminism and the real world effects of feminism. The author writes that women have been raised to think of the male gender as an enemy because of feminism. Further, the author thinks that feminism preaches that women are good and men are bad, and that feminism has forced women away from a natural feminine role, making them more inclined to neglect men in favor of finding a perfect balance between work and domesticity.

See also

• Antifeminism
• Feminazi
• Sexism
• Men's rights
• Ad hominem
• Cherry Picking (fallacy)