Editing Feminazi (section)

==Origins and usage==
''Feminazi'' is a [[portmanteau]] of the nouns ''[[feminist]]'' and ''[[Nazi]]''.{{r|Horan 2019|Merriam-Webster}} According to ''The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang'', it refers (pejoratively) to "a committed feminist or a strong-willed woman".{{r|Barrett 2006}} The earliest attested use, according to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]],'' is a 1989 article in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' about an [[United States anti-abortion movement|anti-abortion protest]] that used the slogan "Feminazis Go Home".{{r|Horan 2019}} The term was later popularized by American conservative radio talk show host [[Rush Limbaugh]] in the early 1990s.{{r|Horan 2019|Lacy 2010|Moi 2006|Kimmel 2013}} Limbaugh credited the coining of the term to university professor [[Thomas Hazlett]].{{r|Moi 2006|Limbaugh 1992}}

Limbaugh, who was vocally critical of the [[feminist movement]],{{r|Jamieson 2008}} stated that the term ''feminazi'' refers to "[[Radical feminism|radical feminists]]" whose goal is "to see that there are as many abortions as possible",{{r|Barrett 2006|Moi 2006}} a small group of "militants"{{r|Jamieson 2008}} whom he characterized as having a "quest for power" and a "belief that men aren't necessary".{{r|Moi 2006}} Limbaugh distinguished these women from "well-intentioned but misguided people who call themselves 'feminists{{' "}}.{{r|Jamieson 2008}} However, the term came to be widely used for feminism as a whole.{{r|Levit 1998}} According to ''[[The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English]]'', Limbaugh used the term "to marginalize any feminist as a hardline, uncompromising manhater".{{r|Dalzell 2015}} ''The New York Times'' has described it as "one of [Limbaugh's] favorite epithets for supporters of women's rights".{{r|Seelye 1994}}

The term ''feminazi'' is used to characterize feminist perspectives as extreme in order to discredit feminist arguments{{r|Rodriguez-Darias 2018}} and to stigmatize women's views or behavior as "radical", "extreme", and "tyrannical".{{r|Horan 2019}} It has been used in mainstream American discourse to erroneously portray women as hyper-vigilant to perceived [[sexism]].{{r|Brake 2007}} Literary critic [[Toril Moi]] writes that the term reflects commonplace ideas that feminists "hate men", are "dogmatic, inflexible, and intolerant", and constitute "an extremist, power-hungry minority".{{r|Moi 2006}} In his book ''[[Angry White Men]]'', the sociologist Michael Kimmel says the term is used to attack feminist campaigns for [[Equal pay for equal work|equal pay]] and safety from [[rape]] and [[domestic violence]] by associating them with [[The Holocaust|Nazi genocide]].{{r|Kimmel 2013}}

The term is used as an insult across [[mass media]] and [[social media]]. "Feminazis" are often described as dangerous, strident, man-hating, prudish, humorless, and overly sensitive.{{r|Horan 2019}} Linguist [[Geraldine Horan]] writes that there is a marked increase in the use of the term in mainstream media whenever a female public figure makes headlines.{{r|Horan 2019}} Usage in the United Kingdom peaked in 2015 along with reporting on barrister [[Charlotte Proudman]], who had criticized a male colleague for commenting on her appearance online.{{r|Horan 2019}} In Australia, the term gained wider use following the 1995 publication of the book ''[[The First Stone]]'', and has been used in popular media to characterize feminists as threatening, "vindictive", and "puritanical".{{r|Schaffer 1998}}