A few days back, Gloria Steinem took to CBS This Morning to explain why she thought the word “feminism” is now a bad word:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdYTJop0f3U

Steinem was on the program in part to discuss and promote her new book, “My Life on The Road“.

“If you’ve ever listened to Rush Limbaugh or are at least somewhat aware of him, you know that he has used the term “feminazis,” which is actually defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as ‘an extreme or militant feminist.'”

In a recent post editorial board, The New York Post goes on to diagnose the ailment of the word “feminism”:

Sorry, Gloria: The brand turned sour long before Rush ever launched his first rant — a victim of its own leaders.

Too many folks see “feminist” as implying not just equality, but other ideas — that the sexes are the same, or should be; that women who stay home to raise the kids are making a bad choice . . . Feminism got tied to one side in the abortion wars and countless other issues. It’s hard now to see it as more than another arm of the “progressive” agenda.

True feminism may be about equal respect for women and the choices they make — but the “feminists” long ago got stuck respecting some choices, and some women, more.

Who gave “feminism” a bad name? Not critics like Limbaugh, but the believers whose endless excesses guaranteed that “feminazi” would hit home.

The word “Nazi” is associated with a very ugly time in German history. Attach “Nazi” to ANY word in the English language and it has a negative connotation. Steinem was referring to Limbaugh’s use of the word “feminazi” and not the word “feminist”. Over the years, the word “feminist” got morphed from women wanting equality in the workplace and in social circles. It was about having a voice and being an advocate for oneself and one’s values. The problem with the feminist movement today does not stem from what one radio host has to say about the movement, but what popular feminists of our generation are saying about themselves and others around them.

The word feminism is being brandished in liberal circles and is laughed at if even one person attempted to use it to define a Conservative woman. A Christian woman who chooses (because now we have a choice) to be at home with her children and not shove them in daycare is, by definition today, not a feminist. She’s not empowered and “the man” is keeping her down. It does not matter if she is advocating for herself, family or her children and if she feels that she is in an important role-it’s not the “feminist” way of 2015. “Feminism” is not a woman arming herself and learning how to use that weapon. A woman who utters any other opinion than the widely accepted “feminist” views on abortion is clearly not a “feminist”. And a woman who enjoys a strong, solid, (mentally stable helps, too) man in her life is clearly NOT a “feminist” and making respectable choices.

What gives “feminism” a bad rap has very little to do with Limbaugh. Want to know what gives feminism a bad rap? Look no further than our modern poster girls for the movement (Lena Dunham and your Hollywood posse, this is where y’all enter in.) Why does feminism get a bad rap today? Perhaps, it’s the whole emasculating our men bit?

Or perhaps it’s because we have movements like #FreeTheNipple and then whine about sexual assault. Perhaps because our celebrities (who are self-proclaimed feminists) strip down to almost nothing and sexualize their bodies in the name of “empowerment”. Perhaps because of “free bleeding” or other ridiculous movements? Or maybe it’s because “Get Your Laws off My Body” got replaced with #ShoutYourAbortion and chanting about yeast infections. Perhaps because aborting life became more important than giving life, because some women have gone so far as to look at something that once gave us great power (giving birth and having an influence on that child) as a weakness imposed upon us.

Oh, Rosie! Where are you now?!