Cross-posted at Sadie Magazine

When Emma and I went on the road, we got this question over and over again—since the word “feminism” is too exclusive, too loaded, can’t we just think of another word? Something that means the same thing, but one that doesn’t drag around this exclusive history and these disparaging stereotypes? Emma’s and my gut response to these questions was always, “Hell no.” It was partly because, as Andi Zeisler, founder of Bitch Magazine and one of our Portland interviewees, said to us, a word that means “women’s rights” is always going to garner a negative connotation, so we might as well save our energy and stick with what we’ve got.

But it was also something else—something I couldn’t quite articulate until today when I read this infuriating article on Oprah.com.

Oprah.com’s Karen Salmansohn echoes some of the women we talked to, saying that “feminism” conjures up images of “controlling, bitchy women” and women who are “basically unattractive both in looks and spirit.” Feminism doesn’t make women’s lives better; according to Karen, it apparently “den[ies] the existence and the benefits of either our male or female sides.”

So instead of attempting to rail against these sexist, harmful stereotypes, Salmansohn has invented a new word—“feminine-ism.” This new word brings back the old phrase “getting in touch with your feminine side.”

I’m sorry, but that’s a serious cop-out. (First off, “feminine-ism” is the most ungraceful tongue-twister ever, but anyway…) Not only is this new word and its accompanying explanation letting the backlash against feminism win and reinforcing enraging and false assumptions about feminism, it’s also implying that being feminine is some sort of “answer” to feminism, as if the two are always mutually exclusive. Since when can you not be feminine and a feminist? If you think of “feminism” as believing in the equality and freedom of women, whether someone wears lipstick or pink tights wouldn’t even appear to matter, now would it?

Granted, I don’t hold up Oprah.com as a beacon of feminist analysis, but it pisses me off that the only way mainstream sites like these give feminism air time is when they’re trying to refute its importance. I agree that the meaning of feminism needs to be shaped to fit the cultural consciousness of each generation and the issues they grapple with–Emma and I went on our road trip to discover just that. Modern feminism is intersectional and inclusive, more a feeling than a movement. But when I see the word “feminism” cast to the wind in favor of a ridiculous-sounding word that means—well, not much—I start to feel indignant. Feminism is a powerful, amorphous word that means different things to different people. No matter whether you agree with or identify with it, it sparks conversations, acts as a code word to bring to light gender issues, and keeps us on a continuum of history. If a word can do all that, then it’s sure as hell worth fighting for.