Defining Feminism Accurately: Further Evidence

"Feminism is the view that our society generally treats men more fairly than women" is right on the money.

What is feminism? Modern dictionaries typically say something along the lines of “feminism is the view that men and women should be treated equally.” But as I keep arguing, this is an absurdly politicized definition. Hard data shows that almost everyone in America believes that men and women should be treated equally - including people who say that they are not feminists. This 2016 Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation Feminism Survey asked: “Do you consider yourself to be a strong feminist, a feminist, not a feminist or an anti-feminist?” Results:

Next question:

Since 53% of respondents do not consider themselves feminists, the maximum possible share of non-feminists who answered No is less than 10%. “Feminism is the view that men and women should be treated equally”? We might as well define feminism as “the view that the sky is blue.”

What’s a better definition? I’ve proposed: “Feminism is the view that our society generally treats men more fairly than women.” I maintain that this is the opposite of a politicized definition. Why? Because it correctly distinguishes feminists from non-feminists. If you are a feminist, you assign a very high probability to “our society generally treats men more fairly than women.” If you aren’t a feminist, you don’t. Either you’re agnostic, or flatly disagree.

Nevertheless, I’ve yet to meet a feminist willing to accept my definition. Even though I went out of my way to word the definition neutrally and mildly, they speak as if my definition is absurdly politicized. I could have stacked the deck with, “Feminism is the fanatical belief in the extreme oppression of women in our society,” but I didn’t. My goal was to come up with a definition to match actual usage.

What’s strange: Even though no feminist has accepted my definition, no feminist has rejected my definition in the logically straightforward way. Namely: To say, “I’m a feminist, and I deny that our society generally treats men more fairly than women.” Instead, feminist critiques of my view begin by saying, “Your definition is wrong,” then make a long list of specific claims about how our society generally treats men more fairly than women.

Still unconvinced? I’ve come across two further bodies of empirics in my favor.

First, this 2022 American Perspectives Survey specifically asks: “Does Society Treat Men Better Than Women?” Results:

Further context:

Fifty-seven percent of the public say society treats men better than women. Fewer than one in three (32 percent) Americans believe that men and women are treated equally, and only 9 percent say women are treated better. That’s a sharp change from a few years earlier. In 2019, less than half (46 percent) of Americans said that men generally received better treatment in American society than women received. More than half said women were treated better (11 percent) or women and men received equal treatment (42 percent).

And:

Perceptions also vary considerably between Democrats and Republicans. Nearly eight in 10 (79 percent) Democrats, compared to 35 percent of Republicans, believe that men receive preferential treatment in American society. Republican men are uniquely disposed to reject the idea that women are worse off in American society. Only 24 percent of Republican men—compared to nearly half (45 percent) of Republican women—believe society treats women worse. Notably, roughly as many Republican men (21 percent) say that men are treated worse in American society today.

Granted, this data does not specifically ask, “Are you a feminist?” But given the partisan breakdown, there can be little doubt that almost all self-identified feminists would have answered, “Society generally treats men better than women.” Indeed, the 2019 American Perspectives Survey and the 2016 Feminism Survey snap together almost perfectly. In the former, 59% of women and 34% of men said that our society treats men better than women. In the latter, 60% of women and 33% of men identify as “feminists.”

Second, this 2021 Gallup survey asks some similar questions.

• “How satisfied are you with the way women are treated in society?” Logically speaking, granted, respondents could answer “very dissatisfied” because they are very dissatisfied with the way both genders are treated in society. But that’s a far-fetched reading.

• “Do you feel that women in this country have equal job opportunities as men, or not?” This is obviously one major component driving perceived gender unfairness gaps.

• “Do you generally favor or oppose affirmative action programs for women?” The connection between affirmative action and perceived unfairness is again clear. If you think our society treats women fairly, you have little reason to support affirmative action; if you think our society treats women unfairly, you have much reason to support it.

Basic results:

These Gallup results also fit well with the 2016 Washington Post/Kaiser findings. In the former, 56% of women and 39% of men are dissatisfied with the treatment of women in society. In the latter, to repeat, 60% of women and 33% of men identify as “feminists.” Furthermore, Gallup’s partisan breakdown is basically what you’d expect if my definition were correct:

I normally avoid definitional arguments like the plague. Why? Because they’re a distraction from substantive issues. Occasionally, though, a major intellectual movement tries to define its way to victory. If the movement is intimidating enough, this strategy can actually work. Alas, this is the path the feminist movement has generally taken. While I’d rather just focus on the facts, this isn’t even possible until we deny the dogma that feminism’s defining characteristic is a view that almost everyone already holds.