I don't know. I'm all for equality. It shouldn't be given a bad rap unless the intention is to get MORE rights than men.

Because people like things "The way they are"- and don't want people to be equal. And also it's probably the extremist feminists that give us a bad name- so combatant all the time, people tend to think that we're all butch, bull dykes who want to get in a fight every night. It's ridiculous.

The same reason many people seem to think all Christians are out there bombing abortion clinics. It's the extremists, the ones that aren't happy with equality but want female superiority, that give the rest a bad image.

I have read multiple articles that stated that if you ask women (and many men) how they feel about individual issues, they will generally support feminist positions. However, if you ask them point-blank "Are you a feminist?", the usual answer is "Oh Heavens, NO!". I believe this is because some segments of the our political class and the mainstream media have successfully implanted the idea that words "feminist" and "feminism" automatically imply agreement with the most outspoken radical fringe-element feminist advocates ("femi-Nazi" in Limbaugh-speak), such as Andrea Dworkin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Dworkin By allowing this definition of feminism (with which many people do not agree) to be the reigning public image, the advocates of more mainstream feminist positions have hurt their cause. . . .

because it tries to make the male and female the same ..and we are NOT the same we may be equal but not the same.. and if they(feminists) did something instead of just whinging and blaming males them just maybe it wouldn't be looked apon as sh*t and dribble ..after all they are 50% of the population and they have a vote ..do something ! nah its easier to whinge p.s. I am 52 and have heard all this crap for the past 40y's and they have still done jack but blame the males ...poor babies

Because the Bible condemns it. -In the Master's service. Thank you and God bless you!

... because, in their early years, they would burn their bras and then demand support ... LOL

All excellent answers here. I just think that feminism has contributed to confusing gender roles to the point that men aren't sure how we're "supposed" to relate to women. Actions formerly considered "gentlemanly" might be seen as sexist today. Compliment a woman on her attire and you're attending sexual sensitivity classes. Even more disturbing to me (though feminism may have nothing to do with it) is the gradual disappearance of women being referred to as WOMEN or ladies. More often than not I hear "fe-males", which sounds to my ears like someone referring to a dog. It just seems so awkward at times...

I thinks it's because they haven't hired adequate hip-hop artists to further their cause. Yo Yo Yo, know know that equal rights is in the Her-house. Lets make some noise for equal pay for equal work and the right to go topless just like men do. To me this is a terrible injustice that women have to suffer. Margaret Cho is one of my favorite comedians as well.

Because men can't engage in honor, chivalry, and gentlemanly behavior without being called dependent, overly-sexual, and misogynistic. The idea was to create equality between men and women. However, the more extreme feminists have pushed for sameness and as a result driven the equality even further apart by creating gaps and a "Woman good, man bad" mentality.

It isn't feminism that is rapped. It is the infantile creatures who proclaim they are the "leaders" of the "movement". They also proclaim that all the problems women have are caused by MEN. Hey, most of us are working stiffs trying to keep our heads above the water. That is what men do. We work. A very few men sit on the boards of corporations or in the halls of government. The percentage is infinitely small. The "leaders" of feminism are generally spoiled rich brats who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths. They were sent to ivy league universities where they were taught very little of the real world. They have no idea what the rest of the world, including most women, feel or think, or what they must do to survive in the world. Their statements are so inane and unreal, even the most uneducated of men and women see what crap it is. My mom once said of Betty Friedan after hearing one of her speeches, "what planet is she from?!" My mom grew up on a working farm in the first decades of this century. She and her brothers had no advantages except loving parents who kept them well fed and well clothed and sheltered. And it was from real work and sweat. She knew what men did to provide for their families, and what women did. Her parents helped all of them to get a college education. But much came from scholarships and their own working and studying at the same time. The work was nothing new to them. They became teachers, technicians, and business professionals. All the men went to war in the forties. Most could have avoided service if they chose. They were either over draft age, married with children,or in critical jobs. They chose to serve. Many wounds, but they all came home. My father also came home. He used the GI Bill to become a teacher. My parents were a perfect match. They knew where they came from and there was no misunderstandings between them. Nobody had to "impress" the other. And there was mutual respect...as well as deep romantic devotion. Nobody was the "boss", though there was certainly division of responsibilities. Are you still with me? This is the kind of family and marriage the "little princesses" had/have no knowlege of. They are indeed from a different planet. (End of Rant)

Let me just start off by saying I used to be a feminist and have changed to be an equalist. I think it's because the movement has lost it's way. They went from wanting equality and no special treatment to wanting to be above men and have affirmative action pave their way instead of having to play on a level playing feild. I would even go far as to say they now want to punish men for being male especially when it comes to sex. To me that have done everything they can to remove the balance of power between the sexes in this respect by removing as much sexual power from men as they can. They also have very screwed up veiws about women and their roles in socity. They hate marriage and motherhood, but see being used as a sex object as a woman's right. To me that's counter productive to the supposed goals of women's rights movement since they started out trying to remove that idea of women being only for a man's pleasure from socity. Now we have anger and resentment between the sexes and a constant battle over power. I honestly believe the feminst movement has made things worse for women in some ways. We need to pull it back and get on even ground instead of the shaky soil we're standing on.

Response to SABOTEUR I'm tired of being treated differently from men. Men shouldn't be confused about hot to treat a woman and what are their relationships to women. A man should treat a woman as he would a man. A man should have the same relationship to a woman as she would a man. I think that would be the most respectful and fair thing to do. I wouldn't want a man holding a door for me or complimenting me unless I know that he would do the same to another man. I don't want to be placed on a pedestal. Neither do I want to be viewed as weaker. I want to be seen as equal. Think of me as your fellow man or comrade.

The struggle for equality need not include the destruction or the dishonoring of the traditional female role in family or society but should be appreciated as an intergral part of it.

Feminism is about choices, not labels. Are feminists butch? I don't think so. They can revel in their femininity or choose not to wear make-up and skirts. It's about choices. Do feminists hate men? I know I don't. They can be loving wives or strong independent single mothers. It's about choices. Do feminists want to be independent, equal, safe, and self-supporting? Most definitely.

A bad reputation does not come from nowhere, it is earned. Feminists have earned the reputation as being man-haters and hypocrites. On one hand they blame men for everything wrong in the world, accuse them of being the worst of the worst, demand to be treated equally to men, but then expect a man to give up his seat on the train and treat them like a lady when it's convenient.

Andrea Dworkin. To quote just one example: "Only when manhood is dead - and it will perish when ravaged femininity no longer sustains it - only then will we know what it is to be free."

Because its about women...and women always get a bad rap. Also anything aggressive and rebellious doesn't do too well no matter what the cause is.

think about the past. women used to not be able to vote. thanks to suffragists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, you have the same rights as men. also, women are known to gossip.

Because of the feminists who take it to extreme. On Y!A there was a question regarding the Feminist movement. Almost every women who answered it said that any women who wanted to be a SAHM was doing the wrong thing. But of course, my answer that stated the movement was about giving equal opportunity and choice was not acceptable. I didn't feel any less of a woman when I was a working mother then I do now as a SAHM, and vice versa. Or you can take women like my mom who is so feminist that she HATES men. The one thing that people forget is that the small amount of extremists are the loudest and they make the world think that an entire group is the same way they are.

Simple, Germaine Greer!

It is 99% misandrism and 1% lesbianism

Male egos.

Feminism has a bad rep because many of the movement's founders/members in the early stages were really nothing more than a female version of male chauvinist pigs. Feminism, in its most basic form, is a movement which advocates equality between the sexes in the eyes of the law. What trips most people off about this (male and female alike) is that most people equate this equality in absolute terms with abilities. That, and the fact that when the movement first began men saw it as an invasion of their traditionally held male roles as providers. In absolute terms of abilities, not all women can do the work of all men, just the same as not all men can to the work of all other men. I would not expect a 110 pound woman to be able to do the physical lifting that a 250 pound steel worker can. Neither would I expect a 110 pound man to be able to do it also. There are a wide variety of women in the world, just as there are for men. For the most part, women have the advantage in terms of balance and fine work. Men overall have the advantage in upper body strength. There are very few jobs out there that can only be filled by one sex or the other. Unfortunately, the movement attracted the immediate derision and hatred by much of the male population because of the sense of encrouchment on their traditional roles. This resulted in a natural backlash on the women's part in the opposite direction. It doesn't help that today there are still women out there who mistake common courtesy, such as opening a door for a lady, as an insult to them as women.

It has a bad rap because it has totally screwed up society and it has screwed over women more than anyone. In politics nothing ever happens by accident. The government, and the corporate interests that control it, have promoted this movement. They didn't do it for fairness, they did it because it is in their interest. Feminism hasn't set women free, it has enslaved them. The fact that married women with children work, has flooded the market with labour. This has driven down wages, so now most men can''t afford to support a family by themselves. It now takes two incomes to have a home and a family. Women now have to work, whether they want to or not, and try to juggle work and family. The corporations are happy because they get cheap labour. The government is happy because they get to tax women too. The government has shifted our culture from being family orientated to being materialistic and career orientated. Women who want to put family first are belittled and treated like they are wasting their skills. Men like to feel looked after by their wives. Women like to feel provided for by their husbands. That's nature. Admit it! It's just sexy and interfering with it undermines the bond between men and women. Now we just have romantic rituals that simulate the natural state between men and women. Men give women flowers, chocolates and diamond rings etc. They are trying to create a world where men and women are divided and almost unnecessary to each other. Parents used to be the biggest influence in a child's life, but now many kids are raised more by the corporate media and government than by their parents. They are conditioning children to have the values that state wants them to have. Insecure, materialistic, self centered, career orientated, unquestioning, obedient worker bees....

Because feminism is as bad as its opposite chauvinism. Feminism is an exageration of the females characteristics as chauvinism is also an exageration of the males characteristics.

Infowarrior: You are right on the money. You have given me more information. I have to give you an A plus, men. Thank you for that info.

Because men think they're the only ones that can stand up for themselves. Especially those who are chauvinistic.

Each one of us should read very careful what infowarrior have writteen. It happens that I was meditating about the same thing over the same lines but I couldnt put my thoughts totally together. I copy and pasted infowarrior article because I am going to blog this in other places that I write. Females: use your ability to think against your ability to feel because this is very important. It is the "elite" interest to make money even if they have to sell their soul (greed). They have divorced male and females. Thanks again info...

I hate feminism. I do not want to be associated with it. Too much to post, I think it has harmed women and their reputation and just messed a lot of stuff up.

The reason that feminism is given such a bad rap is that most people who hear the word "feminism" assume that someone who is a feminist hates men. However, that is usually entirely untrue, because feminism is more about having pride in women and pride in being able to do all kinds of things for yourself and not having to rely on men for everything.

Only by misogynists.

Somewhere along the line it crossed a line from equality by raising women up (which I support) and pushing men down (which I do not). Somewhere it crossed a line from wanting to not be used, abused and taken for granted, to wanting to be served and to be selfish and self centered. Somewhere it went from making sure that all members of the family were loved and supported and nourished, to kicking the family to the curb and neglecting the family so that the woman could have everything. There needs to be a healthy balance. All members of the family need to be cared for and loved, whether male or female, whether old, young or somewhere in between. And sometimes those of us in the prime of our lives need to make sacrifices for those who are young and helpless and for those who are old and helpless, as was done for us and will be done again.

Because misogyny is far from dead and because some people choose to remain ignorant. Both men and women. Feminism isn't about being lesbian, butch, or hating men. It's about being able to make the same choices in this world as men and not being judged for it just because you're a woman. It's not about being dominant over men, or thinking that all men are evil, or anything like that.

Because they wanna be men but can't achieve it and get pissed at us because of it.

Feminism is given a bad rap because people are misogynists.