I think everybody in the class knows that this stereotype is more of a fear than a reality. However, along with this stereotype of a militant, male hating, angry feminist is the reaction that the term brings up in the minds of many people who do not consider themselves feminists. That reaction is one of disapproval, and even repulsion.

To me, this reaction is also a violent one. This violent reaction to an untrue, violent stereotype serves as a means of rejecting the causes supported by the feminist movement without having to address one's internalized misogyny. These days, a young woman who proclaims herself to be a feminist is likely to be met with distancing and rebuke on the part of a majority of her peers. and disregarding a person who is a member of a social justice movement because they own that label is also an act of violence.

Instead of proclaiming oneself to not be a feminist, I think we should consider why so many women and men who daily enjoy the advances of the feminist movement want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.