system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I believe modern feminists should refer to themselves as egalitarians. CMV.

The feminists I have met want equality for everyone. The word for that is 'egalitarian', and that term also benefits because it loses the whole stigma around radical feminists (though few really exist - ideas of radfems seem to be perpetuated by people misunderstanding regular feminists).

I feel the word 'feminism' implies tackling equality issues that adversely affect women - and this has some historical truth, but modern feminists take pains to distance themselves from this. Women in the past had to *fight* against severe, one-sided inequalities. Gender inequalities today are more complex than 40 years ago, and require improvements for both men and women. Feminism has evolved, to become synonymous with 'egalitarianism', and I feel this also cheapens the battles fought earlier in history as the word is diluted.

I am concerned that the word 'feminism' alienates people who would otherwise be supportive of egalitarian principles, if only they understood that's what feminism is supposed to *mean* nowadays. The historic baggage is heavy, and the name is tarnished by supposed radical feminists. 

I do not believe feminism in the Western world is a cause unique enough to justify its continued existence alongside the egalitarian movement. CMV.
gpt
Part of the reason feminism emerged as a distinct movement is precisely because egalitarianism historically failed to actually address women's equality. Part of the supposed goal of secular humanism was always *supposed* to be true egalitarianism, but whenever women leaders in the movement pressed to get women's issues address, such as women's suffrage, reproductive rights, equal wages and so on, they found themselves being told "yes that is important, but maybe later." Worse yet, women's voices in a lot of these movements were often entirely disregarded, as male hierarchies tended to assert themselves even in these supposedly egalitarian settings. Eventually, many women got fed up with this supposedly "egalitarian" movement that was not in actual practice egalitarian towards women, recognizing that this seemingly pleasant word managed to cover up for a lot of deeply ingrained prejudices and, yes, even patriarchal hierarchies. It is in this environment that feminism was born, and it is for this reason that many feminists are suspicious of those that claim the mantel of egalitarianism.