The Definition of Feminism: The Importance of Precise Language

A Note on Word Choice:

Whenever I use the word “parasitic” I do it with care and trepidation. I don’t believe in name-calling or denigration AND I refuse to use indirect, coded language. I’ve seen how words can be used to dehumanize whole demographics of people. I don’t want to do the same. I’ve also seen how words can be used to silence women who dissent. I won’t do that either. The very colonization of the word “feminism” shows just how important it is to call things as they are, even if on the surface the words are triggering. It’s a delicate balance to find the right words. This is why I hold tight to the importance of correct definitions. If we loosen our grip, we can end up in a place where even our definitions get colonized…a place we find ourselves in perpetually when it comes to our female words.

I use the word parasite/parasitic/parasitism because it is the most precise scientific term to describe men and boys’ violence against women and girls. Whether we’re looking at sex-based male supremacy or color-based male supremacy, they all rely on a parasitic relationship where the “host” becomes the captive. Male supremacists-parasites who gain entitlements from both these systems seem to become the most dangerous of all. We all must face the parasitic relationships that our manmade societies run on. We need to challenge the ways we participate in parasitism. Even if we’re smug and think we have no entitlement. The reality is, that we all do. The difference is that male entitlement has led to parasitism, pimping, enslavement, and other forms of violence.

I say all this to share the carefulness that needs to go into choosing our words. Male supremacism-parasitism has taught all of us that dehumanization is an effective tool for power and control. We need to work to challenge the impulse to behave in the same way, while not being gaslit to believe we’re being “just like males” when we name their violence. Rage is a necessary tool, but not a permanent state. We can’t live indefinitely in our reactive trauma response. We must be proactive and stay on mission to center women and girls in the movement for liberation. That means tapping fully into rage, feeling it, expressing it without shame or explanation, then channeling it into the Women’s Liberation Movement.