Feminazi - Etymology and Usage

Etymology and Usage

In his 1992 book The Way Things Ought to Be, Limbaugh credited his friend Tom Hazlett, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, with coining the term. In the book, Limbaugh also stated that the word refers to unspecified women whose goal is to allow as many abortions as possible, saying at one point that there were fewer than 25 "true feminazis" in the U.S. Limbaugh has used the term to refer to members of the National Center for Women and Policing, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women, and other organizations at the March for Women's Lives, a large pro-choice demonstration.

There were times when Limbaugh almost stopped using the term. According to Slate.com, in 2000:

" has all-but-dropped the term 'feminazi.' When he was lambasted for mocking AIDS victims, he quickly apologized. He stopped performing 'caller abortions.' Other political talk radio shows stumble because their hosts put the politics before radio (see sclerotic Bob Grant). But Limbaugh never makes that mistake. He is a genuine conservative, but 'he is a political entertainer and a consummate pro,' says John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, who helped write Limbaugh's first book. 'Don't forget he was a DJ.'"

In 2004, Limbaugh named feminist activists Gloria Steinem, Susan Sarandon, Christine Lahti, and Camryn Manheim as "famous feminazis." However, in 2005, Limbaugh claimed "I haven't used that term on this program in years. But it still gets to 'em, doesn't it? And you know why? Because it's right. Because it's accurate." As of October 2012 Limbaugh was still using the word regularly on his show.

Other political commentators have also made comparisons between militant feminism and totalitarian ideologies. In 1994, Camille Paglia described some feminist groups as "Stalinist" for engaging in what she describes as censorship and quashing of dissent. In 1983, a year before Limbaugh debuted as a political talk-show host, anarchist Bob Black wrote an essay called "Feminism as Fascism".