Feminism =/= misandry, and other tired tropes

I don't know how many times I have to say this, but I'm a feminist and not because I hate men. I am a feminist because I see inequality and oppression and I am committed to being a part of the solution. I am a feminist because feminism is about raising up persons of all gender expressions when they are being oppressed by stereotypes, discrimination, violence, silencing, bullying, etc.

If your argument against feminism includes, "Feminists are man-haters", "Feminists hate stay-at-home-moms", "Feminists are lesbians who hate the nuclear family", "Feminists kick puppies", etc, then you're either ignorant or just an asshole. You might not yet know you're ignorant, you might sincerely think these things because you've heard Rush Limbaugh talk about feminists, you might have gotten this impression from the popular media, you might have known that one woman or group in college who embodied all those stereotypes and more. You're still ignorant. One feminist who is transphobic, racist, misandristic, etc, does not an entire movement make. Actually, neither does one sincerely awesome feminist a movement make. 

The fact is, there are a lot of difference of opinion amongst feminists as to what feminism means, and who can call themselves a feminist, whether anyone who supports sex workers without trying to force them out of the industry is a feminist, etc etc etc. 

So, when you think you're going to win an argument by stating "feminists are all *farting noises commence* *insert 100 year-old stereotype here that literally harkens back to Suffragettesè days*", you're really just telling the people around you that you don't actually know that much about feminism, or that the facts are inconvenient to your little diatribe.

Also, slight non-sequitor, the next time I hear someone going off on those "dirty hippies", I'm gonna go on a rant about lousy beatniks and flappers destroying our country.