Feminism, to me anyway, is about creating a society in which people are not proscribed by sex and gender roles. It is about women and men having the flexibility to decide for one’s self how her or his life should be lived. This is a lovely sentiment, but of course sex and gender do not exist in a bubble as influences on one’s life options. Race/ethnicity, class, religion, sexuality, etc. all play a critical role with gender in shaping opportunities for people.

With all of these pressures in mind, it is not surprising how much diversity and range there are among the feminist ranks, and how difficult it can be to define who a feminist is as a result. As hard as we all try to respect one another’s beliefs, it is clear that because feminism cuts across so many critical life issues, we may never agree on a set, official definition; saying “I am a feminist” will probably always mean different things to different people. I think that is OK, although it obviously presents challenges as we move forward with slightly differing agendas, but with the same goal in mind of freedom for women (and men) to live their lives to their utmost potential, however we define that. I also think we can agree that it is not OK for some women to have more choices and options at the expense of other women.

That said, perhaps one thing we can all agree on is who is not a feminist, regardless of whether they sport a sparkly engagement ring or not. I have only one criterion that qualifies someone as an “anti-feminist:” she is a woman who uses the advances made for women by feminism to argue that feminism and other women are useless. Generally, anti-feminists rise to power by abusing other women. As Lisa Jervis, editor of Bitch Magazine noted in a reading of Bitchfest that I attended on Friday, women are not any more innately good than men are. In fact, if we generally abuse power less than men, it is likely because we have less power to abuse. Given the opportunity, women can do terrible damage. Anti-feminists love to do so.

These anti-feminists can unite us on at least one topic. To get the discussion going (as if it needs stoking!), here my five top anti-feminists:

Ann Coulter - Ann is my personal favorite. Her complete lack of regard for facts makes me put her at the top of the list. She has a special hatred in her coal heart for feminists, although she clearly would have trouble living her life as an outspoken, unmarried, childless woman in her 40s if it were not for feminists. Instead, she’d be known as an unloved harridan spinster; a woman to be pitied. Ann also refuses to acknowledge the path forged for her by first wave feminists, who were attacked and imprisoned at the turn of the century and a decade beyond in order to obtain the right to vote. If not for our suffragist trailblazers, Ann would not be able to vote for the women-hating right-wing nut jobs that she so adores. In fact, Ann goes a step beyond inappreciativeness. On Feb. 26, 2001, Ann announced on Politically Incorrect that:

I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote. No, they all have to give up their vote, not just, you know, the lady clapping and me. The problem with women voting -- and your Communists will back me up on this -- is that, you know, women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a lot of ideas on how to spend it. And when they take these polls, it's always more money on education, more money on child care, more money on day care.

Perhaps if she would follow her own advice and not vote, not only would she not be under investigation for voting fraud in Florida (where she is registered to vote under her real estate agent’s home and not her own), but we would all be a bit better off in the world.

Christina Hoff Sommers - Anyone whose books appear on the “Recommended Reading” list of the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute under “feminism” is a top candidate for an anti-feminist award. (See also: Ann Coulter.) Sommers has two books on “feminism” that they recommend, Who Stole Feminism? and The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men. Sommers may not entirely disregard facts as neatly as Coulter does, but she sure loves to pick the information that supports her arguments while disregarding any evidence to the contrary. My favorite quote from The War Against Boys is, “Mother Nature is not a feminist.” Really? I’d love to see the interview with Mother Nature in which she states that. What a scoop! I also happen to love that she opens the first chapter of Who Stole Feminism? with a quote from 1926:

The New Feminism emphasizes the importance of the “woman’s point of view,” the Old Feminism believes in the primary importance of the human being. - Winifred Holtby

Yes, because as we all know, the “woman’s point of view” has nothing to do with human beings since women clealy aren't people. And man, how awesome is it that feminism has not changed since 1926?

Katie Roiphe - According to Katie, it is your fault as a woman if your date has sex with you against your will. You really wanted it, but now feel guilty because of feminism, so you are just lying about it, anyway. Also, feminism encourages women to have a voice, but will not tolerate dissent from the ranks or individual imagination and desires. Yawn. Been there, heard that. All I can say to this is, I hope this woman never has a daughter for her sake, and I hope she never has a son for anyone else’s daughter’s sake.

Laura Bush - For the love of God, do not make fun of this woman’s husband, or she will not shake your hand at the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner! There is nothing wrong with standing by your man, unless, of course, your man happens to be a delusional idiot leading the country to hell in a hand basket. For example, Laura suddenly became a vocal spokesperson for the Afghan women’s rights when her husband half-heartedly wanted to invade the country, but uttered not a peep about the horrendous human rights violations going on for years before that. She seems to not mind sending other people’s kids off to die in Iraq in a misbegotten war launched to avenge her father-in-law’s honor, but sure as heck ain’t sending her partying daughters. At least she bothers pretending to care that all children have access to literacy programs. (Alternative Bush family option: Barbara Bush. Strongly pro-choice, she stood around while her husband gagged clinics receiving federal funding for family planning from even mentioning that abortion is an option. Her behavior after Hurricane Katrina was mortifying.)

Phyllis Schlafly - What list of anti-feminists is complete without mentioning the ultimate bloviator? Her husband stayed home to raise the kids while Phyllis received backing from wealthy conservative institutes to gallivant around the country, leading a “grassroots” rebellion against feminism, and admonishing other women for abandoning their proper role in society and not staying home to raise the kids and care for hubby. It’s not that I think being a stay-at-home mom is valueless; it’s just that it strikes me as horribly wrong to insist that it is the only thing that women are allowed to do. If only Phyllis practiced what she preached, I believe that air pollution would be at least 1% lower in every location she released her foul hot air.

I know that I missed at least a few of the anti-feminists who make our lives so exciting. In the spirit of reminding each other of what we do have in common, I encourage everyone to nominate their favorite anti-women women.

Suzanne also blogs at Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants