Antifeminism

Antifeminism or anti-feminism is opposition to feminism. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, antifeminists opposed particular policy proposals for women's rights, such as the right to vote, educational opportunities, property rights, and access to birth control. In the mid and late 20th century, antifeminists often opposed the abortion-rights movement.

In the early 21st century, some antifeminists see their ideology as a response to perceived misandry, holding feminism responsible for several social problems, including lower college entrance and graduate rates of young men, gender differences in suicide and a perceived decline in masculinity. 21st century antifeminism has sometimes been an element of violent, far-right extremist acts. Antifeminism is often linked to the men's rights movement, a social movement concerned with perceived discrimination against men.

Definition

Canadian sociologists Melissa Blais and Francis Dupuis-Déri write that antifeminist thought has primarily taken the form of masculinism, in which "men are in crisis because of the feminization of society".

The term antifeminist is also used to describe public female figures, some of whom, such as Naomi Wolf, Camille Paglia, and Katie Roiphe, define themselves as feminists, based on their opposition to some or all elements of feminist movements. Other feminists label writers such as Roiphe, Christina Hoff Sommers, Jean Bethke Elshtain, and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese as antifeminist because of their positions regarding oppression and lines of thought within feminism.

The meaning of antifeminism has varied across time and cultures, and antifeminism attracts both men and women.