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Why Time magazine thinks the word ‘feminist’ should be banned
Dave McGinn

This article was published more than 9 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

There’s no shortage of annoying, idiotic words out there, and once again Time magazine is acting as language police to banish the worst offender.

This year’s “word banishment poll” mostly features innocuous terms to choose from: “bae,” “basic,” “influencer,” “literally,” and a few others.

But the magazine has also included the word “feminist” on the list.

Many people are wondering, rightly, why the word is on the list.

The response on social media has been a mix of anger and mockery.


Time explains why the word is on this year’s list with this blurb: “You have nothing against feminism itself, but when did it become a thing that every celebrity had to state their position on whether this word applies to them, like some politician declaring a party? Let’s stick to the issues and quit throwing this label around like a ticker tape at a Susan B. Anthony parade.”

Rebecca Steinmetz, the author of the piece, defended the choice on Twitter by saying “The inclusion is responding to trends in the media, not feminism itself.”

So, because celebrities now make clear that they stand in support of women’s equality, we should ban the word feminist?

In previous years, the poll has voted to banish words and terms that arguably don’t make us any smarter, or help much in the way of cultural conversations – OMG, YOLO, twerk.

This time around, intelligence doesn’t seem like much of a factor.