Alright, on tumblr if you make a post against feminism there’s a good chance you’ll get into an argument with a feminist. However, most of the arguments I’ve gotten into are riddled with false information and logical fallacies so here is a post about how to refute common feminist arguments. (Feel free to add on if you have more.)

1. The classic “Those aren’t real feminists.” This is a logical fallacy called “No true Scotsman.” It is an “appeal to purity” that essentially sweeps bad feminists under the rug so that any criticism can be dismissed. Anyone who considers him/herself a feminist is a feminist and must be accounted for. “Misandrists aren’t feminists!” is a common sentiment you’ll come across. (it’s funny though because just a few months ago feminists swore misandry isn’t real. kek)

2. “NAFALT” (Not all feminists are like that) Which is true, but it’s interesting that a feminist would bring this up because feminists typically dismiss “Not all men.” The difference between the two is that one chooses to be a feminist. You can’t choose to be a man.



“Not all feminists are misandrists…” “Show me a misandrist who isn’t a feminist.” (hominishostilis​)

3. “This post came from an anti-feminist, therefore it is wrong.” This is the Genetic fallacy, where someone believes that a point is wrong because of who it came from.

For example, someone claims that the sky is purple but the other person says it is blue. The one who says it is blue is a neo-nazi but that doesn’t make him wrong about the color of the sky.

Not to be confused with

4. Ad hominem, which is attacking someone’s character in order to make their point seem less valid. This is one of the more pathetic fallacies because the person who commits the fallacy has no further points to argue (or nothing more intelligent to contribute) so they attempt to insult parts about you that are completely irrelevant to the argument. A lot of the feminists on tumblr will call you things such as straight, white, cis, and male to dismiss your points. Your skin color or gender have nothing to do with your argument. iwillfuckingkillyou12 and sou-sai are the first two who come to mind with this because they’ve both been accused of being white.

5. “You’re either a feminist or you’re a sexist.” This is a false dichotomy, saying that you can either be A or B. Just because you’re not a feminist does not mean you’re a sexist. You can be an egalitarian, an equalist, an equalitarian, you can call yourself a damn marshmallow peep for all I care. You don’t have to be a feminist because you believe in gender equality. You don’t have to consider yourself anything.

6. “You aren’t a feminist? Why do you hate women?” This is strawman, an exaggeration or misrepresentation of one’s argument to dishonestly undermine it.

7. “You say feminists are bad but anti-feminists are just as bad.” This is a logical fallacy called “tu quoque” (pronounced too-kwo-kwee, literally translating to “you too”), an appeal to hypocrisy that is meant to dismiss criticism by pointing out the bad in others.

8. “Women are paid less than men.”/Debunking the wage gap [x]

9. “I need feminism because we shouldn’t need feminism.” This is circular reasoning and presents no real argument as to why one needs feminism.

10. “1/5 women are raped.”/Other false rape statistics [x]

11. “Educate yourself.” This is common among feminists who can no longer back up their claim so they put the burden of research on you because they have nothing else of substance to say. As that1guykaiser puts it, “The easiest way to combat this is to refer them to burden of proof. or simply google it and provide them with stats you have found. even further you can use stats you currently own and tell them to do the same”

12. (This is for female non-feminists) “You’re a woman but you’re not a feminist?????? Give up your rights/Why don’t you want rights.” This is a way to guilt you into calling yourself a feminist. You don’t owe feminists anything. Previous feminists fought for your right to do what you choose and that includes your choice of what you identify as.

13. “It’s commonly accepted that…” That is not an argument. It was also commonly accepted that the sun revolved around the earth.

14. “The patriarchy…” There is no patriarchy. Women have every right that men do.

15. “Rape culture…” In the western world there is no “rape culture.” Rape is seen as a heinous crime, often only second to murder, if not worse than. You can ruin someone’s life by simply accusing them of rape.

That’s all I can think of now. I may have more later on but if you have any more common feminist arguments to contribute, please feel free to contribute.

-Jarl