Countless women refuse to call themselves “feminists,” and Gloria Steinem knows why: It’s Rush Limbaugh’s fault.

And, no, it’s not funny.

The ur-feminist stopped by “CBS This Morning” on Friday to promote her new book. Host Norah O’Donnell began by noting that Meryl Streep “doesn’t consider herself a feminist. She says she considers herself a humanist. Why is it that the feminist label do you think has that —”

Steinem broke in, rushing to insist that Streep says she’s both — and, anyway, it’s Lim­baugh who’s given feminism a bad name, because he “talks about feminazis every day.”

Sorry, Gloria: The brand turned sour long before Rush ever launched his first rant — a victim of its own leaders.

Too many folks see “feminist” as implying not just equality, but other ideas — that the sexes are the same, or should be; that women who stay home to raise the kids are making a bad choice . . . Feminism got tied to one side in the abortion wars and countless other issues. It’s hard now to see it as more than another arm of the “progressive” agenda.

True feminism may be about equal respect for women and the choices they make — but the “feminists” long ago got stuck respecting some choices, and some women, more.

Who gave “feminism” a bad name? Not critics like Limbaugh, but the believers whose endless excesses guaranteed that “feminazi” would hit home.