John Mayer, the talented but troubled musician who wrote the soundtrack of every millennial’s collegiate years, is stirring up trouble again — this time by telling the truth. In a Q&A with his Instagram followers, a fan asked Mayer if he considered himself a feminist. His answer was characteristically thoughtful and has triggered quite a few self-proclaimed feminists who didn’t hear what they expected to hear from a famous artist.

[Also read: Poll: Most millennial women don't consider themselves feminists]



Ughh John Mayer 🤦🏻‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/tUwX9bHS8K — Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) August 27, 2018

Mayer, perhaps unbeknownst to him, eschewed some of the classic third-wave feminist talking points. In a statement that some folks on Twitter labeled as “pretentious” (he often comes across that way), Mayer wanted to address the language at the root of feminism. He correctly identifies that most people are for “equal rights for women.” Who in America is not actually in favor of equal rights for women? But he doesn’t like that the modern day feminist movement has equated that with being a feminist. This might sound like a meta debate over linguistics, but Mayer is right not to jump aboard that train without some careful consideration.

Mayer didn’t say this in the post and to my knowledge, has not expressed this elsewhere, but many people who take issue with the label “feminist” (as I do) feel similarly. They believe in equal rights for women but reject the label because the modern day movement has co-opted it to mean something far more than equal rights. Now, being a feminist can mean anything from wanting equal pay for unequal work, hounding an ex-boyfriend for an unwanted flirtatious advance, or advocating for a 50/50 gender quota at work.

Naturally, feminists don’t like this, not only because it looks like he’s not batting for their team, but because he disregards the language they use, which is often how the movement has successfully roped so many men into their fold. Even Newsweek, when describing Mayer’s Instagram post, said his feminist views were “questionable.” What’s questionable is a feminist mantra that has completely usurped its original intent, hoping instead for entitlement, rather than simply equality.

Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.