If feminists stood for equality, why not call themselves "equalists"?

Those women don't want equal rights, they want special rights. This is only directed at that small group of women who are "feminists".

The most obvious answer to me is that "equalists" sounds dumb. ;-)

Seriously, three points.

1) In the 1800s and early to mid 1900s, feminists in the U.S. were not directly working for overall equality; they were working on specific issues -- allowing women property and voting rights chief among these. Scary as the thought of women voting or owning property must have been to many men, announcing a desire for total equality would have been even scarier. Since men were the ones who had to be convinced, it would have been tactically foolish to make the movement look and sound scarier than it already did. (Plus I suspect many feminists of the era -- particularly the early parts of it -- didn't particularly want more than property and voting rights.)

2) While I'm sure there are many feminists who cross boundaries and support equality (or closer-to-equality, at least) for other groups, feminism does not necessarily set total equality as its goal. There are groups working toward equality between races. There are groups working toward more similarity in the rights of non-citizens compared with those of citizens. There are some out there who think animals should have the same rights as people, at least within a limited area of concern).

Feminists are specifically concerned with the rights of women. Calling themselves "equalists" would be overly broad.

3) WRT your last point, yes, there are certainly some feminists who specifically do not want equality because they want, say, a matriarchy. But this isn't necessarily implied by the term "feminist." If I am a violinist it doesn't mean I favor the violin over all other instruments; I can also be a cellist. If I am a sexist it doesn't mean that I find sexual reproduction superior to all other varieties. I can be an arsonist even if I actually like murder just as much.

Because when the movement first started, it was about getting WOMEN equal rights. Women couldn't do what men could simply because they were women. It was about getting women equal rights to men. And the name just stuck. But yeah, now that we're pretty much equal, equalist would be a much better word.

it's about women not men and boys. Sometimes going as far as blocking men and boys from programs, initiatives and women's networks. I do not believe it is or ever was about helping the male sex only the female sex. If men or boys face problems men must lobby and raise awareness, many of the problems men now face are because of feminism exceeding equality or gender based political correctness others are because of a male view of masculinity.

A woman (or man?) who wants equal rights for both sexes. However, in order to truly achieve EQUAL rights, chivalry (paying the bill, leaving the door open, etc...) must be banished from society as well as all those old archaic rules about women. So, to all you feminists who want equal rights, AND special treatment, I say, pick one or the other damn it.

Because doing that would take away from the identity of Womanhood.

we've been over this and youre right