How come some women confuse "female suffrage" with "feminism"?

Question

How come some women confuse "female suffrage" with "feminism"? Universal suffrage for men and women and equality under the law is fine. But it seems to me that "feminism" is a different kettle of fish. Its PR department espouses equality but in practice it seeks special preferential privileges for women.

Answer 1

Qiute possibly because most of the early campaigners for female suffrage were also feminists? They saw that there was a bit more to it than simply not having the vote.

Answer 2

I think some people impose the "suffering" mindset on themselves and make their own selves miserable.

Answer 3

Feminism is the belief that men and women are equal and ought to be treated as such in the law (suffrage) AND in society. By trying to minimize gender roles, feminists fight for both men and women-- gender roles promote insecurity in both genders so it's not just a problem for women. Of course there are extremists as in any set of beliefs and feminism is no exception, but overall it IS about equality, not privilege (which is why many feminists don't support chivalry).

Answer 4

There's more to equality that the right to vote, although that was the feminist issue of it's time. Example: There's the freedom of choice which is both a legal *and* a social issue.

Feminism does not require wanting women to be better than men, the ERA and CEA both explicitly state men and women should be treated equality, feminists have tried to ratify both, therefore their actions suggest they want men and women to be treated equally. I'm sorry you have such a negative view of all feminism, and I suggest it is unrepresentative of the majority.