Much of the time, I can say "that thing you just agreed with is the feminist position on patriarchy," and it's like a lightbulb goes off in their head. People g

Much of the time, I can say "that thing you just agreed with is the feminist position on patriarchy," and it's like a lightbulb goes off in their head. People get ideas about words and concepts because their early exposure to them was negative. Give them a more accurate concept, then reintroduce the term. It's really no different from how people assume the fem- in feminism means it's all about putting women ahead of men. I avoid calling myself feminist for the same reason I don't generally use the word patriarchy. Avoiding confusing terms in early conversations is a simple matter of effective communication.