Is it sexist to criticize feminism?

[Angrboda]

It depends on the specifics of the criticism. Much of the criticism I hear, supposedly of 'feminism', is little more than thinly disguised ad hominem against specific feminists or specific types within feminism. Neither are 'sexist' so much as they are simply fallacious and stupid.

Defining feminism for the non-feminist may be as difficult as finding an acceptable definition of atheism for non-atheists. Certainly the feminism of a Wollstonecraft or a Steinem or a Watson are all going to appear different birds depending on what the critic aims to condemn. My understanding, which may just be my personal definition, is that feminism includes any woman-centered philosophy or movement aimed at establishing parity between the sexes in terms of participation in society. This usually takes the form of emphasizing structured ways in which lack of parity between the sexes is maintained, and thus tends to concentrate on undermining systematic mechanisms that support and maintain male privilege. I would say being sexist comes in if you directly or indirectly are trying to support the lack of parity between the sexes. And that may be one of those "eye of the beholder" type of things that one woman's sexist support of male privilege is another's common sense acceptance of practical reality.

So there are two questions here. Is the criticism of the position, or of the person? And regardless, is there an element of sexism implicit in either the criticism, the goal of the critique, or in the act of criticizing?