The F-Word and Why We're Afraid to Use It

I want you to close your eyes for a minute and think about what a feminist might look like to you. Do you picture a hairy woman? Maybe a 70's bra burner.Or possibly a modern woman who has sworn off men. These all are fanciful stereotypes. Some people who label themselves to be a "feminist" feed some ugly stereotypes and are foundations to bitterness towards others who consider themselves feminists. Being a feminist isn't some radical concept. The definition of the term "feminism" according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is  "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes".
Most people are afraid of the word "feminist" because of all the negative connotations with it. Like most advocacy groups, we have our extremists.  There are those "feminists" who post a whole chain about hating men and claiming that women are vastly superior. This can not be farther from the idea of love and equality we are trying to communicate. Most common people are so deterred by the ones that show examples of hate rather than love that they might believe in sexual equality, but do not want to be associated with this term. Some are so blinded by the radicals that they will shut down any woman or man who wants to explain or make a statement regarding this subject.
Its common for people who have not exactly probed the whole feminist/women's right things. We don't want to smash a race of men from existence and we don't want to dominant men. We want both sexes to be equal. Is that a bad thing?