Feminimum

Feminimum is a coined term that appears in some feminist and sociolinguistic discussions to denote the minimal conditions, thresholds, or standards related to women's rights, representation, or status within a particular domain. It is not established in major dictionaries or scholarly vocabularies, and its exact meaning depends on context. The construction blends female or feminine with minimum to signal a focus on minimal requirements rather than comprehensive reform.

Common usages involve policy benchmarks, such as the smallest set of protections or measures needed to promote gender equality in employment, politics, or pay. In academic and media commentary, proponents might speak of a feminimum wage, a feminimum representation, or a feminimum baseline for parental leave; these uses are rhetorical and not standardized. Critics argue that the term risks essentializing gender or reducing complex issues to a single threshold.

Because of its lack of standard meaning, readers should look for a clear definition in the text where it appears. The term often signals normative aims: to specify what must be achieved to consider a domain sufficiently inclusive for women. Related topics include gender parity, representation quotas, pay equity, and feminist policy analysis. As a neologism, feminimum tends to be encountered in discussions aiming to prompt concrete benchmarks, rather than in formal academic definitions.