An MRA might possibly say "I'll one-up you and say EVERYONE is a misandrist...in that we live in a misandrist culture and keep reproducing it", and an MRA ostensibly has the same "goals" as feminists do (gender equality, apparently). Yeah, I understand that this isn't saying "YOU'RE A MISOGYNIST", but the premise of the argument is still a bit lacking
It is actually pretty hard to argue that everyone is misogynist without stretching the definition to suit your needs. Given you have to prove that EVERYONE (and lets be fair and say most people... since honestly that is usually what people mean when they say everyone) dislikes or hates women.
Let me just say something... If someone thinks women are utterly helpless, that they need to be cared for, that they cannot do anything for themselves... but carries no malice to them... That isn't Misogyny... That is just flat out sexism.
I COULD see an argument that society is Misogynistic, It is a fair critique but I wouldn't agree with it, since society is a more vague notion of how society works...
Today, women and men have equal rights, so that fight is over, and the remaining feminist turned into moral guardians. The fight is now about dogma, and is going just as well as any other moral crusade
You know when I said that the Emancipation did very little to change the lives of the slaves because it just meant they had to go back to the slave owners for work, and often shelter, anyway?
Remember that just because someone is given a legalistic equal rights it doesn't mean they can use it or that it improves their lives.
The reason why Feminism still exists other then as a sort of mental discipline is because YES Women have equal (actually they have the law biased towards favoring them SLIGHTLY! but the law is catching up) legal rights... But that doesn't translate directly into life. It doesn't translate into the security a woman feels at home or in the work place.
Note: Favoring women is actually a point of contention oddly enough. Most forms of Feminism do not like women getting special treatment where it is undeserved. As well I am saying that in PURELY "law as written", how cases end up going is another matter altogether. Mind you the law will always slightly favor women mostly because women have a few more issues that men do not have to deal with, excluding Trans... So there is no need for a male post pardem depression law.
Edit Note: I should state that... There are still legal rights some forms of Feminism asks for >_> But I think what I said so far is technically fair even with that info. I don't know what these are, but I do not claim that women have all the legal rights they need, since HECK even men, children, minorities, natives, and what have you don't.
Why do people interpret "equality" as "same legal status"?
Because some people do picture it like that. Suffrage was for the legal right to vote after all.
OR they view it as the only valid method of fighting for equality. As in you can't change people's minds, but you can change the law.