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Equalism is a name often given to forms of egalitarianism (advocacy of equality) concerned with issues of gender or race. Thus, equalism is another name for gender egalitarianism, sexual egalitarianism and/or racial egalitarianism. Central to equalism is the belief that society must be colour-blind and sex/gender-blind.

The term is used by people of many disjointed political philosophies developed separately by political activists. This includes people who support gender-blind policies in response to the failings they saw in certain branches of feminism, as well as people who support colour-blind policies in response to what they see as the discriminatory elements of affirmative action.

Gender equality

Some equalists believe that certain feminists have abandoned notions of equality, and instead focus only on females' rights to the point of excluding/promoting the subjugation of the rights of other sexes/genders. Equalists seek to promote the rights of females, males, and everything in between.

"Gender equity", "gender equality", "sexual equality", or gender egalitarianism is the belief in the equality of the gender or the sexes. Many followers of this philosophy would like to see this term come to replace feminism or masculism, when used to describe a belief in basic equal rights and opportunities for members of both sexes within legal, social, or corporate establishments. They strive for ultimate fairness, and seek cooperative solutions so as to make things better for both males, females and everything in between. They are opposed both to misogyny and misandry, pointing to a gender transformative perspective and the need for a rejection of all forms of gender oppression and stereotypes.

While they may share a number of critiques and analyses with self-described feminists and/or masculists, they feel that egalitarianism is the best word to describe a belief in equality without implying a phenomenological focus on any particular gendered experience.