Iranian gender politics influences how women identify as feminists and defend women’s rights. Most studies on feminists and women activists in Iran have focused on the pressures faced by women activists and the different strategies they use to improve women’s rights. While these studies examine the different strategies used by feminists and women activists in Iran, they have not considered in depth the distinct positions and strategies women activists take regarding the terms ‘feminist’ and ‘feminism’. These issues are explored by drawing on 47 semi-structured interviews with Iranian feminists and women activists. Different typologies are revealed based on how women identified themselves. The study concludes that problems associated with the terms ‘feminist’ and ‘feminism’ and the politics of gender in Iran have led women to take different positions in terms of using the label of feminist.