STFU Sexists: Not your grandmother's feminism.
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Reblogged from walls-closing-in
Misandry doesn’t exist. There are women who hate men, yeah. But “misandry” isn’t a threat to men. It doesn’t have the power and the privilege behind it to be harmful. I’m not saying hating all men is great. It’s not. But, I can honestly see how some women get there. Shit, I have had days where I read about the bullshit women have to go through at the hands of men and at the hands of a society that favors men and I think, “Ugh, I hate men!” How did Henry Rollins put it? If i was a woman these days, I’d be killing motherfuckers. my handgun would never cool and my hands would be covered in testicular blood. I would have a horrible reputation with a lot of men because I would be calling them on their weak bullshit left and right.
I don’t encourage what this graphic calls misandry, but I do understand it. I do see how living in a society that has designated you as lesser for centuries can lead you to hate that society and the ones who hold power in that society.
I just…why do we even have to make this clarification? Instead of dismissing it we should be looking at what causes it. Where does it manifest? I think if we did that we would be lead right back to sexism and patriarchy.
Flawless commentary as always from one of my favorite bloggers.
I’m sorry, but misandry doesn’t exist? That just isn’t true. Just because it isn’t as oppressive and ostracizing as misogyny is/has been doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I agree that it’s typically not a problem, or at least as much of one as misogyny, but that’s not what the point of the graphic was. I think the issue is that people hear misadnric views (like the ones in the graphic) and associate it (falsely) with feminism. That’s what I like this graphic, because the real feminists (who fight for equality instead of pointlessly degrading men and trying to label every action as sexist) don’t deserve to be associated with people like. Things like this help people understand things and help dismantle stereotypes, and saying “misandry doesn’t exist” doesn’t really seem to help anything.
Misandry, as a systemic and institutional oppression of men and masculinity as inferior in our society, does not exist. Misandry, as an extension of misogyny that punishes men for having emotions or stepping out of the absurdly narrow confines of society’s view of masculinity in any way is a problem. By penalizing boys for crying, or liking pink, or enjoying cooking, art, reading, or other traditionally “girly” things, we are reinforcing that not only are there two unwavering sides of the gender coin, one side is preferable to the other.
In that respect, yes, I believe misandry is a problem. But an oppressed group of people lashing out at a privileged group of people in a way that is wholly non-violent? To call that out as bigotry on the level of discrimination that affects women in their jobs, personal lives, and personal relationships is absurd, and a mechanism to shut down discussions of feminism and gender equity.
To throw another example of this at you, yes, plenty of white people are made uncomfortable by Malcolm X’s methods, and I certainly don’t agree with everything he said. But I absolutely understand where he was coming from. And the next time someone says something like, “God, I hate men” (if you ever even hear that or anything else on the chart, because tbh even as a feminist blogger I almost never hear blanket statements like that), try to consider that they may be talking about the privileged societal construct of men, not you personally.
(Source: editorialhedgehog)
