“Not All Men” » The problem with male feminism Jessica Berget Contributor Originally Published October 13, 2016 n the midst of October and with Halloween coming up I thought I'd talk about the three things that scare me the most: Snakes, spiders, and male feminists. Asa woman and a self entitled feminist killjoy, there are few things that irk me more than seeing a movement that advocates for women’s rights and freedoms being discussed by a cisgender, straight, white male, or any cisgender male for that matter. Male feminists should know that men have the power dynamic over women in any situation because we live in an inherently misogynistic society. Even, sadly, in feminist communities. This means that opinions on feminism and how women handle their oppression are often taken more seriously coming from that of a man than of a woman. Some male feminists utilize the label to justify sexist behaviour, to impress women, or to use the attention of women as a seal of approval in the feminist community. Which brings me to my main point: Beware male feminists. It seems women can't escape oppression even within their own movement. Men advocating for basic women’s rights are often seen as more remarkable than any woman who calls herself a feminist, as any woman advocating for their own rights is not seen as unusual or significant by virtue of their gender. Across all social movements, the issue at hand is often not viewed as valid until it is supported by members of the “other side.” Men speaking on feminism would be like me, a white woman, speaking on the Black Lives Matter movement. I support it, but it is not my place to speak on the experiences of black men and women living in an inherently racist and Eurocentric society. I recognize my privilege as a white woman and I understand that my opinion may be more highly regarded on the matter, therefore I do not speak for it. So why can’t male feminists do the same? Calling yourself a feminist does not mean the work is done. I myself am constantly re-educating, and re-evaluating my place in the feminist community and recognizing my place and privilege in it as a white woman. Similar to how men advocating for women’s rights gives more attention to the movement, women who dismiss or belittle feminism can be used to justify the sexist beliefs of others. Many men only respect the views of women when they are passive and non-controversial, or when they support their sexist ideals. They don’t respect when these views challenge them on their behaviour. Most men only respect and agree with the arguments of another man, as the opposing opinion of a woman is seen to hold less value. She is always presumed to know less about the subject, even when it is directly relevant to her experiences. So women, heed thy warning. Beware men who tell you what it means to bea feminist. Beware men who read this article and insist that “not all men are like that.” Beware men that think they know more about feminism than you do. A man is never more potentially dangerous than when he claims to bea feminist. * \I/ x ~S | Have an idea for a story? M opinions@theotherpress.ca e War of the words: e Fat pets are cute, but it’s not healthy ¢ Rants in your pants Not for men >» Anti-male rhetoric is too common in feminist communities Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief was right, but for all the wrong reasons. Men can be feminists. If men want to be part of a community that advocates for women’s rights and call themselves feminists, they should feel free to do so; it’s a free country! However, in my opinion I don’t think they should. I’m not knocking feminism, and I’m definitely not saying all feminists are like this. However, based on my experiences as a former “self-entitled feminist killjoy,” as I described myself in 2016, I believe there is a concerning level of anti-man rhetoric that is normalized in the current mainstream feminist wave—a problem we should be addressing. My past article speaks for itself as to how alienating the community is to men. As someone who was once a proud feminist, | have a unique experience with the community. I’ve taken numerous classes related to women and gender studies, read dozens of feminist texts, and had only friends who considered themselves feminist. Even when I was in the community, I couldn’t ignore how prevalent man-hating rhetoric was. Phrases like “men are trash,” “kill all men,” and “all men are rapists” were used way too casually. I should know—I also took part in it. Feminism claims to be for the equality of the sexes, but I don’t think it is regularly practiced on this basis. Would a community that claims to be advocating for equality constantly make the claim that “all men are trash,” or have a huge discourse on the way that masculinity is toxic, but hardly any discussion on toxic feminity? Would a community that claims to also be for men be so open about how much its members hate them? I don’t think so. Why is man-hating so prevalent in the community? I’ve heard the argument that it balances out the sexism that women experience, but I think it’s important to remember men also experience sexism in different ways than women, so can it really be considered “balanced?” You don't fight fire with fire, so why is it okay to fight sexism with different sexism? Even though the feminist community professes to stand for equality, I believe that it is more concerned with women’s injustices than men’s. With most of the discussions geared toward toxic masculinity and how awful men are, there is no room for men to improve, to have any dialogue or opinions that aren't in line with everyone in the community. Even making the point that not all men are awful defaults them to being the “bad guys.” Men can be feminists if they want to. They should be able to speak on their experiences with sexism and have other opinions on the feminist movement if they want to. However, with all the anti-man rhetoric circulating the community, I don’t think it’s a wise choice on an individual level.