Thought: why do so many men hold onto the stereotype that feminists are crazy/bra-burning/unresonable/wants-to-rule-the-world?

 

One explanation is that some feminists are indeed crazy. However, on its on, this cannot explain why some men choose to not hear the non-crazy feminists, which imo, is what you are significantly more likely to encounter online. Yet these voices get routinely ignored, and feminism is painted as crazy on the basis of a select few.

 

My feeling (at this stage, a feeling) is that many men WANT to believe that feminists are crazy. When feminism points out all the different ways that men have benefited from a world which privileges men on the basis of their gender, the very call for gender equality can imply an accusation that men are complicit in gender inequality. Much easier to think of feminists as crazy.

I think maybe the way out of this is to not think of feminism as entailing accusations. Have I benefited in this world as a man? Certainly. But I don’t think that necessarily was because I, individually, wanted to oppress women. More generally, that we have a world plagued by inequality (gender inequality amongst them) isn’t (entirely) the fault of privileged individuals. As we might say in social theory, the structures of inequality are SOCIALLY reproduced – often perpetuated by both the privileged and oppressed. So I think once we, as individuals, can accept that feminism isn’t about blaming individuals (us), it is much easier to accept that feminism is about putting forth an agenda of equality – one that we all have a vested interest in mantaining.

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~ by moz on July 4, 2016.