So, you say you're a meninist?
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume that you've proclaimed yourself a follower of "meninism" without the full knowledge of what it means to be feminist, and the reason you oppose it.
It all comes back to the same issue that's come up in the #BlackLivesMatter campaign. This hashtag and this movement was created to bring light to the fact that the lives of black people were just as important as the lives of white people. In no way does this campaign take away worth or value from white people, nor does it exclude them.
However, some people of the privileged majority decided that this wasn't OK. It wasn't OK to have eyes on the minorities; they needed to be a part of the picture too. After all, they are a part of the dominant class. So, the hashtag #AllLivesMatter arose, sweeping the problem of racial inequality under the rug and bringing the focus away from the people who needed recognition the most.
History has always been about white people, and it's time to change that.
And history has always been about men, and it's time to change that.
That's what feminism is. Feminists have fought tirelessly for acknowledgement, social equality, equality in the workplace and overall, an equal stance to men. This does not mean that women believe that they are better than men, nor does this mean that they want to take rights away from men.
This does not mean that women believe that they are better than men, nor does this mean that they want to take rights away from men.
Feminists also do not, as a general whole, hate men. We are not trying to screw you over. Just because we want to give hell to the patriarchy, it does not automatically mean that we hate you. We dislike the system in place that has us portrayed as lesser, as objects and as dependent of man. If you treat us as equals, if you believe that we are equal, then we’ll treat you with the same amount of respect.
However, if you’re going to side with Brock Turner and say that women need to learn the consequences of binge drinking and sexual promiscuity, then I’m going to politely say, "Screw you." This is a perfect snapshot of the influence that the patriarchal paradigm has on a woman’s everyday life. The case shows that the lives of men can and will be valued more than those of women and it’s absolutely disgusting.
Women need feminism for plenty of reasons, but so do men.
The patriarchy lays out standards for everyone. That’s what it does.
Men can’t cry, men must be aggressive, they must be macho and “manly.” Men aren’t usually viewed as nurses or cosmetologists and guys are picked on if they’re short or chubby.
Why do men have to be all of those things?
Well, for the same reasons that women have to be skinny and sport curves, women aren’t seen as mechanics and they’re super emotional: the patriarchy.
Feminism, through the fight for equality, hopes to abolish these standards. Women can be who they want to be without judgement and so can men. It’s OK for you to look that way as long as it’s OK for me to look this way. We all win.
But, you say you’re a meninist. So, I looked up a definition:
You’ve turned the idea of men supporting women from a good thing to a joke. You mock the idea that everyone deserves equal rights and you oppose a movement that could potentially work out well for you.
I guess I can understand it a little bit; you’re privileged and by changing the status quo, your world might be flipped upside down because you can’t use your privilege without getting called out on it. You wouldn’t be able to objectify women and the sexualization of women would no longer be the norm. Your misogyny would no longer be something that people just turn a blind eye to. Life would be, yes, different.
But different isn’t always bad.
If you don’t believe that your wife, your sister, your mother, your daughter, your neighbor, your friend and any people that you meet deserve the same rights and treatment as you, then you don’t deserve the rights you have either.
