Friday, February 24, 2012

The Feminist Police

I think in many ways feminists are like the police. Many people dislike both groups. Both groups sometimes abuse their power and are criticized for being too extreme. Sometimes they are called unnecessarily and cause situations to escalate. Sometimes they unfairly pick on particular groups. Or, they continually ignore the plight of some groups because of racism (e.g., Black women and Black people) who should be supported yet expect members from this group to have positive views of them. When members of both groups make mistakes or commit offenses they may deny or try to hide them.  As soon as you tell people you are in either group some will  be pleased but others will judge you negatively and be suspicious. You will be blamed for any of the extreme things other members of your group have said or done. But let me tell you about how I felt yesterday.

Watching videos and reading blogs of men in the Men's Rights Movement has been scary, difficult, disappointing, and numbing. If you asked me last week I could have never imagined any man could say some of the things I read and that those statements were actually be supported. A website called Man Boobz is a blog that creates awareness about the insanely barbaric things members of this group have posted online. I never thought I'd read comments from men ridiculing women who commented about being raped. In one sickening instance one actually taunted her about enjoying the rape and threatened to do it again. Their group is a concerted and malicious effort to disrupt any female group, organization, or website ONLY because they hate women. For whatever reason, this group hates women and even posts images of battered or injured women to laugh at! Any sane person can tell that some of these men are mentally ill or sexual predators. But I think some of them don't even realize this and think that what they are saying is fair, justified, edgy humor, or harmless fun. Fortunately there are other groups of men like those at The Good Men Project who see things in a balanced and non-hostile manner.

After reading posts by the Men's Rights Movement I thought to myself 'I can't wait for the feminists to get rid of these guys' and I wondered what they were doing to shut them down. I thought that someone should alert the feminists so they would do something about it. There it is. Just like the police, I might criticize them but when I'm worried about being harmed they are the first people I want to call! They have the power and law behind them to protect people without power. They have an organized system in place for this and people who have dedicated their lives to this duty. That is why they are both important and I would feel less safe if they were to disappear. So although I criticize extreme feminism or certain feminist ideas I still respect them, I understand they are important for everyone, and I am truly glad they are here. It must be a hard job and I'm glad they do it because I don't think I could handle so much pressure and responsibility.

3 comments:

  1. Well, I think it's important to note that many of MRA's are not misogynists. They are simply criticizing Feminism and the unfair effects it has had on men and families and that is a conversation that needs to happen. One of the reasons why I never co-signed much of what they said, although I agreed, is the same reason I am not a Feminists- they do not call out certain people that use their name and clearly say "well this is not what we are about and these people are just highjacking".

    That said, I do not need Feminism to defend me and I think it should be noted that they have a track record of NOT calling out misogyny against Black Women. I would politely suggest reconsidering who exactly it is you want defending you because if you rely on them to defend you then you are saying that they do represent you.

    Peace

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  2. Interesting...I can respond to some of this in another post I was already planning about the feminist police. I hear what you are saying.

    This post was about me hypothetically calling them and I doubt it would ever happen. I don't rely on them to defend me at all. So, no one would think they represent me for that specific reason. But as a woman, educated in the so-called "feminist higher educational system", I have no doubt that people expect me to be a feminist anyway. I don't think that if I called the police everyone would think I was a member of the force or that I condone everything that they do. I would just be desperate and in need of help from someone more powerful than me. Anyways, I don't ask anyone to defend me so it's a moot point.

    Yes, I have to edit the opening of this post to include the racism criticism. That shall be done :)

    As for the MRA's, they have discredited themselves. I can't support men who belong to that group if they don't censor and denounce the members of their group who make such statements. If men outside the group make arguments about the unfair effects of feminism on families I may listen to them. I might listen to arguments about reverse racism from some White men, but I refuse to listen to anyone who calls themselves a Klansman. I haven't read every single blog or forum by these MRA men, but if the most popular sites have this sort of thing that is enough for me. I've read statements from the most well known members of the group. They have the power to moderate their comments and allowing those barbaric comments is making a statement. They have to accept the consequences for that. I won't fall for ignoring the rough exterior because they might actually be nice guys who are hurting on the inside. They discredited themselves. See, this is so thought provoking any response is a blog post in itself!

    Yes, I hear where you are coming from for sure. Nothing is entirely good or bad, some of their concerns may be valid, but I won't listen to anyone who is a member of the group. Someone from the Good Men's group would have my full attention :) I'm still not a feminist of an MRA supporter that's for sure.

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  3. Just out of curiosity, which popular sites are you referring to? There two Youtubers who I really think are not misogynists as they clearly attack Feminism and not women.

    I would also like to point out that while many may say they are the same, I personally believe that MRA is different from the Father's Rights organizations who more or less target the legislative effects of Feminism on dads.

    Peace

    ReplyDelete