“I’m not a feminist. I really don’t care about it as long as it doesn’t affect me. I’m a guy.” You could’ve quoted me on that months ago. I was really nonchalant about it. But, over time, I realized that there is no such thing as “not caring”. There is no sitting on the fence. You’re either for or against it. “You can’t be a male feminist. Pick a side, man.” Being a man doesn’t mean you can’t be a feminist because there are no sides when it comes to feminism. “Feminism” isn’t saying that men are inferior to women. It’s simply elevating the position of women in order to achieve gender equality. In layman’s terms, “eqalitarianism” is the same as feminism.
In my opinion, the soviet has been telling men that they’re special and superior for far too long, but now, they simply can’t digest the fact that they’re not so special. This in turn leads them to overcompensate, out of exasperation, by discriminating against, harassing, or harming women to favor themselves or other men over women. They are frustrated when a woman can do their job just as well as them, if not better. They overcompensate to assert their “superiority”. Then again to quote Vir Das, “to say that women can do the same things as men is like a scientist trying to be a monkey. Women can do whatever they want.” I know this because I’ve been that vexed man. I’ve been that ignorant sexist who saw the world from one side of the problem.
I know it feels like I’m mansplaining feminism, but I don’t mean to do that. I’m simply trying to make the other men out there understand that we’re all the same. Real feminism isn’t the meme it’s been turned into. That’s the work of pseudo-feminists, who spread the message that “men are trash”. Workplace discrimination and harassment is a separate, grave issue altogether. The glass ceiling of salaries and promotions is a problem.
I’m not saying it’s the exact reason behind sexism, but it’s at least one of the big causes. Society is plagued by the disease of discrimination of many kinds- racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism and religious discrimination among others. In all honesty, I could barely understand the way society has treated and treats women for no fault of theirs. I, as a man, believe that feminism brings us another step closer to curing that disease, at least by 50%. And that’s good enough for me. You can quote me on that.
-Anonymous