WHEN FEMINISM BECOMES THE VERY THING IT CLAIMS TO OPPOSE
Feminism achieved important victories for women: voting rights, property ownership, educational opportunities, workplace participation and legal equality. These achievements deserve recognition.
But parts of contemporary feminism have drifted far from those principles. In Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, some influential strands of feminist activism have become increasingly ideological, intolerant, discriminatory and openly hostile towards men and boys.
It's time to challenge the double standards.
1. Misandry masquerading as empowerment. Casual contempt for men, collective accusations of misogyny, and slogans such as "men are trash" have become acceptable in some circles. Replace "men" with "women" and the prejudice becomes obvious. Sexism doesn't become virtuous when directed at males.
2. Demonising masculinity. Boys are increasingly exposed to narratives portraying masculinity as toxic, dangerous or inherently oppressive. Traditional masculine virtues (courage, strength, protectiveness, resilience and responsibility) deserve celebration, not suspicion. Boys need encouragement and positive role models, not collective guilt.
3. Institutionalised double standards. Governments enthusiastically fund women's advancement while serious male disadvantages in suicide, education, homelessness, workplace deaths and criminal justice receive inadequate attention. Equality institutions cannot credibly champion one sex while neglecting the other.
4. Ideology masquerading as science. Some gender research begins with patriarchy as the explanation and works backwards. Biological differences, evolutionary psychology and competing hypotheses are dismissed when inconvenient. The controversial "Man Box" framework exemplifies concerns about deficit-based interpretations of masculinity. Research should investigate reality, not manufacture ideological confirmation.
5. Abandoning boys in education. Boys lag in literacy and educational completion across much of the English-speaking world. Yet gender equity initiatives frequently remain overwhelmingly female-focused. Where is the urgency about boys falling behind?
6. Marginalising male victims. Domestic and sexual violence are too often framed through simplistic male-perpetrator/female-victim myths. Women experience serious and disproportionate harms in certain categories, but male victims and female perpetrators are also common. Every victim deserves recognition, protection and support.
7. Sacrificing due process. The excesses of "believe women" activism have sometimes encouraged institutions to treat accusations as convictions. Supporting complainants must never mean abandoning impartial investigations, procedural fairness or the rights of the accused.
8. Undermining fathers. Cultural assumptions that mothers are naturally superior parents have marginalised fathers, including after separation. Children benefit from the loving involvement of both biological parents. Fathers are not disposable accessories to family life.
9. Silencing dissent. Researchers, journalists and advocates who question feminist orthodoxies can face vilification, intimidation and professional pressure. Disagreement is not hatred. Intellectual freedom matters more than ideological conformity.
10. Turning equality into female preference. Quotas, preferential programmes and selective advocacy can transform equal opportunity into unequal treatment. Genuine fairness requires examining disadvantage, individual merit and proportionality; not automatically privileging one sex.
These problems do not characterise every feminist, nor does feminism explain every disadvantage facing males.
But a movement cannot claim the moral authority of equality while tolerating prejudice, selective compassion and institutional unfairness.
We need male-positive psychology, evidence-based policy, stronger families, equal justice and institutions accountable to everyone.
Women and girls deserve dignity, opportunity and protection.
So do men and boys.
Equality is not a female entitlement. It is a universal human principle.
#GenderEquality #MensRights #MalePsychology #BoysMatter #Fatherhood #EqualityForAll #MutualRespect
by Celebrating Masculinity:
(from Digital Anvil)
