Feminism vs. Misandry

I am about to make some obvious points that have been made many times before. I don't believe we should stop saying the obvious points until the message gets through.

1. Feminism does not equate to misandry (misandry=the hatred of men), misandry is very wrong in the same way that misogyny is very wrong. Among misandrists who call themselves feminists, many have views that may overlap with feminism (e.g. that we should eradicate the pay gap) but cannot  be called feminists as the idea of hating men directly contradicts the basic principles of feminsim.

2. Feminism is not a movement which aims to promote women above men

3. Feminism promotes gender equality

4. Feminism is beneficial to men also, in a large number of ways but focuses on the plight of women as they are in an undeniably disadvantaged position in society. This disadvantage varies in intensity from country to country and has been reduced through activism in many places but is present in all modern societies today.

5. Feminism ought to be intersectional, that is consider other factors that affect privilege such as class, race and sexuality.

6. Common responses to Feminist arguments such as "not all men" and "men get raped too" are completely missing the point. They are, of course, perfectly valid and true statements, but they do not go against feminist ideology so cannot be used to argue against it.

6. (Controversial): Feminism needs to be called feminism. Whilst terms such as egalitarianism are of course important and inclusive, we need terms to address the issues of specific groups that are at a disadvantage to another, more privileged, group. The same argument applies to, for example, the term 'black feminism', it could be argued that this comes under the term 'feminism' and is therefore unnecessary or exclusive, but 'black feminism' is important because it highlights how black women are generally subject to further discrimination than caucasian/white women.

We all need to understand that feminism does not exist to attack anyone. The criticisms are directed at society and the way it is biased in favour of certain groups, not at the groups themselves. The criticism can be directed towards individuals who promote certain privileges, such as politicians who endorse laws that discriminate against women but not at men in general. Men need to be aware of the privilege that they have and support the cause for gender equality but also know that feminists are not trying to brand them all with the same brush nor try to claim that they are individually responsible for gender inequality.

Written by Ellen

Picture Credit: Ellen

P.S. can we drop the 'battle of the sexes' idea, we are all team human, the only battle is against inequality