Current mood:	academic
Entry tags:	feminism and sexism

For reference
Here's a concise and perceptive debunking of the man-hating feminist myth, from my textbook for Introduction to Women Studies. I want to have it on hand for reference, since this is one of the most common criticisms tossed at feminists. I also figured it wouldn't hurt to share, in case anyone else runs into someone whose argument is based on this stereotype, and wants a quick 'n' easy way to refute it.

Of course, keep in mind that this works only on reasonable people who are just misinformed, not trolls who hold steadfastly to the belief that feminism entails cutting off men's balls and engaging in wild lesbian orgies.



" ... [I]t is often said that feminists hate men. It is accurate to say that, in their affirmation of women and their desire to remove systems of inequality, feminists ask that men understand how gender privilege works in men's lives. Many men are more than willing to do this because the same social constructions of masculinity that privilege men also limit them. Since the demand for the examination of gender privilege is not synonymous with hating men, we might ask why these different concepts are so easily conflated. A more interesting question is why men are not accused more often of hating women. Certainly the world is full of misogyny, the hatred of women, and every day we see examples of the ways misogyny influences, and sometimes destroys, the lives of women. The reality, of course, is that most feminists are in relationships with men, and some feminists are men. Some men eagerly call themselves pro-feminist because feminism is a perspective on life (even though some feminists would argue that just as people of color are better prepared to understand racial inequality, so women are in a better place to understand how gender works). Nonetheless, the man-hating myth works to prevent many women who want to be in relationships with men from claiming feminism. They are encouraged to avoid a political stance that suggests antagonism toward men.

"Feminists often respond to the declaration that they hate men with the observation that the statement illustrates a hypersensitivity about the possibility of exclusion and loss of power on the part of men. Only in a patriarchal society would the inclusion of women be interpreted as a potential threat or loss of men's power. It is a reflection of the fact that we live in a competitive patriarchal society that it is assumed that the feminist agenda is one that seeks to have power over men. And only in an androcentric society where men and their reality is center stage would it be assumed that an inclusion of one group must mean the exclusion of another. In other words, male domination encourages the idea that affirming women means hating men and interprets women's request for power sharing as a form of taking over. This projection of patriarchal mentality equates someone's gain with another's loss."

--Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee in Women's Voices, Feminist Visions



Replace "men" with "white people," "straight people," or "rich people," and you get an all-purpose argument that applies to the myths against all sorts of anti-oppression work. Nifty, isn't it?