Why do some men wilfully misrepresent feminism?

Question

Lets get this straight, once and for all. The vast majority of feminists do not hate men, quite the reverse. Obviously, there are aspects of our society and some men's behaviour (rape, domestic violence, etc) that women do not like and seek to change. The only feminist I ever heard of that said all men are potential rapists was Andrea Dworkin, but she was abused (by a man) as a child. This does not mean that all or even most feminists believe this.

I want to create a world where everyone is treated fairly, men and women, black, white and all shades in between, old, young, everyone. It really doesnt help when people insist on seeing an egalitarian movement like feminism in an inaccurate way.

Er, there is a bit of a difference between rape and domestic violence, and nagging/being fat. (A lot of men are fat too).

To the man who says the stats are wrong, well, yes they are. They under-represent the true rape figures. The police is hardly a bastion of radical feminism, so they are hardly likely to make them seem bigger. Again, anti-feminists accuse women of being illogical, but dismissing such figures in this way is - well - not only illogical, but in denial of the suffering of thousands of women. Please look inside your heart and ask yourself if you really want to do this.

Thanks to the many men who are answering this in a supportive way.

Jazz, read the question, and some of the answers (I refer to them above). I don't think all men think this way. The question was 'Why do some men wilfully misrepresent feminism?' Some men.

Thanks to the men who are being supportive of what I am saying here. We need you!

Jazz, I don't assume all men think this way. If you read the question again, you will see that it says 'Why do some men wilfully misrepresent feminism?'

I am so happy I asked this question. Some of my favourite answers are by the guys. My faith is being restored. Thank you.

Furious B - I don't deny they exist. As you say though, they are indeed in the minority (and, I expect in most cases they are like Andrea Dworkin, their rage comes from terrible abuse. Why would anyone feel that way if their experience was good?)

Oh dear, I spoke too soon. There's some real hatemail come in recently.

I think it's sad for all humanity when people stir up this sort of divisiveness.

Answer 1

Bravo!

Yes, I get dismayed at how feminists are
portrayed especially by the media and
men who don't want to treat women
fairly, as Godless man hating harridans and
all that.

Whereas in reality a woman with a
feminist philosophy makes the best
partner in the world - willing to shoulder
responsibilities alongside her partner;
carry the load when he can't; no demands
to be taken care of.

Anyway, very heartening to see someone
else set it out for consideration.

Have a lovely Christmas sistah :)


Edit: - and yes the hate mail is rolling
in. What a shame that the amount of
hatred directed at feminists isn't directed
at men who misrepresent men - for
example, rather than trying to argue down
the stats on rape, why not be as angry
against people who rape? If men oppose
media representations btw; why not
hold those who own the media and all of
those who work for them accountable,
instead of blaming women.

Answer 2

Having lived through the sixties, and having seen a lot and noticed the subtle changes of the metamorphosis of society ( from the generally accepted code of behavior to the "anything goes" we now have), I would play along with what the new women want.

In this manner, I get taken care of with little effort on my part to be a true gentleman in the classic sense of the word.

With Christmas almost here, I doubt many women are getting the quality of gifts they were once spoiled with.

Because, when you want everything equal, and everyone treated the same, you get a tasteless concoction.

If only a few of the tried and true practices were still around today, maybe women would be put on a pedestal again.

Having said my peace, every dog for himself is the norm.

Answer 3

Feminism is something like religion in that defining it is largely subjective. I do believe that the majority of feminists are as you describe. But in my experience, there is also a fairly significant element of feminism that is composed of angry man-haters. Obviously, it isn't accurate or fair to characterize the whole movement by the words and actions of that extremist fringe. But it's also not reasonable to deny it exists.

Answer 4

The man would have to change that situation,because he is the only person thinking of doing those things.

Answer 5

I agree. As a feminist I can say I never hated any man. Like you, my main concerns are violence, rape and the like. I'm not worried if a man makes more money than me. I can make just as much if I am persistent. Blaming things like income on men become crutches. I also don't get tripped up by semantics, like being called a wo-man. It is what it is, a word. There are more important issues at stake and it might serve us better to prioritize a bit.

Answer 6

Why do women want to do a man's job? Is it, "making a statement?" Some women think their men, (feminists,) they dress, act like men, but they hate men. Figure that one out. Looks like all this, "women's movement," has more women confused about their femininity than anything else. Why not just be a woman, and stop causing confusion in the sexes? If we can get rid of the instigator here, things will work out.

Answer 7

And what are the stats of false accusations of rape? What are the stats of men being aquitted of rape? Are your stats just based off of a womans say so or are they facts? More than likely they are simply based off of a womaqn crying rape when nothing happened. Maybe we should get a standard form that would have to be filled out and filed with a federal agency before people can have sex?

Answer 8

because, in essence, men and women are the same. Yes the physical differences and some characteristics (men generally more vocal so you hear more from them, women tend to think in abstract ways about different situations). So, being practically the same, women do it too. There are many women who misrepresent men. Masculinism seems to have become a dirty word, even though its feminism for guys. It also seems taboo for anyone to be proud to be a man, whereas females are encouraged to think so. So, really, almost anything one says about women can be applied the same way towards men, and vice-versa

and i agree with the other posters, its sad, but that kind of world cannot happen. No situation will completely unite every religion, color, or gender.

Answer 9

Feminism is rather misrepresented in the media, so it's easy for both men and women to get the wrong impression of feminism. Technically if someone calls themselves a feminist but hates men they have failed to understand the issue.

Answer 10

The only men who willfully misrepresent feminism are the cowardly men who support it. Your refusal to hear the evidence by men who are going through the misandrist courts and deal with misandrist women. You say it isn't feminism that causes what we are experiencing but it wasn't prevalent until second wave feminism reared it's ugly head.

You can deny what we men experience all you want but when I have to go to court time and time again to get my ex to follow court orders I know that feminism made it possible for her to ignore "the best interest of the child" and keep us apart illegally. So feminists go ahead and live in your fairy tale world where feminist crap don't stink but for the males down here that have to smell it and pick it up you won't convince us so long as we have to live in the devastation feminists leave behind.