How To Spot A Misandrist; A Guide
In this modern world, there is so much information out there that some messages get lost in translation while others are purposefully ignored. There is this trend of popular lingo and buzzwords that not only dumb down complex concepts but also makes them less reliable and credible.
This also applies to the socially constructed stereotypes that have become so deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness that anything that strays from what is deemed appropriate and “right” is either shunned or rejected. We have become in tune with the issues and topics such as the discrimination women, people of colour or the LGBTQ community face on a daily basis which is a good thing as this means there has been a successful struggle to challenge the status quo.
When someone talks about the patriarchy they talk of a system where men reign supreme and use their privilege to undermine the opportunities and choices of others.
However, the inherent hatred towards men or how the patriarchy seeks to harm men is largely ignored from the overall discourse. While misogyny is the hatred of women, misandry is a term that talks of the implications and consequences of the hatred for men.
This is not only a human issue but an inherently feminist issue because feminism equates to the protection of rights regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or race. This cherry picking of feminist values is not only detrimental to the cause and the movement but also to society at large. Microaggressions against men are usually brushed off with humour or sarcasm and are given no real thought.
This has something to do with how we as a society deal with men’s issues and in doing so we negate men and boy’s emotions and experiences, we teach them that only their aggression or toxic masculinity will get them any attention and we actively cut them off from developing any meaningful relationships with people around them.
Moving back to misandrists, these women and sometimes men place the entire blame on men and box “all men” into one unfair and generalized criteria while routinely ignoring their own prejudices against them.
On how to spot a misandrist, the goal is to observe behaviour that one would expect from any misogynist. They feel entitled to their opinion and always assume they know better about certain issues than men do. Their entire brand of feminism (if they even subscribe to one) only focuses on women’s issues and is neither inter-sectional nor welcoming.
They routinely misuse the certain power and privilege that they receive sometimes just for being women or will negate men’s issues and experiences over the argument that women are discriminated against more. They degrade men whenever given the opportunity and engage in the very sexist and objectifying behaviour that they crucify men and the patriarchy for. They often engage in and think violence against men is completely justified!
Finally it is important to note that for misandrists the objective is to put men down to revel in their own twisted sense of power and authority over men and that they are not even remotely close to what feminists aim to achieve. Their agenda is to only expect “equality” but to never reciprocate. That being said, it is even more imperative that we understand that the efforts that the feminist movement has been struggling to achieve should not be hindered or affected due to the actions of those extremists who seek to associate themselves with it.
