History of Feminism
In reply to the discussion: If I Admit That ‘Hating Men’ Is a Thing, Will You Stop Turning It Into a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? [View all]BainsBane
(53,032 posts)Last edited Tue Apr 2, 2013, 01:46 PM - Edit history (1)
You assume discrimination is only about the most surface elements. If I say something offensive to a man, I'm being a jerk. If a man says something offensive to me, he is being a jerk. The difference is that the power structure is such that government, the courts, and corporate enterprise are dominated by white men. So while the act of spitting or saying something jerky may in of itself no different, when that jerkiness is embedded in a social structure that treats women as inferior, pays them less, seeks to control of their bodies away, and affords them inferior economic and legal status, that means the entire culture is structured around discrimination against women. That does not exist for men. Sexist comments in the workplace, for example, are not just comments when directed at women. Courts have found they create a hostile work environment that is deliberately and purposefully discriminatory and serves to keep women out of professions, pays them less, and promotes less qualified men over women. Violent crimes against women go un-investigated, authorities don't bother to test rape kits, only a small percentage of rapists and batterers go to jail, while 1 in 3 women are either raped or beaten by their partners. If you think the circumstances faced by men are the same, you're not being honest.
You may not like something a woman says to you, and she may indeed be a jerk for saying whatever that offending thing was. But the difference is that statement isn't embedded in an entire social structure that treats men as inferior.
If a few women do hate men, that has no impact on your life unless you happen to be employed by one, in which case you have legal recourse. Her feelings are not part of a broader culture that devalues the lives of men as it does women. Her views are hers, and while unfortunate, they have no broader implications beyond her because women do not wield the structural power that men do. Women's views are not the norm in government, the courts, and corporate America as men's are. Those cultures all operate in ways that privilege maleness and penalize women, not only economically but even deprives them of their basic safety and life, as statistics on rape and domestic violence reveal.
Your argument is the same as pretending prejudice against whites is the same as racism. It is not at all. It is not part of a structural inequality in a society where the lives of black people are shorter, whether they face far greater rates of imprisonment for the same crimes committed by whites, face the death penalty more often. They earn less, whereas a white man won't be stopped based on the color of his skin for being in a good neighborhood or driving a nice car.
The argument about racism against whites comes straight from white supremacist discourse, and it was those organizations that perpetrated those views so now even so-called liberal men repeat that language about how they have it so bad and racism against whites is as bad as against blacks. It's pure bullshit. Your argument that misandry (which does not exist as a structural issue) is any way comparable to pervasive structural sexism is not only false, it is itself sexist because it falsifies the entire legacy of subjugation that women have faced and continue to try to climb out from, just as arguments about racism against whites distorts reality in an effort to create a false equivalency. Such reactionary views have become so pervasive they now come out of the mouths of people who claim to be progressive, which I find truly extraordinary. Dominant cultural groups are desperate to hang on privilege, and such arguments play into that effort. You may not even realize that is what you are engaged in. I suggest you think about the implications of what you are arguing and undertake an honest assessment of the standing of women and people of color in history and their current structural conditions before you voice such arguments again.