I think unfortunately the one theme we are missing and the one most important is solidarity.
In my experience, everyone is focussed on their community and furthering their cause. Rightly so in many cases.
One of the starkest I always felt was when talking about men, children and family courts. When I discuss this online, and even occasionally IRL with feminists. The conversation usually is one of acknowledgement of a problem followed by a cold “we’ll support that when we get the things we need”. It’s a cold brutal unsympathetic view that doesn’t help that feeling of isolation and hardens that “us vs them” division. Many feminists don’t see that the division sewn is intentional, to stop us uniting and fighting for the rights of the working class. Be it trans rights, gay rights, women’s rights, freedom from racial discrimination and men’s rights. They are human rights. We have to stand shoulder to shoulder and make our voice heard in support. We also have to hope that folks from other groups will support us.
There is nothing more isolating than fighting in the corners of others and then when the time comes get a cold rejection when they come for you. It pushes folk to these liars and snake oil salesmen from the right. We need to remove that oxygen from the fire so those bigoted views can wither and die. Right now, we’re losing that battle. DEI initiatives are being rolled back. Under the guise of fighting positive discrimination, they take more. The destroy awareness of bias, fair selection processes and opportunities for all.
I fear that the true strength of men fighting for fairness is you need to fight for others, extend the olive branch of friendship and then hope when we fight some will join us even if at times it feels like we will fight alone.
I’ve lost bigoted anti-trans friends who’ve swallowed the snake oil but to some, I’ll always be seen as a part of the patriarchy, purely because of my gender. So will our sons. I hope they don’t have the same experience of where they cross from innocent child to evil propagator of the patriarchy despite doing nothing wrong other than being born male and becoming an adult.
I think unfortunately the one theme we are missing and the one most important is solidarity.
In my experience, everyone is focussed on their community and furthering their cause. Rightly so in many cases.
One of the starkest I always felt was when talking about men, children and family courts. When I discuss this online, and even occasionally IRL with feminists. The conversation usually is one of acknowledgement of a problem followed by a cold “we’ll support that when we get the things we need”. It’s a cold brutal unsympathetic view that doesn’t help that feeling of isolation and hardens that “us vs them” division. Many feminists don’t see that the division sewn is intentional, to stop us uniting and fighting for the rights of the working class. Be it trans rights, gay rights, women’s rights, freedom from racial discrimination and men’s rights. They are human rights. We have to stand shoulder to shoulder and make our voice heard in support. We also have to hope that folks from other groups will support us.
There is nothing more isolating than fighting in the corners of others and then when the time comes get a cold rejection when they come for you. It pushes folk to these liars and snake oil salesmen from the right. We need to remove that oxygen from the fire so those bigoted views can wither and die. Right now, we’re losing that battle. DEI initiatives are being rolled back. Under the guise of fighting positive discrimination, they take more. The destroy awareness of bias, fair selection processes and opportunities for all.
I fear that the true strength of men fighting for fairness is you need to fight for others, extend the olive branch of friendship and then hope when we fight some will join us even if at times it feels like we will fight alone.
I’ve lost bigoted anti-trans friends who’ve swallowed the snake oil but to some, I’ll always be seen as a part of the patriarchy, purely because of my gender. So will our sons. I hope they don’t have the same experience of where they cross from innocent child to evil propagator of the patriarchy despite doing nothing wrong other than being born male and becoming an adult.