Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month or so, you’ve likely heard the term “meninism.”
“But what is meninism?” you may ask.
Meninism is a recent response to the feminist movement. The idea of “meninism” didn’t really start to circulate until around a year ago when it began as a hashtag on Twitter. At first, it was a joke made by men in support of feminism, but since that time, it has quickly become a serious movement. Men share their stories of “oppression” and point out the so-called “double standards” of feminism in this hashtag.
The feminist movement is one founded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century on the principle of equality between the sexes. Since that time, it has come to stand for equality amongst all people. As a response, meninism looks at feminism and says, “I get that women only got the right to vote a hundred years ago and still suffer from the wage gap, but I still have to pay for our dates. Men are clearly more oppressed than women.”
It’s like painting the word “misogynist” on your forehead for the world to see.
Why are men so into it? I honestly don’t know. But that’s not what I’m writing about. I’m writing about how much it irks me that men are still trying to deny that women’s rights are an issue. Like it hasn’t been something that women have been fighting for over a hundred years. But since we got the right to vote and can wear pants, they seem to think that we no longer need feminism. They think, “Hey, they can vote. What more could they possibly want?” (Equality. That’s the answer.) And it’s not even just women that the feminist movement is about. Feminism is a movement that seeks equality for all genders, not just women.
Meninists, like other men’s rights activists, are constantly trying to paint feminism as a man-hating movement when that has never been what feminism is about. Feminism is about destroying patriarchal institutions and values, as well as other institutions of oppression. And yes, it is also here to help men. I know; it’s shocking.
Feminism is about gender equality. It’s not about female domination or taking rights away from men. Meninists don’t seem to understand that even though feminism has “fem” as a prefix, it’s not only about women. (You know, like everything with “andro” and “man” prefixes. Mankind, anyone?)
The invention of meninism is only a way for men to pretend that feminism is about hating them. So, they’ve decided to make a movement about hating women. Oh, wait, there’s already a word for that. It’s misogyny. But at this point, these two words are kind of interchangeable, aren’t they? However, meninists don’t see it as that. They’re currently buying shirts with the word MENINIST emblazoned on the front, and honestly, I’m really excited about the shirts.
I know that sounds stupid. Why would I be excited about a shirt that declares the wearer to be an active opponent of equality? Well, dear reader, the instant I see a guy in a shirt that says “Meninist,” I know exactly what kind of guy he is. Talk about never having to talk to misogynists ever again.
If any of you are thinking of joining ranks with them, I’d advise you to read a little bit more about feminism, just to make sure you’re understanding what it really is.
