miscellaneous & disorganized thoughts on the "why should feminists care so much about men's issues? why don't men organize themselves?"
feminist is not equivalent to woman. this is for one, because anyone can be a feminist, and two, because "being a feminist" (or rather, doing feminism) is not just being a woman or caring about women. it is a dedicated to a movement that seeks gender liberation and the end of patriarchal oppression; to call yourself a feminist, in my opinion, means holding yourself as a feminist to a higher standard in the pursuit of liberation. while we should of course be vigilant about reproducing patriarchal dynamics, we must not conflate the role of feminist with simply being a woman.
feminism has historically been deeply cissexist in a way which prevents full analysis of men and trans people's position under patriarchy. trans men have been involved with women's liberation forever, yet trans men have also been constantly excluded from feminism because of their manhood, despite being no less materially affected by misogyny.
men's liberation cannot be achieved without women's and trans liberation, and ultimately all gender liberation cannot be achieved while we maintain gender segregation. we must be unafraid to be heterosocial, affiliate with one another, and disregard the boundaries of gender in order to demand true freedom. if gender is a tool of patriarchal control which divides us socially and economically, we must turn gender into a tool of liberation by emphasizing inter-gender solidarity and our intertwined, overlapping experiences. we cannot achieve gender liberation by continuing to maintain the illusion that "men's issues" and "women's issues" are separate, especially when for trans and intersex people, this illusion is itself extremely violent and excludes us from feminism ideologically
going off that; women must take the first step and claim men's issues as a feminist concern, in order to take a sledgehammer to that gender segregation. by insisting that men's issues are women's issues, we can also then demand that men recognize women's issues are men's issues, and trans issues are men and women's issues, and men and women's issues are trans issues. many men have tried to do this themselves, but it is very hard for men who recognize women's issues are men's issues to be given enough recognition and validity amongst cis men. this stance means that feminists are not sitting around and waiting for cis men to collectively realize their position; they are demanding men realize it, and they are doing that through very pointed compassion. "you are with us whether you realize it or not; our doors are open, we are concerned for you, and to turn away from us is to reject yourselves."
to take inspiration from the Black Panthers, we need to heighten the contradictions of gender. we need to make cis men at large realize that it is only through organizing with women and trans people that they can be truly freed from their own gendered struggles - and to realize that their struggles are gendered in such a way. like it or not, feminism is THE anti-patriarchal force in our society; it seems a waste to refuse to use that force, simply because "we shouldn't have to."
gummygunk
titsay
gracieabrams
blakekathryn
romaincrisis
turnnoffyourmind
