I just realized something
So, you know how certain feminists like Katha Pollitt hold the view that men are seen as the norm or default in society, while women are seen as the exception or the 'other'? (Demonstrated through things like the Smurfette Principle, the Bechdel Test, etc.) Well, consider how Tumblr feminists react every time a male gendered version of a product is made, as just-smith has deconstructed here. Consider as well how male gendered names for everyday things often appear where they don't necessarily need to. This has become particularly noticeable recently; alongside old favourites like "bromance" and "bronies", we have now acquired the words "manspreading" and "manslamming" in the short time since 2015 began. By Katha Pollitt's logic, this kind of language emphasizes how women are now normal in sociey, and men are the exception. A woman bumping into someone on the pavement? Oh, that's just normal bumping into someone, that happens every day. A MAN bumping into someone on the pavement? Oh no, that's a SPECIAL kind of phenomenon. That's the kind of bumping into someone that causes societal oppression.
