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IS MENINISM the NEW FEMINISM? Meninism. ​Men​Ingitis...​Men

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IS MENINISM the NEW FEMINISM? Meninism. ​Men​Ingitis...​Men IS MENINISM THE NEW FEMINISM? Meninism. Meningitis...menstruation...menopause. It would appear that men are at the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ root of a lot of our problems.Yes, we are talking about meninism. A four syllable semi-satirical name given to a movement birthed from men’s rights activists or MRA’s for short. The term was initially spread on social media platforms to satirise radical feminists and feminism as a whole, but the disturbing thing is this joke has escalated into more than that. These men truly believe they are the oppressed sex and maybe they have a point. But can we really believe what the anti-feminists have to say? What essentially started off as meme culture, “why can’t she buy flowers for him” or ​ ​ the classic “make me a sandwich” meme that everyone has seen with an ironic “#meninist”, has spread its “message” like a nasty rash on people’s timelines; the ​ ​ ​ concept of “meninism” may appear superficially as utterly trivial, as it infested the entire world’s social media, but threads and threads filled with bad jokes, rooting themselves so deeply into our online subconscious have led many to actually supporting the movement. Watch out feminists, the boys are back in town and they are here to bring - drum roll please - gender equality! These so called gender equality activists inhabit multiple forums such as Reddit, the darkest and genuinely most terrifying place on the internet, a cesspool filled with boys and men craving an answer to why the feminazis are corrupting their treasured masculinity. And just to make things more alarming - it is one hundred percent anonymous, so they can spread the word of the feminist antichrist, also known as Paul Elam. Nonetheless, Reddit is not the only online platform giving a voice to these male activists. Elam, a big name within the men’s rights community and the founder of the website A Voice For Men, aims “to denounce the current institution of marriage as ​ ​ unsafe and unsuitable for modern men”, and also claims he is setting up the forum in order to push the movement towards goals such as “putting an end to rape hysteria”. Like I said - the true feminist antichrist ladies and gentlemen. Now, I understand that 1 we are all entitled to freedom of speech and to voice our opinions but these beasts of Reddit are propagating misogyny. It’s hate speech. And in case you didn’t hear the first time. Definition: Hate speech is speech which attacks a person or group on the basis of ​ attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Again. They are attacking a group through speech on the basis of their gender. ​ However, platforms such as Reddit raise one of the biggest conundrums of our generation: are we actually ourselves online or is it all a facade? Are these men only contributing to the hysteria to have their voices heard without even taking a moment to think about the consequences or do they genuinely believe in the cause? With a staggering 150,000 men’s rights subscribers, Reddit acts as a catalyst for the invisible demons of the internet to spread anonymous hate with forums such as The Red Pill dominating the manosphere - a concept taken from the matrix which actively attempts to maintain outdated patriarchal traditions to the detriment of modern women. This degrading of women is essentially an updated version of misogyny for the digital age; a toxic technoculture rotting the brains of young men and tricking them into believing misogyny is synonymous with equality. The boys of Reddit probably don’t hate women, they just crave guidance and clarity, and I can understand that modern men do suffer a great deal of oppression. But with misogynistic powerhouses such as Elam exploiting their vulnerabilities to feed them anti-feminist hogwash such as “exposing misandry on all levels in our culture”, it’s hardly a mystery as to why these concepts gain so much support. It is important to remember that the meninists of Reddit do not speak for all men. In spite of the hideous concept of The Red Pill, maybe they actually have a point. I know it may sound crazy but the MRA’s have done their research, although at times a little misguided, they address some valid issues. These men feel useless, purposeless in a society where statistics prove that they are more likely to end up homeless, receive a prison sentence 60% longer than women for committing the same crime and represent the majority of suicides - it’s what they call “male disposability”. But this is nothing to do with feminists, despite what the MRA’s like to believe. A lot of the pressure young boys and men face originates from this traditional idea of the patriarchy: this 2 uncertainty in what role they are meant to fulfill, how they are meant to behave within society, to “man-up” and “grow a pair”. It leaves these so called monsters we see on Reddit somewhat lost and confused. As a result they are quick to shift the blame, quick to question whether what the feminists say is true, whether men historically did hold the power within society. However, we live in a world where it’s almost fashionable now to blame everything on the “Goddamn Patriarchy!” the word “feminist” is plastered onto every tshirt, tote bag, notebook and coffee mug. It’s a mainstream trend to be a part of the feminist movement - we should be asking whether it's men that we hate or whether it’s hate speech that we loathe so much. The lesbian feminist Camille Paglia couldn’t have put it better than “surely it was and is possible for a progressive reform movement to ​ achieve that without stereotyping, belittling or demonizing men” and she’s right. The definition of feminism has become so blurred in people’s minds that they are confusing it with misandry which is probably why the meninists dislike what they think are women’s rights activists so much. We should all stop worrying so much about feeling like we need to ​ contribute to playground hysteria in order to make a change and instead find a reasonable and effective approach to make the “progressive reform” we all like to fantasise about a reality. 3 .
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