Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-43782881-20200803074517/@comment-43782881-20200803230932

'''I know that men can be victims of abuse, sexual assault, I know that society still holds an enormous contempt for men who were victims of violence, view them as weaker. Disabled men, men of color, LGBT+ men, I can go on. '''

'''The lack of support for male abuse victims-you’re right, it needs to be better but  it’s not a competition for who gets justice The exact same advocacy feminists do for rape victims can be used to help male rape victims. It can be extended to help abuse victims. Feminists act on the desire to prevent harm to people, which is why it’s so baffling to see this consistent claim that feminists are glad for men to get hurt. I can assure you they’re not. But the US, where I speak from, has a lot of work to do in general with the justice system. In the field of education, one goal of feminism is to increase education around consent, teach kids about the importance of bodily autonomy so when they’re older and learning about sex ed, they have a healthier base understanding about how to respectfully interact with people. These efforts would be huge in reducing rape rates for both men and women. '''

'''You know where I see mockery of fragile masculinity? Men who are so afraid of looking weak they’ll refuse to wear certain clothing. Men who have no basic housekeeping skills because they expect their mom or girlfriend to do it all. '''

'''Conservative Christians and feminists are not friends. Feminists don’t actually support the notion that men should be strong and emotionless because that mindset leads men to hurting themselves, other men, and women. '''

'''Women are allowed to want to solve problems like catcalling. This does not mean that they don’t care about more serious examples of harm done to women. Talking about serious harm done to women does not mean men have no problems. Feminism is focused on solving women’s problems, just like many other organizations and movements meant to help certain groups or populations. But their efforts, their principles, can be used to help men. Improving justice systems means improving them for men. Improving education means addressing issues in the way kids are raised and taught, for both boys and girls. Teach boys to be more open about their emotions, increase empathy, make more room for boys and men to talk about their issues. One of your earliest responses mentioned feminism changing to a broader more humanitarian goal. Feminism is humanitarian. I want more men to understand the principles of feminism, that they can benefit from those principles, without trying to tear it down. '''