Men are always asking me “why is feminism still important?” and “why should I care about feminism?”
I can’t answer that for you. Go out and learn it.
Go into the city with a female friend. Walk 20 feet behind her and listen.
Make an account on a social site. Use a female name and photo. Post something, anything.
Go to a Take Back The Night march. Listen to the survivors speak out afterwards.
Set a timer on your phone or watch for two minutes. When the alarm goes off, another woman in the United States has been sexually assaulted.
Make an account on a dating site as a woman. Check your messages.
Take a walk through a toy store. Look at which toys are “meant” for boys and which are “meant” for girls.
Hang out with six of your female friends. Statistically, one of them has been raped. The chance that her rapist served any jail time for it is 3%.
Watch a movie. Almost any movie will do. Who’s the hero? Who gets saved? Who speaks the most?
Listen to other guys insult each other when they REALLY want to put each other down. “Pussy.” “Bitch.” “Sissy.” The worst thing for a man to be is like a woman.
But most importantly, read. Read bell hooks, read Jessica Valenti, read Amanda Marcotte, read Gail Collins, read Julia Serano. Read blogs and essays. Read literature written by women. I bet they didn’t assign you much of that in high school English class.
If I had unlimited time and energy to debate with you and patiently explain Why You Should Care About Feminism and counter each of your points with all the books and articles I’ve read, believe me, I would. But I don’t.
So go out and learn.
Make an account on a dating site as a woman. Check your messages.
Take a walk through a toy store. Look at which toys are “meant” for boys and which are “meant” for girls.
Hang out with six of your female friends. Statistically, one of them has been raped. The chance that her rapist served any jail time for it is 3%.
Watch a movie. Almost any movie will do. Who’s the hero? Who gets saved? Who speaks the most?
Listen to other guys insult each other when they REALLY want to put each other down. “Pussy.” “Bitch.” “Sissy.” The worst thing for a man to be is like a woman.
But most importantly, read. Read bell hooks, read Jessica Valenti, read Amanda Marcotte, read Gail Collins, read Julia Serano. Read blogs and essays. Read literature written by women. I bet they didn’t assign you much of that in high school English class.
If I had unlimited time and energy to debate with you and patiently explain Why You Should Care About Feminism and counter each of your points with all the books and articles I’ve read, believe me, I would. But I don’t.
So go out and learn.
