There’s a Difference Between Feminism and Misandry
By: Keara Lou
Tags: Feminism, Women, Education, Politics, Misandry

There’s a Difference Between Feminism and Misandry

Stop mixing up the two.

Photo by Lindsey LaMont on Unsplash

Like most millennials, I have a slight addiction to social media and the internet. YouTube clips of Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert were how I watched the news when I was living in China. People’s reactions to the news on Facebook were like crack to me. I was that person putting popcorn gifs on comment threads when I saw arguments on facebook.

Lately, I’ve been watching a rise and fall of the word “feminism.” People roll their eyes and throw out Femi-nazi all the time.

However, the Femi-nazis people talk about are not feminists. They’re misandrists. If feminism is going to survive, people need to learn the difference between the two.

What is misandry?

If you know what misogyny is, you know what misandry is. Misandry is the woman-version of misogyny. Dislike, contempt, and prejudice against men.

These are the women who would be horrified if another woman told her story of abuse. But if a man opened up about his own experiences with being abused, she’d roll her eyes or laugh at him.

These are the women who think it’s healthy and cute to watch teenagers and young women treat their boyfriends terribly. Nothing wrong with a woman acting like a stalker with her boyfriend but horrified if the same boyfriend stalked her.

These women are fans of double standards.

These are the women who try to make other women feel bad for taking the man’s side in a story.

These are the women who lie about a man’s actions for attention or revenge.

They see nothing wrong with telling a man to “man up” and make him feel ashamed for having an emotion.

In custody battles, they will always believe the father is the bad guy, even when there’s evidence that the mother shouldn’t have custody of the kids.

These are not feminists.

So what is a feminist?

A feminist wants equality between sexes. They’re not out to make life worse for men. They want to be equals to men.

They’ll be just as quick to stand up for a man being attacked by a woman as they would be if a man were attacking a woman.

They won’t make a man feel ashamed for showing emotion and shedding tears.

They believe father’s rights are just as necessary as a mother’s rights. If a child would be better off with the father than the mother, you bet your ass they’d help the father!

They don’t see every man they meet as a potential rapist entitled to a woman’s body. Or a man’s for that matter.

They’re not foaming at the mouth if a woman chooses to keep her child instead of aborting it. They understand it’s none of their business what a woman does with her body.

Let’s stop confusing the two.

It’s not the feminists that people should be going after with pitchforks and torches. The real feminist ideology doesn’t fit the trope of an angry feminist wanting to destroy men. It’s more of a bridge-builder than bridge-burner.

I’ve seen so many posts on Facebook recently talking about how feminists are disrespectful or hate men. I can’t help but question these posts. I don’t think they’re talking about feminism.

There are no such things as Femi-Nazis. There are feminists and misandrists. If you know the difference between the two, you are one of the most powerful allies in the fight for women’s rights.