The Eric Schneiderman case has got me thinking about a topic I think about quite a bit: Male feminist predators. Woke baes who turn out to be wolves in sheep's clothing. Let's talk about it. This is Feminism Sunday.
Former New York DA Eric Schneiderman has long presented himself as a champion of women's rights. As the man who prosecuted Harvey Weinstein, he became a hero of the #metoo movement. He also beat up his girlfriends, choked them, slapped them, belittled them.
Samantha Bee had, as usual, the best response:
This is the dark side of male feminism, and it is a story we've seen play out before. This is also part of the problem with ally cookies. You never know who the public feminist is in real life. This is a very specific version of the bowl of m&ms analogy.
Is there a solution to this issue? No. But there is a very important step for us all to take. These men think their public feminism will protect them when stories come out about their private mysoginy and violence towards women. It must not. Bee's response is perfect because she knows the moment a man is revealed to be a monster, all past credit is erased. Harvey Weinstein himself was a similar case. He supported a whole host of liberal causes, thinking that will save him.
Also, I return to my thing about ally cookies. When men are saying things women have been saying, their voices - our voices - should not be elevated above those of the women who said them first, or who are saying them at the same time.
Now, I'm not saying for a second that this is more prevalent among male feminists, liberal men, or any other group. What I am saying is that violence towards women exists in every sector, in every type of group.
With your indulgence, I'll make this about me for a minute. I am a mod on @TeamGirlPowa, a feminist discord server with a strong presence on the Steem blockchain (there's a link to the server in the banner below the post). I am extremely conflicted about this. If I refused to be a mod, if I quit now, am I hurting the cause or helping it? Right now, the consensus among the other mods and the group's founder is that they want me there. As long as that's the case, I think I'll keep doing the work - inasmuch as offline life allows. But if the members and/or moderators ever change their minds on this, I'll quit. Putting a dude in a position of authority in a feminist space that strives to be a safe space is always a dicey proposition. I knew that going in.
But the plight of the feminist man must not be the main issue here. Being booted from a position of authority and/or privilege isn't fun, to be sure. But it will never be as bad as the violence perpetrated by these men. Balancing a man's comfort vs. a woman's safety is monstrous. And when people call #metoo a witch hunt, they're not only making that calculation, they're judging the violence to be the lighter of the offences. To which I say: Fuck you. No.
Also, as another solution, we could just ban men.
Related posts:
Allyship Sunday: Intent Isn't Magic
Feminism Sunday: Talkin' bout a Women's Revolution
Allyship Sunday: Representation Matters
Feminism Sunday: Male Savior Thoughts Following A Comics Contest
Allyship Sunday: Allyship Is Not Conditional
Feminism Sunday: It's Not About The Sisterhood
Allyship Sunday: Ally Is A Verb
Feminism Sunday: Splaining
Allyship Sunday: Stay In Your Lane
Feminism Sunday Redux
Feminism Sunday: Should It Continue?
Feminism Sunday: Feminists on the Blockchain
Feminism Sunday: Feminism 101, With GIFs!
On White Feminism
I Don't Want Ally Cookies
You Are Not An Alpha
Let's talk intersectionality
