Is Antifeminism Useful For Men's Rights? Mostly Yes Sometimes No

It is a given that the men's human rights movement supports legitimate women's rights advocacy. The reality is modern mainstream gender feminism is an ideology and is not synonymous with women's rights. They are two different things. With that said, a rather fundamental question has frequently been discussed within the men's human rights movement. Is antifeminism useful for the men’s human rights movement?

When it comes to mainstream ideological or gender feminism, the answer is certainly yes. Patriarchy theory, the Duluth model and other feminist dogma, incites a hatred of men and completely ignores the reality that discrimination, oppression and violence affect men as well. Indeed even the mere discussion of men's rights sparks feminist censorship and even violent protest (as we saw at the University of Toronto). This was a topic that Karen Straughan (Girlwriteswhat) discussed in her talk at Ryerson University (see adjacent video above, particularly 1:20:25-1:26:35). A campus that had previously denied women (yes that's right, women) the right to speak about men's issues and form a men's issues group.

However despite all of the misandry in modern mainstream feminism, it is my personal opinion that there are feminists on the fringe of the feminist movement, that are authentic advocates of women’s rights. That is, they practice what they preach without bigotry or hypocrisy. These feminists do not cry NAFALT (not all feminists are like that) when other feminists promote bigotry. Instead they speak out against it along with men’s human rights advocates. Prof. Christina Hoff Sommers is one such individual. A person I have immense respect for. When I was still at high school and long before I had discovered the men’s human rights movement, I had heard of her campaign to raise public awareness of the boy crisis in education and her warnings about the radicalisation of the feminist movement. Sommers is still defending men and boys alongside Dr. Helen Smith, Erin Pizzey and Suzanne Venker at womenformen.org.

I wanted to write this article, because I wanted such feminists within feminism to know that there are people in the men’s human rights movement like myself, that are supportive of what you are doing. Sommers is trying to get the feminist movement to turn itself around and reform it. Now there are quite a few people in the men’s human rights movement, that think such a move is a lost cause. That the word feminism is simply too tainted now, to carry around anymore. They might be right, I don’t know. Personally I am very supportive of what these dissident feminists are trying to do and I want to see them succeed.

Christina Hoff Sommers is setting an example. It is an example that is really hard for other bigoted feminists to ignore, because it threatens to undermine their own legitimacy to power. Her conduct is that good it makes the rest of them look inept. As feminism becomes more and more detached from reality, feminists like Sommers are going to gain more and more influence within the feminist movement. A voice of sense and reason is very appealing to people when they are surrounded by the insane. If feminists ask me who they should rally behind, this is the person. Even if Sommers does fail to save feminism from itself, it is my belief that the path she has set, will lay a foundation for a new women’s rights movement to emerge from the ashes of modern feminism. One free of hateful dogma, ideological thinking and bigotry.

Ideally what I would like to see, is dissident feminists like Sommers banding together with men’s human rights activists. I want us to encircle the man hating bigots within mainstream feminism on all sides. Flush the bigots out from their positions of power and influence and then once the dust has settled, form a partnership between the two movements (they each keep their independence but form a cooperative partnership).

Sommers is trying to promote a new brand of feminism at the moment called, “Freedom Feminism”. Or feminism reformed minus all of the man hating ideological dogma and an emphasis on facts rather than untestable hypotheses and myths. Frankly for what she done for men and boys and for speaking out against bigotry and hate within feminism, I think she deserves a chance. I am going to give her that chance. I have no doubt that a number of people within men’s rights will disagree with me. Maybe I am wrong about this, I don’t know. What I do know, is I trust Sommers and I know she is supportive of men’s rights. Her actions for men and boys should not be ignored. Neither should her criticism of modern feminism. I think she has earned the full support of the men’s rights community.

I do not want to alienate her or dissident feminists like her. I want to support her and other dissident feminists. For those that disagree with me, I want you to ponder this-Imagine how much more quickly we could remove the barrier of mainstream feminism that is standing in the way of men’s rights, if we worked with dissident feminists to transform the feminist movement from within. I am not going to get caught up in ideological conflict when I see such an opportunity. The interests of men’s rights are far more important than clinging to some rigid position and failing to budge when things change.

With that said, I am not arrogant enough to believe I have all the answers. This is just my opinion on the matter. I believe that the men's human rights movement needs to be strategic and pick the occasional diamond in the rough. Lets not shut ourselves off from powerful allies and ignore the value in unconventional approaches to success.

If dissident feminists and men's human rights activists banded together, it would be a gender ideologues worst nightmare. Lets make that nightmare happen.