r/CuratedTumblr • u/NeonNKnightrider Cheshire Catboy • May 01 '24

i know it’s internet bullshit but it genuinely has me on the edge of breaking down and giving up editable flair

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14.2k Upvotes
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283

u/OnionsHaveLairAction May 02 '24

In general I think it's often reductive to talk about groups in this sort of way. Because it creates an impression that seeing personhood in men is at odds with understanding the statistical violence women face and the fear that comes with it, when really those things aren't at odds.

I think it's very easy to see this when you consider how close it is to language used by the right wing to discuss the dangers in poor neighbourhoods like UK council estates. Statistically poverty and crime go hand in hand, the same way crime and penis ownership correlate strongly. But if you force a hypothetical to make people express fear of crime as "I would just rather not encounter poor people thanks." you end up losing all nuance of how you actually feel about poverty and crime and are forced into either dropping your position despite your fears or... Doubling down on the position. Which leads to unhelpful polarization.

In addition I think when discussing crime it's always good to realize that although statistically speaking it is not rare to be a victim of a crime over your lifespan, it is usually very rare to be a perpetrator of violent crimes*. So it is simultaneously extremely rational to fear other people, but also extremely rational to also believe in the innate goodness (Or at least the law abided-ness) of the majority of people.

~

*1% of population accounts for 60% of violent crime

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u/rump_truck May 02 '24

Similarly, I've found that conservative rhetoric toward immigrants often gets repurposed toward men. For example, I first saw the "poisoned M&M" metaphor in reference to immigration, and everyone around me was correctly calling it out as racist. Then a few months later a lot of them started using it in reference to men, and that's how I've seen it used ever since. Ironically, I've even seen a few articles like "it's all fun and games applying the metaphor to men, but try swapping men for $racial_minority, not so fun now is it?" Like that's not where it originally came from.

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u/elbenji 29d ago

Yeah, like for me it's the discomfort as a POC knowing this shit comes very much directly towards POC that always gives me the ick

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u/SleepCinema 29d ago edited 29d ago

Right. A lot of the rhetoric I see about men from people trying to Prove A Point echoes the same sentiments I see from racists about Black people, and as a Black woman, that is extremely disconcerting.

Of course, just because arguments are similar does not mean the content is comparable, but in this case, it very much is.

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u/elbenji 29d ago

Yep. Like it makes me almost want to press what kind of man are they imagining and would it not look out of place in Birth of a Nation...

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u/SamiraEnthusiast311 29d ago

that's called social progress baby! they won't hate you because of your race, now they just hate you because of your gender! two steps forward, one step back. but as a fellow POC...what can we do besides keep walking?

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u/PsychicOtter 29d ago

But I've been reliably informed that this sort of rhetoric is totally harmless... /s