THREAD: There are three main challenges to tackling the kinds of violent misogyny expressed in events in #Toronto and #SanFrancisco last week: 1) Language 2) Politeness 3) Kindness
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1) (cont.) Where women research these topics, they are likely to encounter language that is more familiar to them, including terms such as “feminazi”, “man-hater”, “bigot” and “transphobe” – and worry that even by asking questions they will attract these labels.
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2) Politeness: Women are socialised to be polite + non-confrontational. Expressing views that challenge male dominance is socially risky. A woman might think “Carol's son is autistic, so I'd better not post about the intersection of autism + misogyny in case she gets upset”, or
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2) (cont.) “Sheila's child is trans, so she might feel attacked if I say gender is a harmful social construct”, or “Bob blames feminism for his wife getting custody, so I'd better keep quiet about it at work”.
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3) Kindness: Ignorance is bliss, and gaining knowledge about the threats facing women can be upsetting and frightening. It's therefore difficult to raise awareness of the nature and extent of these threats without spreading fear, which no kind person particularly wants to do.
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3) (cont.) Tell a woman about “men's rights activism” and she might become anxious about dating. Tell her about incel terrorism and she might become scared to leave the house.
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3) (cont.) Tell her that
@SFPublicLibrary is hosting an exhibition that incites violence against women and she might never set foot inside that library again. But without knowledge of what is happening, how can women organise and resist?Show this thread -
Most women don't call themselves feminists, as even that has become a stigmatised term. Most feminists are not "radical" - unless it is now considered radical to oppose overt demonstrations of misogyny.
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If we don't organise and act in response to misogynist terrorism, how can we hope to prevent more attacks? Everyone has a responsibility to make themselves aware of the signs of anti-women radicalisation of young men. It's a matter of life and death.http://thenational.scot/comment/columnists/16187273.Lone_wolf__No__these____incels____are_misogynist_terrorists/ …
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