eg “not all men” weirdos
—-
Edit: to further clarify the example above since it set off some brainworms, this can be seen when people respond to discussions about patriarchy and the way it shapes toxic masculinity with defensive “not all men” statements.
When we discuss systems, we are aware that not everyone who has privilege within them internalizes it the same way.
Men are not somehow evil. Masculinity is not somehow evil. Feminism is about liberation of everyone from patriarchy. The issue is that you can wind up needing to “protect” or cater to very fragile expectations of individuals and that can sometimes wind up recentering discussion on purely men and their feelings about patriarchy.
That is an important aspect of the discussion, but it cannot be the only one. Given that one of the patriarchal behaviors that many men are taught is to talk over anyone who is not a man, space must be intentionally created for others.
Anyway, this would be better covered in a dedicated effort post on feminism and positive masculinity.
This is however a meme featuring Josie and the pussy cats with a comments section that proves the meme is accurate lol
I find it helps to remember that "White" and "Anglo" aren't things that you created, they're systems that were created to be used as weapons. You don't have to hate your self, your authentic self. You have to recognize the privileges you're given and your role within the system of white supremacy, patriarchy, and imperialism. Hating yourself is just indulgent and doesn't help anyone. It's counterproductive; You need to recognize your position in the class and racial system and fight against those systems. That means you need, at some level, to be confident and motivated. If you're overly concerned with yourself as an individual you're just trying to remove yourself from your class and racial role, from your place in the system.
:this: :this: :this: :this: :this: :this: :this: :this: