Sexism of any kind is not Feminism

“Women are brave if they hit men.  Men are evil, brutal perverts if they hit women.”

False.  Any violence is wrong.  Whether it is a man hitting a woman, or a woman hitting a man.  A man hitting a woman is not wrong because men shouldn’t hit women; it’s wrong because violence is wrong.  Period.  If a man defends himself against a violent woman, that is understandable, in the same way that a woman defending herself against a violent man is understandable.

“Women are romantic if they suddenly kiss men.  Men are perverted if they suddenly kiss women.”

Anyone suddenly kissing another person is creepy.  Regardless of their genders.  If a woman kisses a man because they’re into one another, and she knows for a fact that he’s down, then there’s nothing wrong with it.  Same goes for a man.  Without getting too much into the idea of consent, if both parties are cool with getting physical, it doesn’t matter who initiates, so long as it’s done with absolutely clarity regarding the other person’s feelings.

“Women staring at men’s crotch it’s flirting.  Men staring at women’s breasts it’s perverted and offensive.”

Wrong.  Anyone being objectified or sexualized in this way is not cool.  While I have a hard time thinking of how many times a woman has stared at a man’s crotch as a way to flirt, I can think of plenty of times men have stared at my tits.  But regardless, if a woman is making a man feel uncomfortable because of the way she is speaking to him or looking at him, it is just as wrong as when a man does this to a woman.  Sexual harassment is sexual harassment—again, doesn’t matter who the perpetrator is.

“Let’s split the bill!”  If a woman says this, she is independent.  If a man says this, he is cheap.

Inaccurate again.  If a woman says this, it has not implications as to her independence.  Maybe she’s cheap.  Maybe she doesn’t feel comfortable with the man paying for her bill since sometimes men think paying for dinner means they’re gonna get laid.  A woman wanting to pay her bill has nothing to do with how independent she is.  Assuming a woman is independent because she wants to pay her bill is sexist—no one would question a man who wants to pay his bill.  I personally enjoy paying my own bill when I can afford it.  But if I go out with men or women who want to cover me, then I’m totally cool with that because I’m poor.  And someone who assumes a man is cheap because he wants to split the bill is also sexist, because the thinking that a man has to pay for the whole meal is conventionally gender-biased.

“It’s just a mistake if women go into the men’s bathroom.  Men are perverted if they go into women’s bathroom.”

Notice that I’m not correcting the grammar for any of these statements.  Let’s consider for a moment why there are separate bathrooms to begin with.  It’s kind of stupid, right?  I won’t get into a discussion about why the sexes have their own bathrooms, but I do think bathrooms should be unisex.  I understand some women (and men) prefer to do their business with people of the same sex.  Fine.  But I don’t care who uses what bathroom.  If someone is going to piss or shit in a bathroom, then why the fuck does it matter which one they use?  Again, this picture does not illustrate feminism.  It illustrates the kind of backwards thinking that runs rampant in our culture.  If anyone goes into a restroom to peek in on the other patrons, then that is a problem, regardless of gender! 

“Women doing work: ‘Help me!’  Men doing work: It’s natural.”

What the fuck is this?  First of all, this example in and of itself is sexist.  To assume that all women require help when doing work is sexist.  If a woman asks for help, and a person assumes it is because she can’t do the job on her own, that’s sexist.  If a woman doesn’t ask for help, then what does that make her?  Unnatural?  What the hell is the implication here?  Men AND women doing work is natural.  Men AND women asking for help is completely fine.  What the fuck does gender have to do with any of that? 

(Man goes up to police officer) “She touched my crotch!”  Police officer responds, “Meh, who cares?”  (Woman goes up to police officer) “He touched my breasts!”  Man is handcuffed.

Unfortunately, there are cases of men who report sexual harassment and abuse who are dismissed based upon the sheer fact that they are men.  THIS IS SEXIST.  If someone reports any kind of sexual misconduct, then the perpetrator should be held accountable.  Someone pointed out that women will claim rape or that a man hit them in order to get a man into trouble, and that the cops believe the woman because she is a woman.  This has so many implications, I don’t even know where to begin.  First of all, statistically, it IS more common for a man to be the perpetrator of domestic violence or rape.  That does not mean that women do not commit those crimes.  But if you were to look at the number of cases of sexual assault of any kind, and then look at how many of them were in fact legitimate cases, it far outweighs the number of times someone has cried wolf.  But a woman using the fact that she is a woman to get a man into trouble?  That is NOT feminism.  That’s NOT gender equality—it’s actually STILL SEXIST.  Because people assume that in cases of domestic dispute, a man is responsible.  That’s based upon gender bias.  That’s based upon the idea that men are brutes.  That’s based upon the idea that men beat women and it’s normal.  How fucking sad is that?  For years nothing was done about it.  For years (and it still happens, make no mistake), it was simply accepted that a man would discipline his wife or girlfriend or what have you, and nobody said a goddamn word, because that’s what it means to live in a patriarchal society.  The fact some women lie does not erase history.  And it certainly doesn’t mean that domestic violence of any kind is acceptable.  All it means is that some PEOPLE don’t know how to handle things very well, and they call the cops because they don’t know how to approach the situation like mature and logical adults.

Gender equality does not mean treating women as superior.  It does not mean women can do whatever the fuck they want.  It does not mean that they are always right.  It does not mean that men are evil, or perverts, or brutes, or the only sex responsible for physical and sexual violence.  Gender equality means men and women deserve to be treated equally.  The fact that women can manipulate the system in order to get men into trouble is the result of sexism.  The fact that there are people who think it is okay for a woman to objectify a man is absurd!  NO ONE should be objectified.  NO ONE should worry about how they are judged just because they happen to have a penis or a vagina.  That’s equality.  That’s gender equality.  But I’m sure it’ll be another hundred years before memes like this stop making their way around the internet.