Why “men are trash” makes perfect sense
And why it shouldn’t bother good men
Things men do
This world is built by men for men. And they have lots of power. As a result, men do a LOT of bad stuff that is out of proportion to what women do. SOME of the bad stuff they do include:
FGM forcefully marring their daughters away denying them education and/or work sexually harassing, predatoring upon and raping girls objectifying them oppressing other “weaker” men (toxic masculinity)
But when one random girl tweet the harmless statement “men are trash” they literally lose their shit. Apparently how girls view them should be silent and left unheard. Their reputation as a sex matters more than the havoc they actually create upon the world.
Not All Men
When a statement is made, there are three ways to analyze it:
- The right to make such statements publicly
- The sensibility of such statements
- The accuracy of such statements
Their right to do so, the sensibility of their statements/views and the accuracy are all different things. When women say “men are trash” they have all the right to their views, and it might be a sensible thing to say but not entirely an accurate one. This is where generalizations are tolerated but they are no more than that. The generalization of a person’s character or image or in this case the gender. Not meant to be an objective evaluation of their character nor a statement to be weighed for subjective accuracy but just justifiable graphic statements of anger against their oppressor.
They have all the right to express these emotional sentiments, and they are indeed sensible as they are directed against oppressors and not the oppressed — but they need NOT be 100% accurate!
It’s important to distinguish between a generalization, however graphic and sensible it can be — from a statement that is meant to be factual and objective removed from the experiences and emotions of the one making the statement.
No, not the same as “Muslims are terrorists”
“Men are trash” and similar slogans of a graphic nature are statements of anger directed against the oppressive norms of patriarchy. Even if we were to treat them as intentional but inaccurate generalizations, they do not victimize anyone in reality. Men are the oppressors and every man is potentially a part of the oppressor group sharing privileges and power.
In the case of “Muslims are terrorists”, first of all, we have totally different socio-cultural dynamics at play in multicultural societies. Muslims are not an oppressive class. In fact, they are not even close to power in these societies. They as a minority are potential *victims* of injustice and discrimination.
Any Muslim “oppression” is not institutional, not systematic or sytemic, and not historical unlike “patriarchy”. Therefore such generalizations are potentially damaging and can be classed as hate speech. There is a lot more harm than benefit if any. Hence “Not All Muslims” is a valid response to an otherwise unacceptable statement that borders close to hate speech.
Power hierarchies
If you don’t understand power hierarchies in society, and how language can be used to challenge power and also to contribute to oppression against the powerless group — you really should pause and think about it.
If men’s response to “men are trash” statement is to take offense rather than try to clean up the mess their gender has made to the world — these men are also part of the problem. Image issues are nothing compared to actual crime and trashy behavior.
Male privilege is still real even after feminism gave women the right to vote, the right to run for political office and be world leaders, the right to equal space in the workforce, the right to be legally, socially, and politically equal to men.
Patriarchy is real. Oppression under patriarchy is real. Girls are policed around for the sole reason that most men are trash and would harm and take advantage of them if they don’t respect the rules. Men are blind to the privilege they enjoy in society.
A man saying “women are trash etc” and a victim saying “Men are trash” aren’t equal. One is from a position of relative power/privilege and the other from a position of desperation/victimhood. Context and power hierarchies matter. It’s not just gender.
My Personal Stance
As long as my sister cannot walk from point A to point B across town alone — without the fear of men — I personally will have no problem with the statement “men are trash”. This is the reality. Why sugar coat it when we advise our young women and men to beware of men?
Mere statements from the oppressed cannot be compared to the violence of oppressors. Even if we ban such statements like “men are trash” and “men are animals”, that wouldn’t erase the justifiable sentiment of utter disappointment, anger and disgust most women have over the male gender in general. You only silence them further.
You cannot demand respect for your group. You can only fight against the bad done by your group in power and hope that the weaker groups get your respect by valid non-coercive means. At this moment in time the male gender has been nothing but utterly disappointing.