Why are anti-feminist lying to turn ppl against the cause?

Question

I am sure we have all heard it; I read it here all the time. Feminist hate men, hate kids, hate families, sleep around, have STD's, etc... Do men think by spreading these lies they will turn young women against feminism because the young women want men to like them and don't want to be seen as the sterio-typed feminis? Are they gynophobe's?

Answer 1

It's called politics...and it isn't always honest.  Doesn't matter what side you are on.

Just like you are making up lies now.

Answer 2

I, personally, try my best to set a good example to others in the men's movement by being open that I am pro-feminism. I've got plenty of bruises because of it and few friends. But I always follow my heart whatever the cost.

Answer 3

i dont know i only know i have been proud to say im a feminist since i was 14 and people like that have only made me cling to it even more and yes i am married

Answer 4

Speaking as a young woman, I didn't even know there was such a thing as an "anti-feminist" until I started reading the posts on here.  Most of the girls I know are feminists, and the guys we date are educated.

I'm sure you could meet many anti-feminists if you hung around the talk-radio-listening, obey-the-man-behind-the-pulpit, global-warming-is-a-hoax crowd, but thankfully, I don't know those people.  And I don't care what they think.

Answer 5

"Anti-feminist are sick and tired of lies, bias studies, sexist laws and anti-male hate that many feminists constantly spewing out."

Direct quote from Gun fanatic. It was poignant enough to mention it again.

The lies come from the feminists which turn us against them.

Answer 6

Anti-feminists, not all of them men, feel threatened by the change to society that we, as feminists, propose.

Anti-feminists wish to preserve the current culture of male dominance (patriarchy (There, I said it, sue me.)), and have realised that they cannot achieve this by openly stating their ideals, thus they try to appeal to peoples' sensitivities- for example, things such as "feminists hate children" is a lie told to shock those who are not fully aware of gender and s*x discrimination into disliking feminists.

After all, who doesn't like cute children?

Anti-feminists simply see male dominance ebbing away.

In other words, they see that feminism is working, and is making both women and men happier, thus they wish to reverse the changes we've made.

Sad really.

Edit: ojai_deva's post above mine is absolutely amazing. I would like to add that fertility is not the be-all of a woman's life. I'm sure ojai_deva didn't mean to imply this, but I wanted to clarify.

Patriarchy seeks to dominate every aspect of a woman or man's life, if they do not submit to patriarchal ideals of women or men. Fertility is just one aspect of a woman's individuality that patriarchy attempts to control.

Thank you ojai_deva, for a truly inspirational post.

I wish us all the best. We, humanity united, regardless of s*x or gender, both of which are unstable constructions, hold up the sky and can move the earth.

Answer 7

Anti-feminist are sick and tired of lies, bias studies, sexist laws and anti-male hate that many feminists constantly spewing out.

Answer 8

Who knows why they do it?  Maybe it relieves the bitter, dateless hours in their parents' basement.

It may be some comfort to know that there aren't nearly as many misogynists posting here as there seem to be.  It's just a handful of guys with a bunch of screen names (male and female) and accounts.  (You can often recognize the errors in grammar, spelling and syntax.)

They post the same lame twaddle over and over again, and there is no point replying to them.  They don't actually want information or answers.  It doesn't matter how many responses they get that say "I am a feminist, happily married to a wonderful man, mother to a wonderful son etc..." they will post the same manure tomorrow.

I'm sure there are young women who don't want to be seen as feminists because of the sort of lies posted here and the smear campaign of the right wing, but eventually we all grow up, and most of us cease to care much for public opinion regarding personal issues.

Answer 9

The idea behind bashing feminists is to make them seem less appealing.  This is why a lot of women who  want equal rights and speak their minds still say that they're "not feminists".  

The stereotype of a feminist is a woman with hairy armpits and a unibrow.  She goes around kicking men in the balls.  She eats children.  Is it any wonder people want to distance themselves from feminism?  

The fact is, feminism is simply the belief that women aren't second-class citizens because they have ovaries.  That's it.  It's not about hating men (A:There are male feminists, and B: Many, MANY feminists are married to men), "emasculating" men (funny how there's no female equivalent to the word "emasculate"), or trying to be men.  It's about women not getting paid 77 cents to a man's dollar, being able to purchase birth control, or being able to walk down the street without being harassed (and blamed because of your outfit).  It's all that and so much more.

Answer 10

You've got it right. Many men do fear feminism, either because they don't want to loose the unearned privileges they have been given by patriarchy, or because they can't admit that they have been given these unearned privileges, or because they fear that if women are truly empowered that we won't want them or need them anymore.

Patriarchy is a fear response to female power. At its root is the control of female reproductive power at any and all costs. This is why reproductive rights for women is so threatening to men. It means that women get to control what is our birthright, our bodies. We are the gateway into this world and that scares the h**l out of many, but not all, men.

This is why men are studs and women are s***s. This is why there is female genital mutilation, honor killings, sexual shame, rape, etc. Men want to control female fertility. Only then can men ensure that the children women birth are their own. When a child is born, it is obvious who the mother is. Not so with fatherhood. So men created many layers of control, from religious dogma to violence, to keep women from controlling their own fertility. Otherwise all children would be named after their mothers and inheritance would be passed down through the female lineage. In short, men are jealous of women.

On the other hand, there are plenty of women, of all ages, who do turn against feminism. It's easier to have a man pay for everything, or perhaps using their sexuality and beauty is the only way they know how to get what they want. In any case, many women are gynophobes and there is a growing segment of the male population who are feminist. The trend is growing toward people sharing responsibility and credit for childrearing, money earning, etc. We're coming out of a system that made men one half and women the other (lesser) half and then forced them to then relate in codependent relationships filled with power struggles, dominance (male) and deceit (female). We are moving toward a more egalitarian system where people are whole and they choose to love one another because they want to, not because they need to.

It is also important to recognize that many feminists do get stuck in the anger phase of the grief process. When we begin to recognize and name our abuse, the ways in which we have been shamed, limited, violated and marginalized, it is natural to feel sorrow, anger, resentment, rage, depression and all range of unpleasant emotions. What is important is to try to understand the underlying human fears and motivations for gender hatred. When you can really empathize with the man who is lied to and manipulated by his wife, tricked into paying for and loving a child that is another man's... when you can have compassion for the young man who feels ashamed of his erection and blames young women for being "too sexual"... when you can really imagine how men feel when they are forced into the military or forced to slave away at unfulfilling jobs while their wives enjoy the fulfillment of motherhood...when you imagine the superfluousness a man feels when standing in awe of female sexual procreative powers, then you will come a long way toward healing your own heart and learning to love men again (hopefully the right kind of men).

I wish us all the best. We, female and male, together, hold up the sky.

Answer 11

Feminists do hate men.  That part is true.

Answer 12

Men?   You DO realize that there are female anti-feminist too right?  You should try to educate yourself first.

Answer 13

I love the ones where the toad-like anti-fem guy complains that feminists are ugly and fat,  I say - look in the mirror.  If women don't go for you, don't blame it on feminism.  You are just a big baby with unrealistic expectations.  Why don't you just hire a nurse and a hooker and call it a marriage?

     And then there is the veiled threat that if you are a feminist that no man will ever love you or marry you?  That coming from a guy who is such a loser that they spend every Friday and Saturday night on Y/A's.

Answer 14

Show me a link to where someone said feminists have STD's.

Answer 15

I don't think feminists hate men, hate kids, hate families, sleep around or have STDs.

I'm still respectfully not a feminist, and do not support your "cause".

Answer 16

Because some women are using it as an excuse to hate on men.

Answer 17

I think they say all of that stuff because they have nothing better to say. When someone can't argue reasonably, they resort to demonization techniques.