Meninism vs. Feminism

It almost seems like we have not progressed past the 1960’s feminist movement in America. You would think that with all the progress that has been going on in America since the 1960s, like the legalization of same-sex marriage, that everyone would grow to love each other and celebrate their differences. This does not seem to be the case, however, when concepts such as “meninism” are becoming trend-worthy on Twitter.

What is meninism? You would think maybe it was the same thing as feminism but for guys. However, meninism seems to be so much crueler. The purpose of feminism was to advocate for women’s political, social, and economic rights. In contrast, meninism is basically a mockery of feminism and does not really stand for any purpose other than to stereotype women.

The “Meninism” Twitter account has recently risen to fame and has drawn outrage from the feminist community. The account tweets some highly sexist comments like, “women sleeping is just so adorable to me. idk why lol. it’s like they’re finally peaceful and not b****ing about something dumb. i love it. [sic]” and “How many men does it take to open a beer? None. It should be opened by the time she brings it to the couch.” These tweets may seem like harmless jokes, but some women have taken offense to them. By implying that the only time a woman is not “b****ing about something dumb” is when she is sleeping, these men are reducing the thoughts and ideas of women to nothing. Going back to the feminist movement, one of the main ideas that women fought for was the right to be able to venture out of their resigned domain in the kitchen and into the workforce with their male counterparts. When men say things like, “It should be opened by the time she brings it to the couch.” it is like forcing women back into those constraints that they fought so hard to break.

Elle Webber, a junior, said, “The things it promotes aren’t based on a platform of necessity like feminism was, or is, so it’s basically a joke. I think it’s funny, but lots of times the humor is derogatory.” Alfonso Lopez, also a junior, said, “I like how it’s just a big joke. It annoys feminists in the way that they think feminism or their ideals are being attacked, but in reality, meninism is just poking fun.” When comparing the thoughts of a male and female on meninism side-by-side, it is easy to see the stark differences between the two. Females think that the humor is derogatory, while males think that it is “just” poking fun. But is it really “just poking fun” when people’s beliefs are being publicly made into a mockery? I think the lesson to be learned is that people can view things in different ways and may be offended by something that was intended to be a joke. Maybe feminism and the issue of gender equality is too sensitive a subject to “poke fun” at.