No oppressed ‘meninists’ were hurt during the writing of this article
Remember the beer shampoo advertisement where they inform all men it is the only product suited for your manly hair because of its status as a “man shampoo” made with beer? Man because you must feel like a man while singing in the shower, while holding the right to sing, because, hey, you deserve equal rights. (It doesn’t matter that you have those rights already. What’s missing is a more complex issue: attention.)
The matter resurfaces every once in a while. It might be subtly present in billboards and television commercials looking to attract the aggrieved gentleman feeling left out amidst all those power-hungry lesbian feminist she- devils. It might be present in a conversation with your dear friend, who tries to tell you #notallmen when you discuss the staring problem with them. It might be the need to recognise mansplaining as a birthright, where a man assumes it is his duty to explain anything and everything about how the world works/any topic under the sun to a woman because he was born a man. Feminism has tried to take away this right and hurt a lot of sentiments along the way.
The movement that started around the early ’00s hasn’t quite “come out” in academic terms yet. For instance, if any serious academic studies have been conducted around meninism, their authors have kept it well within wraps for hitherto unknown reasons. Unless of course you count Urban Dictionary’s tart opinion on the issue, “Meninism is a mockery of feminism and proves that we can’t request equality without white men making everything about themselves. ‘Oppressed’ white guys think that feminism is a threat to their masculinity. Sentence: If you follow meninism, you don’t know what feminists stand for.”
Their quiet absence from academic circles is more than made up for through their vociferous presence on social media. Recently, meninism activists in the cyber sphere coined a new word for unfair discrimination against men (for of course it deserves a word of its own) — mancriminate — (like man shampoo and man hair). One of the posters for this cause that went viral features an intense-looking Jude Law, along with a caption that reads, “Men can’t wear heels. Men can’t wear make-up.” I think Eddie Izzard would like to disagree here? But moving on, meninism has more grievances up its sleeve, apart from how men are constricted in the way they dress and look. The third point on the poster is plain baffling — “Stupid men can’t be blonde.” — what do they mean? Is it a cry of despair against the perceived unattractiveness of dull men who happen to have blonde hair when compared to blonde women, who at least have perceived good looks on their side?”
So what does a day in the life of a meninist look like? On Twitter, an average timeline of the quasi celebrity Meninist account would start with a dozen retweets of your favourite #girlfail moments from websites and Facebook pages that have unassuming names such as Bro and Lad Bible, to help you find mirth amidst all the hardship that men must face as a matter of course. Sometimes these tweets are mixed up with everyday hardships, about how people need meninism because it is so difficult to sell Meninism t-shirts online (who would have thunk?), or retweets from girls’ accounts that claim women do not need feminism/women are ready to do the dishes/make men food in the kitchen.
A common gripe of meninists (often the trigger for activism) is discrimination on the basis of their appearance as well as their pay check. “# INeedMeninist because I’m tired of having to round up from 5’7” to 6’3” on OKCupid” is not an uncommon grievance. A long time ago, when it all began, the meninists weren’t fighting with the feminists in the Eden of gender rights genesis. Meninists started out as feminists who supported gender equality in much the same manner as feminists, but wanted to be distinguished from female supporters of feminism, by adding “man” to this identity. You were a feminist, but you were still a man. Somewhere in the middle, it became mixed up and became about, “Why isn’t there a STRAIGHT pride parade? Why isn’t there a WHITE history month? Why isn’t there an International Men’s Day?”
This brings us to the third point in their charter of gripes — It’s all Relative. Arguments such as “Feminism in America is such a joke. There are women over in Pakistan who can’t even show their ankle and you’re saying you don’t got rights.” are routine fare for meninists who believe if you aren’t being beaten up/tortured/in a life-threatening situation, then you are a cry baby of a woman for demanding equal rights and dignity. (Ha ha what were you thinking silly woman, go make the man a sandwich.) The “Not all men” argument fits into this category.
Will men ever get their rights? I don’t know. Will we ever find out whether Maxim or Cosmopolitan is right about “50 best sex positions”? Whether the proverbial chicken came first or the egg? Perhaps the Bible for Brothers is in a better position to answer this question. Whatever it may be, it is time meninism activists took a break (from whining) and came for one feminism masterclass, otherwise soon we’ll have hamburger-scented soaps monopolising the shamelessly skewed beauty market. But what do I know? I am but a woman waiting to be enlightened. I’ll go make a sandwich instead. Grilled cheese, with bacon and lettuce. And garlic mayo.
Recently, meninism activists in the cyber sphere coined a new word for unfair discrimination against men ( for of course it deserves a word of its own) — mancriminate — (like man shampoo and man hair). One of the posters for this cause that went viral features an intenselooking Jude Law, along with a caption that reads, “Men can’t wear heels. Men can’t wear make-up.”