Gender

[Paddy™]

Now, I'm glad that you've acknowledged your privilege.

I know you were talking to Bridge, but I just want to state that I don't believe in "male privilege" in any meaningful way, certainly not in the Western world. It only looks like "privilege" when you view it through the skewed lens of feminism, otherwise it looks significantly less sinister. See Acies' link for one example of how seeing a certain state of affairs through feminist eyes can completely miss the point.

But you can still do something about this system. Call someone out on a rape 'joke.'

If it's a joke about prison rape amongst men, is that OK? Is it more/less/equally offensive when it's about a woman?

I don't find rape jokes offensive, but I find it offensive when people tell me that I'm supporting "rape culture" or contributing to the normalisation of abuse against women (never men) by laughing at rape jokes. Laughing at rape jokes, mind you; not rape. I've been directly affected by mental illness, sexual abuse, torture and murder, but I still find jokes about each topic funny and I don't believe I'm making my own life worse for it. I'm better off, if anything.

See someone persisting with a woman who already said 'no'? Call him on it.

That you think a.) men need constant reminding not to harass people, and b.) that feminism is the only/best way to do it, is why feminism is such a moribund world view.

These small things matter, and feminism as I know it have been the most active and supportive ones in it. egalitarians and humanists, not so much.

Do you have any data or examples of how feminism works where humanism doesn't?

Ignoring a problem will not make it go away.

We're on the same page here, but ignoring the problem isn't as bad as exaggerating, mischaracterising or outright fabricating the problem (that's not directed at you personally), nor is it worse than claiming that the only or the best way to combat the problem is to go along with feminism or any other one-track ideology for that matter.

I need feminism, because that's only group that have actually set up support groups for victims and aid to those advocating rights for women in other countries.

This is patently untrue. Amnesty International isn't a feminist organisation, the last time I checked. Neither is the UN Charter on Human Rights, or the Geneva convention, not even the first battered women's shelters were feminist organisations. In fact, the woman (Erin Pizzey) who started the very first battered women's shelter in the U.K. was run out of town by feminists because she started accepting men and boys into her shelters and advocated on their behalf.

For every women's support group you can mention which was started by feminists I can show you 10 which weren't. You don't "need" feminism, any more than you "need" religion to know right from wrong. The comparison to religion is intentional

This is about acknowledging the problem and not being content to just hope everything eventually works out.

Agreed, but feminism isn't the answer.