How do you tell if you are dealing with a rational feminist, or one of the crazies?

jimmywiddle · 2015-08-08T21:16:05+00:00

Mention that men have a 400% higher rate of suicide compared to women and that it's the #7 leading cause of death in men and boys.

If responds with any of these: -women attempt it more -it's the guns -men refuse to share their feelings because toxic masculinity

Then you know you're dealing with someone who doesn't give a shit about men. The suicide question is a litmus test.

chmbrs · 2015-08-08T20:39:42+00:00

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SporkTornado · 2015-08-08T21:08:14+00:00

Ask her what she thinks of Christina Hoff Sommers.

Lethn · 2015-08-08T19:55:51+00:00

That's easy, ask them what they think of MRA's and whether they think men should get custodial rights.

If she immediately goes into bitch mode then avoid her like the plague.

Mister_Kurtz · 2015-08-08T20:51:34+00:00

This is an excellent question. Are there be any subreddits here, other than MR where a question like this would be taken seriously?

onyonn · 2015-08-08T22:51:29+00:00

A simple litmus test is to ask about a men's issue in an indirect way.

For example, especially since it appears to be directly relevant to your local politics, you could ask for commentary on the harassment case.

All you need to do is explain your concerns--someone is going to trial for harassment for being politically incorrect instead of actually harassing someone--and you can do it from a free speech/open society perspective instead of specifically a men's rights issue.

I think that an answer to this kind of question can reveal a lot more than asking a question that is specifically a men's rights issue -- it will probably get to how she thinks about things in general instead of giving a clear out-group signal, which sounds like it's what you're really trying to avoid.

If you do ask a question like this, I'd be curious to hear the result.

girlwriteswhat · 2015-08-09T20:04:23+00:00

Well, I'm assuming you're referring to Gregory Alan Elliott, and that you're in Toronto.

I would maybe ask her what she thinks of that case. And look into whether she has any ties to WiTOpoli or Steph Guthrie.

I'd warn you that even if she's not a crazy, if she's with the NDP, Liberals or Greens, her sanity might not be worth much. There are always sane people in these groups, but there's a lot going on behind the scenes between the crazies and other crazies in other organizations.

An example of this is the fact that our Alberta NDP Energy Minister's chief of staff is a registered anti-oil lobbyist appointed to her ministry by higher-ups in the party. The MP in question seems like a perfectly normal, well-meaning person, but she has no experience with industry or energy, and her chief of staff was appointed to her by higher ups without even informing her of his history. When a media scrum confronted her on it, she was like a deer in the headlights. She had no idea who this guy was because the people who appointed him as her CoS didn't bother to tell her, which left her completely unprepared to answer questions about it.

...with a good person who works to ensure that women have equal access to food, medicine, and education around the world vs a person that is concerned that I might "manspread" on the subway?

90% of NGOs working in developing countries prioritize women. Even if women have equal access to those things. I recall seeing a poster by a "because I am a girl" charity that claimed "x million children worldwide are denied a full education. Half of them are girls."

That sounds to me like equal access to education. Was this potential MP really fighting for equal access, or was she prioritizing girls and women in situations where men have similar problems accessing those things?

YabuSama2k · 2015-08-09T07:00:09+00:00

Its all about the numbers. Are her assertions based on legitimate data and sound logic?

chmbrs · 2015-08-08T22:40:47+00:00

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copsgonnacop · 2015-08-08T21:58:37+00:00

I've never met a rational feminist

yoshi_win · 2015-08-09T05:22:05+00:00

You can be direct without revealing your views: just ask about her legislative priorities. If she talks about "modern issues like media and Internet" (or whatever else you're into) then she's a winner. If she wants to crack down on manspreading or rape culture, then maybe not.

suske127 · 2015-08-09T10:17:48+00:00

I think, if she's already gone and helped out in other less-fortunate countries - she sounds pretty legit to me. It seems like she understands that women have it pretty well here already so she's helping in places where they aren't so fortunate. That's the real deal (I think)

2015-08-09T15:19:32+00:00

A rational feminist would readily acknowledge serious problems within the feminist movement, and being that he or she is a rational feminist and genuinely desires equality between the sexes, would be outspoken against the excesses, hate, and horrible legislation being proposed within the feminist movement.

A rational feminist would thus either stop being a feminist altogether, or be a proponent for reform, like Christina Hoff Sommers.

SupremeAuthority · 2015-08-09T16:16:01+00:00

Good luck getting a response out of her.

aussietoads · 2015-08-10T01:26:24+00:00

When a person self identifies as a Feminist, even though no one asked if they are, or they raised the fact of their feminism even though the context of discussion isn't even slightly related to feminism, or any ideology for that matter. These are two of the biggest red flags that indicate you are dealing with crazy.

hugolp · 2015-08-08T20:42:29+00:00

If she is flesh and bones, she is one of the crazy ones, not the fantasy version.

pnw_diver · 2015-08-08T21:17:22+00:00

Any serious feminist is automatically one of the crazies.

mjociv · 2015-08-08T22:18:56+00:00

Ask about her stance on the affirmative consent laws that some US states have passed.

Either these laws are really important to protect the 1 in 5 women who are raped or they're unfairly stacked against the accused and make sexual assault the only crime a person is guilty of until they can prove their innocence.

mrminibagel · 2015-08-09T03:28:27+00:00

Ask them what their stance on feminism is.

Rational ones say some short statement, "it's about equality, and I like that." Some will even say something like "I understand why a lot of people don't like it. There are a lot of crazy feminists out there."

Irrational ones will either A) go on an extended rant about patriarchy, rape culture, mansplaining, and how if you're not a feminist you're a "misogynist." Or B) Tell you to stfu and that it's not their job to educate you.

If it's something in between the two and you're still not sure, ask them if they like intersectionality. The ok ones will either not know what it is, or not have an aggressive opinion either way. The crazy ones will either be INSANELY for it (like 'white /straight women can't be real feminists, cause they're still privileged) or extremely against it (Transwomen are appropriating female culture and gay men are misogynists, etc.)

Hope this helped.

2015-08-09T09:04:27+00:00

Where did you get the idea that women get less food or medicine somewhere? Just interested because that's something a feminist could say, not a rational person. Education? Mostly girls get a better education but not everywhere. Let's make that our primary problem!

Anyway, never vote for a feminist, they're toxic, either stupid or immoral.

eletheros · 2015-08-09T22:09:48+00:00

If they're in Canada^1, they're a crazy feminist.

Also, Australia, UK, Europe, west coast US, or east coast US

1: Alternatively known as the "United States above the 49th parallel"

Title	How do you tell if you are dealing with a rational feminist, or one of the crazies?
Author	chmbrs
Upvotes	27
Comments	53
Date	August 8, 2015 7:46 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/3g9wow/how_do_you_tell_if_you_are_dealing_with_a/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/how-do-you-tell-if-you-are-dealing-with-a-rational.973714 https://theredarchive.com/post/973714

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