Can I still call myself a leftist if I think the "man vs. bear" thing crossed a line?

0 points•425 comments•submitted by ferrocarrilusaSocial Democrat to r/AskALiberal

Even if it was a joke. Same with the questions about what women would do in the twilight zone-type scenarios where men disappeared for a day.

I don't like incels at all, I agree that "no" always needs to be taken for an answer when it comes to intimacy, "boys will be boys" is bs, and that victim blaming is disgusting. And I definitely don't blame women for not wanting to be hit on, though catcalling should be responded to with simple metaphorical finger-wagging from society, not by screaming at the disrespectful people and treating them as evil violent monsters or getting police involved.

As much as i like to believe i'm a feminist, I cannot get behind this idea that we have to honor the feelings of women and parents who act like the whole world is a minefield due to the existence of Y chromosomes. They are entitled to their opinions and can take whatever precautions they want, but in no way can we allow for a mandate that men "appear nonthreatening" to women and children. And for those who say misandry is merely something that hurts feelings, no it isn't. A lot of racism involves the trope about men of color being hypermasculine and a threat to white women. So is a lot of hateful TERF ideology.

I feel for all the black men who walk on eggshells around white women lest their actions be misinterpreted and their life becomes at stake following the police call. Or the trans women who are afraid to use the women's room. Or the gay men who abandon their dreams of being teachers because of parents with a "Defcon 1" attitude.

Even if Zootopia was meant to be about race, i think the theme holds just as much water about gender.

If you think i'm trying to sympathize with incels and MRAs who want to have special privileges for being male, I don't even have any interest in sex myself. Zero. Zilch. I am on the ace spectrum. The only dog i have in the fight, besides being male, is that I am on the ASD and resent many social norms about gender, including ones about "appearing nonthreatening."