I just want to share this encounter I had last Friday night in a bar, it is nothing really important, just a funny experience.

I was having a good time, drinking and talking to strangers in my favorite bar. This girl joins the conversation, saying she is a camerawomen and we talked about her profession. She complained about the ubiquitous sexism, saying that men often think she is just holding the camera for the real guy and that she gets hit on all the time, even though she is a lesbian, etc. I can certainly believe her experience. We talked about gay rights and other issues when I said I am actually a men's rights activist..

  • Sorry what?

  • A men's rights activist.

  • Whaaaaaat? You are whaaaat? A - m e n s - r i g h t s - a c t i v i s t ?

  • Yes, a men's rights activist.

  • Is that a joke?? Men have aaaaall the rights! Why would men want even more rights?

To my surprise I stayed calm and I think I sobered up a little :). I started to explain that men face range of issues but my new friend wanted to hear none of it, saying that women face issues, gay people face issues, but what men face are simply human issues that all other people face too. I felt fire eating me inside but I stayed calm and smiling and I started to explain various issues only men face in society. My new friend listened for a while when she got hooked on the issue with acces to mental healthcare, suddenly remembering someone from her past. Her expression changed and she said that it is true that men face issues with access to mental health care and that she must google these 'men's rights'. I gave her last bit of advice to keep her eyes open and distinguish betwelnn real MRA and all kind of misogynist haters, incels and other "conservatives" :).

That's it. I don't think I changed her outlook too much, but maybe I gave her little something to think about. And for me it was a crazy experience to see firsthand how other marginalized - and until recently legally discriminated - minority think about men, their issues and their rights. (Thank you toxic feminism!)