Why is r/askfeminists so intellectually dishonest?

anonymous_redditor91 · 2022-05-22T17:03:25+00:00

This is just the nature of all heavily censored echo chambers on the internet. They aren't interested in answering legitimate questions, they mostly just want to reinforce what they already believe.

Tedfordshire · 2022-05-22T17:54:01+00:00

I just checked askfeminists for the first time, and I'd like to point out the INCREDIBLE irony of this post:

https://np.reddit.com/r/AskFeminists/comments/uv77ca/why_do_men_like_making_everything_about_themselves/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb

The lack of self awareness is truly astounding. Like, I read through a handful of comments on that sub and almost every single one is the exact opposite of reality.

vaaralinen · 2022-05-22T15:13:29+00:00

ignore the question completely

I believe that, in fact, is their approach to gender issues.

gaslighting

Synonymous with "feminism history".

They're mostly teenagers overall, and it's hard to say that a person who's willing to feel oppressed and creates an artificial strawman of an issue for that is completely mentally wholesome.

Soft_Leather_Couch · 2022-05-22T17:41:42+00:00

[permanently deleted]

peanutbutterjams · 2022-05-22T20:29:06+00:00

It's a hate sub. It exists so feminists can gather there and shit on men.

There's far too many upvoted questions where they're feminists about why men do this or that, which is just a set-up for feminists complaining about men.

There's quite a few of these subs on Reddit - niceguys, trollx, twox, fragilemaleredditor, againstmensrights, witchesvspatriarchy, the list goes on and on.

I'm subbed to these places just to get my own idea of what's being said instead of relying on other people.

The demonization of men is allowed in these subs and hoo boy do the feminists ever take full liberty of that 'right' to say just the most astoundingly awful things about men on the slightest provocation.

It's always funny how the woke left are terrified of the 'alt-right playbook' online when subs like AskFeminists or fragilemaleredditor either provide a place for hate or actively encourage it. They subvert values and promote division in the political Left.

But then I'm just now coming to see how much of feminism is projection so I guess this particular example of hypocrisy is really just a matter of consistency.

Kyushu18 · 2022-05-22T15:46:15+00:00

Because they really don't care about equality and it takes a lot to see it but that's the truth

The sad thing is I know a bunch of people who called himself that really do think they're doing good work but the fact that they cannot see any woman's bad behavior and will dress it up call any man's behavior toxic and s3xist

It's a glaring double standard

Right now they're debating if Karen is a misogynistic term

lostintraanslation · 2022-05-22T22:16:52+00:00

Very many of the replies to posts there ridicule the OP for asking the question to begin with. It seems like many of the participants in the sub aren't actually interested in answering questions from a feminist perspective, but instead in mocking the people asking the questions. That should serve as a reminder that ultimately these people could be of any level of education and really shouldn't be used as a good source of information, regardless as to how they style themselves.

TheSnesLord · 2022-05-23T08:16:11+00:00

AskWomen is like this as well whenever the holy female gender is legitimately and reasonably criticised in any way, it immediately turns into an attack against the person who made the criticisms with the usual "women have it worse", "spotted the incel", "who hurt you", etc. type responses.

Input_output_error · 2022-05-22T18:29:36+00:00

If they were intellectually honest then the whole feminist narrative would come crashing down. It almost seems that whenever there is a question asked of feminism, they have some mystical feminist ritual that comes up with a convoluted way of saying something incredibly stupid. This 'answer' is then echoed for a month or two and then it has become canon. A large majority of the feminist will be completely ignorant as to why this is the answer to the question. But that doesn't matter as apparently this is the correct answer, they'll just roll with it.

The closest thing resembling feminism as a concept is Scientology, the biggest difference between the two is the fact that Scientology admits that they're a religion. Both claim that their fundamental beliefs are based on science. Both of these groups operate through peer pressure to keep their members in line. They also both believe in some sort of imaginary bad thing that they need to fight against while both of them sell the cure to their suffering. To both Feminism and Scientology their scripture is dogma, no one is allowed to have a different opinion. And if you are to disagree with their views you're a bad person, and peer pressure is used to keep people in line. It doesn't matter if it is through gossip or just calling people a racist bigot for not agreeing with them, the outcome is the same.

Feminism is a religion with 'its own truths' and sacred missions and everyone who believes in 'the patriarchy' is one of their members. Just like in any other religion there are hard core followers and there are people who just roll with it. The zealots are really the bad ones, but on their own they wouldn't be able to exert the power that they have now. People are afraid to call out these zealots in fear of being 'canceled' or to have a blue-haired troll-army unleashed upon them.

The real problem is that these people actually believe what they are saying, they don't see their own cognitive dissonance. This isn't just feminist who have this problem, this is a problem of human nature. We see it everywhere, even on this very sub when concerning MGM. How many people get defensive about their circumcision!? I have even seen people defending the practice, just because they went into defensive mode. This happens with feminist in every fucking discussion, their narrative of 'the patriarchy' is so demonstrably not a thing that they'll just go into defensive mode.

I've come to a point that i just view people that believe in the patriarchy as a lost cause. I do not have the time nor the crayons to explain this every time it is brought up, I just ignore them

a-man-from-earth · 2022-05-22T15:51:47+00:00

They're feminists...

TheRabbitTunnel · 2022-05-22T18:21:17+00:00

They can't argue most of their points with facts or rationality because facts and rationality don't support their echo-chambered delusions. The reality is that, in the Western world of 2022, women are the privileged gender. They still have issues, but they are small and niche, at least compared to issues of other demographics. Despite this, feminists continue to claim that women are oppressed and we live in a patriarchy.

So basically, their general beliefs about gender issues are just straight up false. How can you effectively support an obvious falsehood with facts and rationality? You can't. You have to use other tactics, like dismissing critics as "misogynists", which is exactly what they do when they go through your post history.

LakiL_ · 2022-05-22T19:18:23+00:00

Whats up with that sub anyways? They must have a godly image of themselves to find it necessary to create a space specifically for asking them questions hahaha

So basically a collective narcissism.

Valoxity-_- · 2022-05-23T08:42:32+00:00

You know i usually try to challenge my own views and look for things that contradict what i think, I usually go on a feminist sub once a week to try, and see if anything good or reasonable is being discussed, and most of the time i find some things that seem to be in decent faith, but the rest is just men blaming all the way, putting all the agency, and responsibility on the man, and no accountability on the women.

BloomingBrains · 2022-05-24T06:01:06+00:00

That's just the nature of ~~reddit~~ ~~the internet~~ society. Honest intellectual discussion is rather rare since most people only care about validating their own worldview and going along with the herd because of a sense of belonging.

I've seen the same thing on subreddits for books, movies, manga, etc. fandoms (though not as bad). You raise one tiny criticism and people absolutely tear you to pieces no matter how objectively true your point is. Its no wonder people are so much more viscous when it comes to topics that actually matter like religion or politics. Especially with extreme and hateful ideologies like feminism. People get so desperate to defend them because they've invested so much of their lives into it and don't want to see it crumble down around them, leaving them as the bad guy.

Juhnthedevil · 2022-05-22T19:08:31+00:00

Reddit is a hive mind.

Man_of_culture_112 · 2022-05-23T05:08:41+00:00

Because hate groups are intellectually dishonest. Feminism is a right wing hate group wearing Marxist/socialist clothing when it is the opposite.

Zinziberruderalis · 2022-05-24T09:17:25+00:00

I think you need to parse the sub's name more closely. It's "ask feminists". Get it? You're asking a feminist to respond to a question that likely does not fit their narrative.

a-man-from-earth · 2022-05-23T01:12:48+00:00

[permanently deleted]

MazerTag · 2022-05-30T04:37:33+00:00

Ban disagreement (or even nuance) on top-level comments. Downvote to oblivion anyone who responds with even a simple question about how someone came to the conclusion, while members of the echo chamber provide vague and rude answers, like, "school, the media, society... duh!"

No wonder everyone allowed to comment seems to agree. It must be true, guys!

1I1ii1i1ii1i1i · 2022-09-30T13:10:28+00:00

Every question asked must be approved by a moderator, every answer that the moderators do not agree with will be deemed "non-feminist" and removed.

Meta discussions are not allowed, the only way to discuss the rules is a private chat with the moderators. Most of the users there don't even realize how strict the mods are.

UnknownMonkeyman · 2024-06-14T13:24:01+00:00

I haven't seen any evidence of this at all whenever I've been brought there by a Google search. Could be the best answers are filtered to the top? I've seen plenty of rational feminists speaking maturely (even when an obvious loaded question is asked by some spurned guy), and them even decrying the women who make them look bad by being negative stereotypes. Either I've been very lucky, or things have changed since you've made this post.

Also, there's plenty of men who ask questions in bad faith and then play the "muh rational debate" card when it's obvious to anyone with a brain what the tone/intention of the question is coming from a place of one-sided condescension. Since they can hide behind plausible deniability (because you can't concretely prove their intentions) they play the "I was just asking X, if you interpret Y, that's on you". Sometimes that is true. A lot of times it's not. They came to troll under the guise of intellectualism when all the wanted to do was fight with people they don't like and call them the idiots to feel better.

UnknownMonkeyman · 2024-06-14T13:27:47+00:00

Account suspended. What a surprise. ;)

Spirited-Savings-160 · 2024-09-24T14:26:15+00:00

In reality, r/AskFeminists is a misandrist, far-left subreddit that sponsors hate. They undermine men's problems.

pinkbowsandsarcasm · 2024-10-02T20:38:20+00:00

Hi, I participate in Ask Feminsits, and if you ever want to see if it is true to good faith questions, you can look at my replies. However, there are some things that people are talking about that I never heard of from both female and male question writers, and some posts and answers make assumptions on things that are not fact. Some of the questions do make me mad, both from females and males. I am a grown-ass woman who used to work in the mental health field. I used to think women were lying when they spoke of lefties who said bad things about women, as my experience in real life is that it is usally from the right-wing side, often both men and women.

Immediate_Garden_173 · 2025-04-03T13:29:51+00:00

Honestly this is an interesting question, I wouldn't identify myself as a "leftist/rightist/navigation man", just a gay guy who had a lot of women friends at some point.

I know this might be a sexist answer 😬, but I really think women are wired to bond over being women, and have a harder time admitting to themselves, or openly discuss the cracks they have in the "sisterhood" bonds. The "sneaky" competitivness/indirect aggression they can have with each other, is kept under the wraps and diverted as "men's fault, this that" a lot of the times in ways where I am like...I just don't always see it personally.

I have a lot of no proof thoughts on why, but I think it has to do with how men are, and childcare...stuff that I understand people think we can just snap out of and be "even and just about if we just learn our abcs" or that "it's just society"...I dunno I just don't think it is that simple, at all...or at least in a major way it is not. Just imo.

It's like that in nature too, animals exhibit the "sisterhood". Cause it's weird how nature demands competition and cooperation at the same time, and I feel like that duality is...split in a weird way between women and men...I don't know if I can (or should gulp) articulate this.

I think that this "sisterhood mechanic" -lol- is actually a huuuuge catalyst in our ability as a species to survive, so while I do understand it can come across very alienating when you feel outcasted of it.

Let's be real the way male bonding/mating works can be really, jarring and downright messed up, scary af in comparison, in their bonds with women or men...so imagine them looking at how males roll as well.

But at least for me, a lot of my messed up instincts come from somewhere I was not "taught" about, it's just some weird ancient primal "program"?, and I wonder if women have different instincts of such "origins". From my experiences...it feels like it tbh, cause I feel I see the same pattern in varying degrees across multiple cultutes I got in contact with /shrug.

I just...think it's a primal complicated "system" thing....no proof whatsoever lol.

Butter-black · 2025-04-24T15:43:15+00:00

Any women’s space that I enter on the internet is chalk full of nothing but passive aggressive girls and woman grouping up to be intellectually dishonest unempathetic and unselfaware.

I just don’t comment or stay away so I don’t have to be exposed to pretend insight that’s actually just disguised passive aggression written to bait people into responding just so they can get petty satisfaction from pretend ignoring them.

msnyc20 · 2025-05-25T14:26:15+00:00

I hate to sound sexist/misogynist, BUT my experience, at least in the online world, is women rarely engage in debate and resort VERY quickly to ad hominem. I'm clear on the challenges and sexism women face but there is not a single subject you can discuss that either challenges the perpetual 'women as victims of men' meme or the challenges/sexism men face that does not IMMEDIATLY get fed into the 'Women Great Men Suck' Filter. I'll often bring up some stat or or social issue a woman and literally watch the gears work until the issue is reframed as not an issue men face but one women do instead. The vitriol one faces when they push back or don't toe the entire line is not worth it since clearly it is an agenda not a discussion.

Wedgemere38 · 2025-06-01T06:44:49+00:00

U ever met a 'feminist'?

Trolollol5-99 · 2026-05-31T16:43:31+00:00

Replying to an old post but still. I Got banned for "trolling" because I said that this subreddit had become a place to shit on men.

cromulent_weasel · 2022-05-22T22:13:52+00:00

A person asks a reasonable question and the responses are almost always some version of a hostile, bitter

Same as here theren.

Cookiedoughjunkie · 2022-05-23T01:05:03+00:00

honestly from the feminist subs, I've found most of them from askfeminists willing to have a discussion so I'm not sure what you're referring to.

Basketballjuice · 2022-05-22T20:43:08+00:00

it's because the sub is what it says it is. There's no room for debate.

r/PurplePillDebate is much better.

pvtshoebox · 2022-05-25T18:21:48+00:00

I have no less than five times seen a certain mod make the first comment on a thread openly mocking the OP over her own misunderstanding of the question, or bad-faith assumptions that OP has bad intentions. Then OP explains himself, or defends the question well, and the mod just acts like nothing happened.

PurpleNo791 · 2022-05-27T02:38:38+00:00

oh i agree, some brain rot conversations on there and its also pretty entertaining LMAO

Why is r/askfeminists so intellectually dishonest?

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