I've been struggling with something for a while. I've been looking at r/mensrights and other spots for a little over a year. Read-only at first. Like some others, I've been put off by the common antagonistic tone re: feminism and feminists. I've put some comments on the record here to that effect. But, after spending some more time reopening the case on feminism and lurking r/askfeminists, I'm starting to understand the sentiment over here better.

It's been turning around in my head for a couple of weeks, kind of always running in the background, itching my brain. It seemed like there was some clarity that I was on the verge of, but just evading me.

Woke up this morning and the clarity was there. It's the Patriarchy concept and everything it touches… that's what puts me off. I kind of knew that before, but the why is the part that became clear to me. It's a classic conspiracy theory. The features are:

  • Non-Falsifiability - A non-testable hypothesis (not always a bad thing in itself, but a key component).
  • The Conspiracy - A group that monopolizes or infiltrates places of power, controlling society. "Their" supposed goals may be portrayed as overtly antagonistic to the victim group, persecuting their victims over and above the simple pursuit of "their" self-interest. Which brings us to…
  • Persecution Complex - When bad things befall the individual or the group, it can be assumed to be the work of the conspiracy. Therefore, mundane setbacks (including self-inflicted ones) only reinforce belief in the omnipresence/omnipotence of the conspiracy.
  • Information Paranoia - The "other" controls media and gov't, so any information that contradicts the theory's assumptions can be dismissed out of hand as propaganda.
  • Low Internal Skepticism - Adherents to the theory can expect a low level of internal criticism about the quality of their ideas. Being "on the right side" is enough. This is how the crazy creeps in. (Example: UFO abductee community has described so many physical types of aliens abducting them over the years, unless these guys are sharing saucers, the skies over Earth would be constantly awash with alien craft. Yet every new alien description is greeted with open arms.)

Yeah, that seems like the seed of pretty much everything that scares me about feminism. The assumption of male control, vilification of men, the idea that men all have this pathological obsession with repressing and abusing women. It's paranoia, and historically, when such mentalities gain mainstream credibility, it isn't pretty.