A lot of people, when talking about feminism, have the misconception that it serves only to benefit women at the expense of men. This harkens back to centuries-old conspiracies of women (invariably framed as witches in consort with the Devil) meeting in secret to make plans to overthrow and subjugate their husbands; see chapter 2 of Federici in the sources for details. Even today, many (particularly on the political right) claim that the true goal of feminists and the women’s movement is to merely invert the structure of patriarchy and make men subservient to women. I won’t be directly rebutting these claims (since they are usually deployed in bad faith in an effort to litigate who is a “real” feminist and what feminists “really” believe and related conspiracizing), but I will say that as a feminist and as a woman I support the struggle for women’s liberation because I would like an end to all forms of sexist discrimination and would prefer to live in a society where people of all genders are free to live, work, and express themselves openly, without having to conform to gender roles or stereotypes. This includes the elimination of hypermasculinity (AKA toxic or hegemonic masculinity), a form of male gender stereotype that pressures men to engage in ways that are aggressive and harmful in order to earn the respect and admiration of their peers. So, at least in my mind, the feminist utopia would help men to no longer be constrained by restrictive, patriarchal gender norms either.

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