Rachelhazideas, 1 year ago

I think you are conflating men with the patriarchy. These two things are different. Men are people, and people are diverse with unique thoughts and feelings. The patriarchy is a system that causes men and women to behave in gender conforming ways that are harmful to both.

This comic isn’t criticizing men as a whole, it’s criticizing the social conditioning that many men go through that make them unaware of how certain speech and actions impact women.

When comics like this are asking men to be mindful of benevolent sexism, it’s not saying ‘men are sexist’, it’s asking men to be aware of this phenomenon and take steps to stop themselves and others from perpetuating it.

You might not express benevolent sexism, but your friends, family, and colleagues might, and you can be an ally when by pointing it out when you see it.

Too often when women face subtle forms of sexism, they are prohibited from speaking up due to the downplay and backlash they get. Subtle forms of sexism are very hard to point out without being labeled as bitchy or oversensitive.

I know it may not feel like it but this is what healthy masculinity means in this day and age. There is nothing more respectable than men speaking up to other men and holding each other to higher standards. It’s incredibly powerful for men to speak up and support women in this because men who perpetuate benevolent sexism generally tend to listen to other men.