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Men will often pay lip service to women’s rights and do the bare minimum of saying women deserve equal rights and fair treatment. But when push comes to shove, protests surrounding women’s issues have a much lower rate of male attendance.
I’ve been involved in left-wing spaces for quite some time now, and over this time, one thing has become increasingly clear: there seems to be little hope of escape from sexism even within leftist circles. Even though we are all united in the fight against capitalism, climate change, and the oppressive structures that are driven by them, there still remains a divide. Leftwing men continue to uphold and benefit from patriarchal structures, and in many instances, that patriarchy is something they refuse to confront. In some ways, sexism from leftist men is worse and more insidious than that of conservatives. With conservatives, their sexism is more overt, and the rest of their views equally reprehensible. It’s easy for everyone to recognise. Meanwhile, sexism from left-wing men is more subtle. These men will talk about class and climate, and they’ll criticise that same overt sexism spouted by conservatives. They’ll go to the women’s marches (not in the same numbers as they will for other causes, of course). They’ll share posts about Roe v Wade on their socials. They’ll call themselves feminists. They’ll do all of this while speaking over and on behalf of women and treating sexism as if it is something they are above - something the backwards right-wingers do, but that they have transcended due to their progressivism.
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In speaking with my friend Chanel about our shared experience in leftist circles, she said this of left-wing men: “They can be incredibly tokenistic. They can talk the talk, you know, but never walk the walk. I’ve heard communist men and leftist men describe themselves as feminists yet still talk about women and treat women like they’re prizes to be won. They never challenge the way they view women or the way they treat them subconsciously. It feels like when they say they’re feminists it’s just a political act. They don’t go out of their way to be better, they just pretend.” This is an experience echoed by many women in politically left spaces. There have been many occasions in my roles in positions of leadership in political circles where I have had men explain to me my own role or projects that I spearheaded. I have had men speak over me at every opportunity, and I’ve been made to feel intellectually inferior if I don’t want to spend an hour circlejerking over obscure pieces of theory. I have had men circumvent me entirely in my leadership position and instead solely go to my male counterpart, even in areas where I was very clearly the one to go to. I’ve had credit for my work stolen from me and entirely attributed to men who
LEFT-WING TO DO BETT
