Talk less. In all spaces. At all times. At a lower volume.
October 18, 2017 8:33 PM Subscribe
Like any large-scale acknowledgment of male violence (see: #YesAllWomen), #metoo has been met with a lot of male flailing. What are men supposed to do? How are men supposed to participate? Are they supposed to just sit here and take this? Well, good news: writer and editor Helen Rosner has done the emotional labor for you. Here are 20 things men can do right the fuck now to support women (beyond just literally ceasing to sexually harass us).
Some are easy. ("Consume media marketed to women.") Most are hard, or not that hard but ongoing ("Learn about racism and intersectionality," "Be pro-choice and be vocal in support of reproductive rights"). All of them are really ticking off the kind of men who weren't asking how they could be supportive in the first place, with occasionally hilarious results. (RedState got Rosner's name wrong, the Federalist took her Twitter bio too seriously, and a dissenter revealed that he's extremely confused about periods.)
Rosner calls her tips "instant changes you can make this very second in your daily life that will make life better for women (and, bonus, for men too!)" This may be overselling it. Projects like "Deprogram your beliefs that your desire matters in determining a woman’s worth" could take a lifetime, and if you think "Support subsidized birth control. Support women’s healthcare" is going to be a one-and-done proposition, well, consider picking up a newspaper. Maybe a more accurate title would be "things you can do every second of every day to support women." If you're exhausted at the prospect of altering what you do every second of every day based on what you think women might need, well... trust us. You'll get used to it.
Some are easy. ("Consume media marketed to women.") Most are hard, or not that hard but ongoing ("Learn about racism and intersectionality," "Be pro-choice and be vocal in support of reproductive rights"). All of them are really ticking off the kind of men who weren't asking how they could be supportive in the first place, with occasionally hilarious results. (RedState got Rosner's name wrong, the Federalist took her Twitter bio too seriously, and a dissenter revealed that he's extremely confused about periods.)
Rosner calls her tips "instant changes you can make this very second in your daily life that will make life better for women (and, bonus, for men too!)" This may be overselling it. Projects like "Deprogram your beliefs that your desire matters in determining a woman’s worth" could take a lifetime, and if you think "Support subsidized birth control. Support women’s healthcare" is going to be a one-and-done proposition, well, consider picking up a newspaper. Maybe a more accurate title would be "things you can do every second of every day to support women." If you're exhausted at the prospect of altering what you do every second of every day based on what you think women might need, well... trust us. You'll get used to it.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Double: Most of these links already appear here -- Eyebrows McGee
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