Fall 2015 COMM 2103-001

Writing for the Media

Professor Suya Yin
Human Interest/Trend Story
Final Draft
October 7, 2015
Word Count: 716
Paragraph Count: 20
Meninism is going further than satire
By Jessica Speese
Radical views. Angry slurs. Sexist jokes. Bra Burners. Man-haters. Feminists are trying to
oppress men and are doing so with fuzzy armpits and the right to vote.
At least thats what people who call themselves Meninists believe.
Meninists believe that feminism isnt about equality, but rather about power. Followers claim that
the progression of women in modern day society is a threat to the patriarchy.
Meninism isnt a new word, neither is it the creation of mens rights activist groups, but the
Meninist group gained its traction with the creation of the Meninist Twitter account and the
popularity of the meninist hashtag.
Originally, it appeared in 2014 on a twitter page to produce satirical jokes to mock antifeminists
and the structural inequality amongst men and women. Some of the early tweets also aimed to
express mens concerns with unrealistic expectations of men by women. For instance, the tweet
I need Meninism because the movie Magic Mike promotes unrealistic expectations of how
mens bodies should be.
The account now has over one million followers and apparel to sport their opinions.
Recently followers have misconstrued the satire for legitimate attacks against feminism.
Following suit of what they believe the movement is about, more current tweets have included
cringe-worthy remarks like you can just glance at a feminist and shell claim you raped her.
Its supposed to be a satire and mockery of the obvious structural inequality between men and
women but then a lot of people who have taken it on dont necessarily understand that meta
commentary, said Dr. Jessie K. Finch, Stockton Universitys Assistant professor of Sociology,

 I think its problematic not necessarily by nature but once something goes out, and gets turned
into a hashtag, anyone can use it whether theyre using it correctly with the original intention or
not.
Satire is a common and increasingly popular platform to demonstrate problems with society.
Comedians like John Stewart use satire and humor to make social commentary on popular news
stories. I often joke that standup comedians are usually just sociologists with really good
delivery, says Dr. Finch.
The problem with using comedy for social commentary is that because humor is subjective, it
doesnt always translate across the board.
Feminists have always been accused of taking things too seriously. One tweet put out by the
account said that if feminists were threatened by jokes then theyre not the strong, independent
women they claim to be. Many of the backlash from Meninists claim that women need to learn to
take a joke. Dr. Finch says that she thinks that can be true but at the end of the day when
feminism has been around for so long and we still have a palpable wage gap and women
experiencing domestic violence at alarmingly higher rates than men, its hard to laugh at those
jokes when those serious structural inequalities still exist.
There are growing concerns that the followers of this group are using Twitter to reinforce the
negative stereotypes of feminism. Most of the jokes that are put out paint all feminists as radicals
and extremists.
Sophomore Literature major, Erin OLeary, said that belittling the feminist movement to make it
seem too radical makes people fear it. While she says she doesnt think the group could actually
infringe on womens rights, she thinks that the jokes make a mockery of basic rights that women
need.
Because Meninism isnt being used of its intended purpose, some men feel that the group
tarnishes all mens rights groups.
Senior Hospitality and Tourism major, Dan Fitzgerald, doesnt align himself with the group, but
said that there are legitimate mens rights groups out there to serve the purpose of building men
up without suppressing women. He said, The Art of Manliness blog recognizes that most men
and women are fundamentally different and then celebrates those differences that make men the
perfect complement to women.
Fitzgerald said that just like feminism, extremists have altered the publics perception on the
Meninist movement.
Because feminism has splintered into separate groups, the reactions to this group have also been
splintered.

Some feminists say that the creation of this group has started conversations on feminism and
inequality, which leaves room for debate and improvement. While much of the content is
produced by Meninists who attack strong women, the inequality is still being addressed.
Dr. Finch says that even if the original purpose of the group isnt being served, and people claim
its not to be taken seriously, the movement still needs to be addressed.
Moving forward for any kind of equality for men and women, youre going to have to embrace
all of those voices and get them on the same page, said Finch. The outdated idea of battle of
the sexes doesnt need to be the continued prevailing discourse.

Dr. Jessie K. Finch (520) 260-9538

Dan Fitzgerald- - (973) 224- 5042
Erin OLeary (856) 397-6588