On Monday, 28 year-old Ti Balogun created a #MeninistTwitter hashtag as a way to generate "satire" on the feminist movement due to what Balogun calls "the way feminists express themselves, which is a turn-off" even though when I interview him, he described himself as "ironically a feminist."
Though Balogun meant for the hashtag to spur meaningful discussion, it soon devolved into some remarkably sexist tweets.
What was especially infuriating was the trivialization of women's rights to the canned, flawed perception that it was about getting dinner paid for on dates... as opposed to, oh, sexual assault or equal pay or street harassment or gender parity in Congress... you know, meaningless stuff, right?
there's a strange noise downstairs while we're both in bed, societal pressures put my life more at risk than hers #MeninistTwitter
— J (@jmikemac) December 17, 2013
Of course, there were some who rightly called out the bullshit:
If you're morbidly curious, follow the #MeninistTwitter hashtag to see the brokenness of heteromasculinity on full display.
— Samantha Allen (@CousinDangereux) December 17, 2013
is #MeninistTwitter really dudes whining about how life doesn't cater to them on the basis of being dudes, when it totally does?
— Katmas Evergreen (@papierhache) December 17, 2013
And I had to get a few hits in, too:
I should point out here that Balogun comes across as a nice person, and when I interviewed him, he expressed remorse for what happened:
"Meninism was certainly not created with malicious intent, but obviously was a runaway train since it began. It was loosely intended to be satire, but ironically has created an avenue for discussion and knowledge of the other ideals that we share. Feminism has it's place in society. There are clearly women that are oppressed, as are those in varying ethnic groups, as well as people in the LBGT community. All of these groups have faced oppressed and are marginalized classes. The feminist movement, in particular, certainly makes society aware of the disadvantages of women specifically, and is an ideal that should be respected and further evaluated by those with limited knowledge. Further, I personally feel equal pay and maternity leave for my wife are of critical importance to our household."