“Feminism,” as per the Oxford English Dictionary, is the belief and aim that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men. It has nothing to do with man-hating, gender-bending, or anything else. It’s just female advocacy. When people begin to stray from the main point of feminism and use it as an agenda, it turns into the belief of “fake feminism.”
There are feminists, and then there are fake feminists. Fake feminism says that women should be respected more or that people of other sexes should not be respected as much. The worst thing about living in a culture where women face many problems every day is that some people hurt the word “feminism.” Few people on social media know much about feminism, so they end up being fake feminists.
How can Men tell the difference?
Men can tell the difference between real feminists and fake feminists in a few ways. It is important to keep in mind that Feminism is a concept that promotes equality by women’s growth, but not from men’s downfall.
Below are way men can spot out fake feminism in a crowd.
1. They talk over other people all the time and think that their needs are the most important
Even though there are times when people need more attention and focus, these “fake feminists” tend to make oppression into a competition. All kinds of women should fight for each other, and the injustices that one faces, not battle against each other like a bunch of wild cats. The feminist movement is all about fighting for the injustices that women suffer.
2. They talk badly about other women
Like I said before, the feminist movement is about different kinds of women fighting for each other instead of against each other. Putting other women down because they do things you don’t always agree with is not something that should be allowed in the feminist movement. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion at the end of the day!
3. No Accountability for their own actions
Self-love without taking responsibility for yourself is useless. Fake feminism is at its best when people blame others for their own problems and never choose to take responsibility for their actions. Accountability is an important lesson that feminism promotes throughout the years of its evolution.
4. They are always trying to please other people
Every once in a while, people need reassurance to take some of the weight off their shoulders.
However, if you’re always looking for approval, you may need to take a step back and ask yourself, “Am I fighting the right way?” FIghting for a cause means you are bound to make some people uncomfortable or worse even hate you! But that’s okay, it takes sacrifice to achieve the good things in life and if fighting for the right cause makes people distance themselves from you, then they were never supposed to be with you anyway.
Fake feminists are fighting for what they think will stir some controversy and make them feel the attention and validation from other people, which goes against the beliefe of the feminist movement.
5. They generalise not only about men but also about other gender groups
We hear a lot about how feminists make generalisations about men, but what about when they make generalisations about other gender groups? while fighting against generalisations about other sexual orientations in the community. Pseudo feminists make generalisations all the time. And this only leads to controversies that brings down the values of feminism.
6. They follow every feminist trend they can find
In the last few years, movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp have become so popular that fake feminists can easily hide behind them without doing any work. Even events like the annual Women’s March attract so many people that most of them don’t really care about what they are fighting for. They just use it as an excuse to show that they are fighting for women’s right and no one can stop them!
7. They stand up for abusers
Fake feminists are people who would defend anyone who were nice to them, no matter how bad they are in person. People often defend abusers by saying that they are women, but this is not at all what feminism is about. The movement is about standing up against injustices not turning a blind eye to injustice just because it was done by a female. Fake feminism has messed it up by making people choose sides even when women are wrong. This has completely dismantled the justice system at times.
8. They hurt other people
When it comes to abusers, this is one of the clearest ways to spot a fake feminist. Anyone who uses feminism as a reason to bully or put down other people is doing something wrong. Again, their ideas are tainting the pure idea, and they need to be set apart from true feminists, who would help people grow no matter what gender they are.
9. They say that the victim is to blame
If they have ever said something like, “They shouldn’t have done that” or “Why didn’t they leave?” when an abuse survivor talks about what happened to them, chances are they don’t really care about the feminist movement. When they think the victim is to blame, this is the typical behaviour that promotes fake feminism in the community.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, any idea of feminism isn’t real if it tries to leave anyone out because of their gender, race, or anything else that makes them different. It’s not real feminism if it uses someone else as a scapegoat because of their skin colour, religion, gender identity, etc. It is important for men to be able to tell this fake feminist supporters apart from the real deal because these people tend to spread fake ideals and principles. This affects the perception of young minds which end up promoting a type of feministic ideal that is completely wrong. This also ends up ruining the image of a lot of great and right women who are true believers of feminism.