Can never understand why @republicjournal gets drafts from so many men wanting to write about feminism. Wanting to write because, lacking any real engagement with the subject, what they often send cannot be called writing.

[And we do publish essays that criticise feminism. We’ve done this several times. This, though, is not the point, but about this inability to understand when one can and cannot join a particular conversation.]

Submitting is hardly the problem—I believe most people genuinely don’t know these nuances. It’s the clap back. It’s the often annoyed(?) response we get when we say actually we don’t think you should be having this conversation. Maybe do more work or try something else?

One of my favourite moments this year has been following @republicjournal’s conversation on Muslim women and feminism in Nigeria. And even in a group as niche (and underrepresented) as this, we still find men not wanting to listen but to inform. Inform on what though?