Read on Twitter
So I want to talk a little bit about male passivity in relation to social justice causes and activism.
This relates to the #reawakenthefeminists movement, amongst other issues... 1/12
This relates to the #reawakenthefeminists movement, amongst other issues... 1/12
Yesterday, I posted this thread looking to start a conversation about men's role in actively combatting sexual abuse.
I wanted to get men to go beyond solidarity tweets and start actively engaging in problems that we help perpetuate. 2/12 https://twitter.com/davidpkeeling/status/1277209279683059712
I wanted to get men to go beyond solidarity tweets and start actively engaging in problems that we help perpetuate. 2/12 https://twitter.com/davidpkeeling/status/1277209279683059712
Now, I don't have a huge following on Twitter, but I know there are a fair few men who work in the arts (and who have engaged with the #reawakenthefeminists hashtag) who follow me.
And I have no reason to believe that my followers aren't relatively balanced, gender-wise... 3/12
And I have no reason to believe that my followers aren't relatively balanced, gender-wise... 3/12
But the reaction to this thread has been stark:
*Every single* RT & Like was from a woman.
Not a single man engaged with the thread in any way. No DMs, nothing. 4/12
*Every single* RT & Like was from a woman.
Not a single man engaged with the thread in any way. No DMs, nothing. 4/12
You could chalk this up as a fluke.
But other recent experiences strongly point to the conclusion that, when it comes to actively engaging in the difficult and uncomfortable work of social causes, men tend to opt out. 5/12
But other recent experiences strongly point to the conclusion that, when it comes to actively engaging in the difficult and uncomfortable work of social causes, men tend to opt out. 5/12
Another example: In light of the BLM movement, I decided to contact friends to see who would be interested in setting up a WhatsApp group to help encourage accountability in active anti-racism work.
Again, the pool of people contacted was roughly 50/50 male-female...
6/12
Again, the pool of people contacted was roughly 50/50 male-female...
6/12
Once again, the feedback was abundantly clear:
100% of the people who expressed an interest were female. 7/12
100% of the people who expressed an interest were female. 7/12
Look: I get it.
I've been guilty of watching from the sidelines as others do the hard work, shouting out the odd message of solidarity from the comfort of my privilege.
But we, as men, NEED TO DO BETTER. 8/12
I've been guilty of watching from the sidelines as others do the hard work, shouting out the odd message of solidarity from the comfort of my privilege.
But we, as men, NEED TO DO BETTER. 8/12
Women are putting themselves in incredibly vulnerable positions by speaking out.
Applauding this without *actively* putting ourselves into vulnerable positions is nothing more than posturing. 9/12
Applauding this without *actively* putting ourselves into vulnerable positions is nothing more than posturing. 9/12
We need to push through the discomfort of confronting our own complicity in systems of oppression and abuse, and start becoming part of the solution. 10/12
From what I've seen, there is no concerted effort by men to address these systemic problems. Every bit of activism I've seen so far has been spearheaded by women.
And I'm happy to be proved wrong on this, if anyone can point me in the right direction. 11/12
And I'm happy to be proved wrong on this, if anyone can point me in the right direction. 11/12
And to reiterate a point from my previous thread, I've used 'men' and 'women' here, but hopefully haven't said anything to exclude anyone who doesn't identify as such. 12/12
