I moderated an all- #woman panel on #terrorism, drone strikes, & int& #39;l #law at a large int& #39;l conference

It was a feel good experience b/c the conversation was not riding on nurturing #ToxicMasculinity & fragile male egos. The conversation was engaging & the audience enjoyed it.

I remember this b/c, since #ISIS incursion, we& #39;ve seen a sudden emergence of "experts" on terrorism, militias, etc w/ no real education or research to discuss such a topic. All they had were sources on the ground giving them tips. W/ growing followership, their egos inflated.

Over the yrs, I& #39;ve watched them engage in most toxic arguments to impose their "authority"

This always had me thinking of how both militarism & obsession w/ analyzing it radicalize men. There& #39;s always this sense of masculinity associated w/ militarism that they want to defend

They claim to be experts & talk abt their "research" which is quite basic

A crucial component of research is the willingness to be wrong. Research begins w/ a Q & the possibility that one can be wrong. If all these men want to do is prove they& #39;re right, they& #39;ve got it all wrong

But with women, we don& #39;t have any toxic masculinity to prove, so we don& #39;t forcefully impose our "authority" on the subject.

We& #39;re more likely to engage respectfully, even in disagreement.

We don& #39;t assume we know more simply b/c we& #39;re men.