Hi Twitter —a useful term for you: "the glass escalator." The opposite of the glass ceiling; it describes the way that men (specifically white men) in majority - women fields get fast-tracked for promotions, raises, and other opportunities.

It's well-documented in teaching and nursing and it's why I have no patience for "but men get discriminated against in majority - women careers" because no, they fucking don't; it's the opposite. The exchange rate on their privilege goes even further.

Anyway, another place you can see the glass escalator chugging away is in feminist discourse, where white men can say the most basic shit about supporting equality and get treated like heroes.

There are two types of men most likely to notice that dynamic in action: the first is genuinely good dudes, who will notice they're getting praise and attention for basic shit and will say hey, this is just decency, we shouldn't praise men for this.

The second is abusers.

Abusers absolutely notice that if they say some basic shit about feminism, they will get elevated as feminist heroes and gain trust and access that they can use to both find and silence victims.

H*go Schw*zer pulled exactly this stunt, dabbling in some basic feminist discourse to win over a bunch of white women with platforms so he could use their platforms to abuse and harass less powerful women —primarily Black women.

So if you're looking at Joss Whedon and wondering how he went from feminist hero to utter creep?

He was never a feminist. He was always a creep in a hero's cape, usurping praise, attention, and opportunities that should have been going to women.