Why the Anti-Misogyny movement is not helping itself

Churchill was trying to say that everyone has a brilliant mind; they just need to find a forum via which to express themselves — which I think you’ll agree brings us neatly round to misogyny.

An optimist might hope that if the average cave man thought very, very hard about it, he could work out that “gender equality good, misogyny bad”. Sadly, this is a distant dream, and we’re still countless waves away from a real sea change.

Luckily, we have been given a vehicle for expressing ourselves on the issue. On “Misogyny Overheard at Oxford” students recount tales that may or may not have something to do with men or women, but have definitely made them very upset about something. Sometimes the planets align and a genuine case of misogyny comes to light, and here the group aims to provide a helpful environment of solidarity.

Reason #4756 Oxford needs MOaO: Men who think we need a “men’s rights movement” actually exist.

But, like most threads on the internet, everything gets lost in the white noise of people arguing about which sub-genre of dubstep Skrillex’s latest tune isn’t in. What’s more, those contesting an alleged case of misogyny have their comments deleted, and many are barred from the group.

This fairly progressive attitude towards free speech wouldn’t matter so much but unfortunately, despite the latent genius of the average MOaO enthusiast, failure to interpret mundane daily occurrences logically really hampers their cause. They probably hate the patriarchy, and they might have seen Germaine Greer on Question Time, but someone (e.g. a man) pushing in front of someone else (e.g. a woman) in the supermarket doesn’t have very much to do with either.

The idea behind the group is a noble one: expose a particular kind of bigot for their particular brand of bigotry to raise awareness, discourage that type of behaviour, and change attitudes.

But near the bottom of the info page we encounter a skilfully worded caveat:

You’re right; it would be incredibly inconvenient to allow people to challenge the content of the group, because who wants to be accountable? It would ruin the fun of posting anything you like under the banner of misogyny-related moral outrage.

As for the ‘Ask a Question’ tab, men innocently requesting linguistic clarification (a good place to start, surely?) are met with a battery of abuse.

A support group for people to share their experiences is a great idea. But this is a public forum, and the contributors are accountable for their opinions whether they like it or not. Farcical misrepresentation of the word misogyny and aggression towards those who question it simply discredit the whole movement and alienate people further.

In Oxford, Cro-Magnon Man is never far away, and hunting for meat-brained specimens with a Paleolithic attitude towards women is like shooting rats in a barrel. Unfortunately this assumes you’re pointing the gun in the right direction.