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When I first heard the term “kill all men”, I laughed like most people would because “it’s just a joke”. But then I started seeing the use of it more frequently on my TikTok and as a trending hashtag on Twitter. When you read the responses and comments to these statements, there seems to be an evolving idea that feminists have misappropriated the women’s rights movement into an excuse for hating men.
The use of this hashtag and trend has gotten out of hand. The sole purpose of this trend is to promote misandry. It’s a trend that aggravates many people around the world and creates a stain in the name of feminism. It’s a trend that takes away importance from a real-world issue.
The hashtag began as a way to complain about the nuances of everyday misogyny that many have experienced. Twitter user @waluigifan69 expresses their feelings by posting, “I will say this over and over until the world knows how to accept it MEN ARE TRASH #killallmen.”
Another Twitter user @memorablehoe uses the term by tweeting, “To all my ladies out there: play him before he plays you #killallmen.”
There are multiple things wrong with these statements, but it’s considered acceptable because it’s supposedly a humorous method of coping with trauma. It’s an issue that has been continuously progressing since the trend began on Twitter in 2014, yet no one seems to understand the impact it has.
If the positions were switched and #killallwomen was created by men, it would have caused an uncontrollable rage. So many people would be angry and offended. But, why is it if men point out this injustice, it’s not taken into account?
Some people argue that when they use #killallmen, they mean they want conventional masculinity to die. Emma Lynch, a columnist at The Berkeley High Jacket who supports this, encourages, “Men, women, and non-binary people should support the end of masculine stereotypes as well. We need to challenge the ideas that say men can’t have positive familial roles, that men can’t be reliant on others, and that men must be tough.”
While masculine stereotypes shouldn’t be encouraged, using the phrase “kill all men” doesn’t do anything to challenge it. It will never be interpreted as a call to action because it’s being interpreted as a personal insult and understandably so. The trend blames half the population of the world for the misogynistic behavior of a few men.
According to a 2015 survey by YouGov, 81% of British men believe in gender equality, but only 27% consider themselves feminists, regardless that the meaning of feminism is gender equality. A 2019 survey by YouGov shows that only 22% of men consider themselves feminists. The misconceptions of feminism have affected those who chooses to call themselves a feminist.
It brings negative attention to the women’s rights movement. In an article by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, he says feminism is automatically assumed to be associated with man-hating, which “taps into men’s rights activists’ beliefs that misandry exists and feminists wish to be violent towards men.”
Some even argue that the trend is a response to the oppression of the patriarchy, but expressing feelings with such hatred can leave immense damage. The phrase normalizes the hatred of a group of people, which can lead to them retaliating in the same way. Regardless, the context of when the phrase is used shouldn’t matter, because it doesn’t encourage change; rather, it encourages hate.
And in doing so, several other Twitter users have started their hashtags like #feminismiscancer, #screwfeminism, or #rapeallwomen2020. Twitter user @mazin55749948 tweeted, “#RapeAllWomen2020 since they wanna kill us, men.”
Furthermore, feminism by definition has always meant political, economic, and social equality between both genders. Unfortunately, that meaning has gradually started to change into a war between gender in which one must be superior. Some supposed feminists misrepresent the women’s rights movements as poorly disguised misandry. This so-called trend provides more opportunities to discredit what real feminists are truly fighting for.
There is nothing wrong with expressing frustration or wanting to end misogynistic behavior or masculine stereotypes, but when we use terms like “kill all men,'' it is ignorant and will ultimately push us farther away from the goal of women’s rights movement.
We can only fix this problem once people realize it is a problem. Author Lianna Leung suggests that we should condemn the act of sexism, instead of condemning a group of people by making a more appropriate statement like “kill all discrimination”. You can create hashtags and trends that challenge today’s patriarchy, and masculine stereotypes. You can also speak out against misogynistic behavior. You can call out misogynistic behavior. You can be part of the women’s rights movement. You can go to rallies to spread awareness, and advocate for women’s rights. You can bring awareness to the issue by reposting gender equality posts. You can create conversations about women’s rights, gender equality, and misogynistic behavior.
Like Emma Watson said, “We need to live in a culture that values, respects and looks up to and idolizes women as much as men.” To do that, both men and women need to be unified, but using insensitive hashtags and phrases like this just creates a further divide between men and women.
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