Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford

Author:Clementine Ford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2016-07-14T23:00:00+00:00

1. RETRIBUTION

The mechanics of internalised misogyny are complicated, but they’re largely driven by fear of retribution. Feminism is perceived as a threat by some people, and the only recourse they have is to threaten it right back. For the girls and women who experience these threats on an ongoing basis, it’s understandable that they’d want to minimise exposure to them.

Look at me, for example. I am a reasonably prominent feminist. This means I daily receive messages calling me fat, bitter, ugly, unrapeable (yes, that happens), angry, stupid, opportunistic and – in a bizarre stretch of logic – hypocritical for being paid to write about women’s rights. I don’t get these messages because there’s something special about me that incites the rage of men who would otherwise never dream of calling a woman a ‘pig-faced slut who’s just angry that attractive white men don’t want her’ (thanks, anonymous man on Twitter!). I get these messages because I’m a feminist, I talk about feminism publicly in a way that doesn’t position men and their feelings front and centre, and I’m unapologetic about that.

So of course other women see the way feminists like me are responded to and think twice about joining our ranks. Who would willingly sign up to being called a pig-faced slut every day?

Sometimes, anti-feminism isn’t about women being unable to ‘think for themselves’, as the argument goes. It’s about an unconscious battle for self-preservation. Being a feminist isn’t easy – but being an outspoken one can be even more difficult.

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