Here is my #MessageToFeminists

There has been a recent rise of an online stronghold of cultural libertarianism, which has been deemed by some to be a reactionary movement against the regressive left. Classically liberal and conservative figures are breaking down the barriers between the political left and right, and are coming together to discuss a multitude of ideas including free speech, political correctness, censorship and 'safe spaces' in the university scene, and cultural relativity.

Prominent figureheads in the discussion include talk show host Dave Rubin, equity feminist Christina Hoff Sommers, libertarian activist Lauren Southern and controversial gay conservative Milo Yiannopoulos.

It was only a matter of time until something so contentious as a #MessageToFeminists campaign would arise. The hashtag, created by one Taleed Brown on his Youtube channel That Guy T, aimed to stimulate debate on the current feminist movement by giving a voice to its most common critiques. Originally devised as a Youtube challenge, the hashtag is now making rounds on Twitter, drawing attention to the need for an actual intellectual conversation and free exchange of ideas, which many believe has failed to take place in a monotonic, stifling PC culture.

Brown himself had this message to impart: “The rejection of individualist freedom for the pursuit of authoritarian equality is not empowerment.”

Indeed, more and more ‘systematically-oppressed classes’ are speaking out against the neoprogressive doctrines that modern feminism promulgates. This is certainly not tantamount to the opposition of classical liberalism: often the opposite, actually. I, myself, believe a part of classical liberalism is updating, reforming and exchanging our opinions and beliefs where necessary (Bayesian inference, anyone?) to preserve intellectual integrity.

So, here is my #MessageToFeminists (specifically, third-wavers): why not embrace the criticism and use it to benefit and reform the movement? Why is unfavourable dissent being shut out and shut down? Are modern feminist idealogies too flimsy to withstand scrutiny? Why is the movement so intolerant of its questioners, despite claims of diversity and acceptance? Karl Popper’s paradox of tolerance comes to mind.

Everyone knows the dictionary definition of feminism. It has been repeated ad nauseam to the public through progressive media outlets and popular celebrities. The reason, then, must run deeper as to why so many refuse to associate themselves with the movement. If everything boiled down to a dictionary definition, we'd have many more people comfortably identifying as feminists. The trouble is that third wave feminism, the poster child of the regressive left and PC culture, is not reflecting that definition.

Also relevant is the unspoken obligation to subscribe by default to certain feminist theories other than the otherwise harmless dictionary definition. Privilege theory, as preached by third wave feminism, as practised today, is demonstrably flawed. So is intersectional theory, which divides the classes rather than unifying them. I concede that these theories were conceived with good intentions, and that certain aspects of these theories do hold water. However, one need merely consider the recent incident involving Oxford student activist Ntokozo Qwabe to get a sense of how far these progressive idealogies are being taken by their proponents, and how they are being used to justify actual discrimination. What is remarkable is not that Qwabe and a fellow social activist publicly harassed a white waitress on the basis of her ethnicity (reducing her to what Qwabe gleefully refers to as ‘white tears’). What is scary is that Qwabe justified his actions by explaining how ethnic minorities cannot be racist due to the systematic oppression and invisible structures of society working against marginalized classes.

This concerns me gravely. We are cultivating a generation of millennials who bully and actually marginalize individuals of another background while operating under the guise of social justice!

Real life is not a novel where the Draco Malfoys are so easily identified. In the current day we have bullies of a different variety, the ‘social justice warriors’ who genuinely believe they are fighting on the right side of things. This is more dangerous than a generic schoolyard bully, who at least operates clearly on the outside of a communal moral code (everyone knows that harassing another kid for lunch money is wrong) and can't justify his or her actions by claiming a ‘moral enlightenment’.

Many feminists are convinced of the superiority of their idealogy in society. Look no further than Mark Ruffalo’s Tumblr post telling women against feminism to “kiss my ass”. How will this possibly get more people to join his feminist cause? To put this in perspective, imagine if this was the method used to draw awareness to any other activist movement campaigning for environmental concerns, animal rights, or even a religion. Wouldn’t mass disapproval ensue?

Thusly, many feminists run the risk of becoming intractable and unable to adapt to opposing viewpoints. After all, what other viewpoint is there to adopt, outside of our own superior construction?

I hope we all agree that feminism needs to be more than running around harassing others in the name of creating a ‘liberal, tolerant, diverse culture’. To me, this is not progression! It is regression.