Misogynist: /məˈsäjənəst/ A person who hates or discriminates against women.

I want to start this piece by making it clear that I don’t hate women. I hate everyone equally. (I’m mostly joking with that last line). I’m actually a really nice person. I just happen to be honest to a fault, I call people out on their bullshit, and I take issue with people who refuse to take facts/opinions into consideration just because said facts/opinions differ from either what they believe or it goes against their agenda.

With that being said, I also love playing Devil’s Advocate. Sometimes, it’s just to be an ass. Most times, though, it’s to show people their opinion is not the only valid one. I want them to see the idea/subject/situation from a different perspective.

Anyway, social media was at it again so this blog is based on a (brief) Twitter interaction. (Important to note: this person consistently posts tweets that are anti-men and describes herself as a feminist).

Twitter: Not enough people are aware that men will impregnate women on purpose in order to trap them in the relationship. It’s a real problem and just going to get worse if we don’t make change.

Me: Weird. Women have been doing that to men for decades.

Twitter: Weird misogynist retort.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the idea behind the post. However, given the history of her postings, this was nothing more than a short, feminist rant.

I am not a feminist, although I do understand the desire of some to be one. The part I don’t understand is the need to be equal when it’s beneficial but not when it’s consequential. In this particular case, she wants to accuse men of trying to impregnate a woman to trap them in a relationship but refuses to acknowledge the fact that women have done, and continue to do, the exact same thing to men.  

Instead of debating and trying to make me understand her point, her reaction was to default to “name calling” and making assumptions about who I am. I’m always up for a good debate. I’m willing to listen to someone’s reasoning behind their opinion. But…assuming I’m a misogynist because I stated a fact? That doesn’t help anyone take your post or your opinion seriously. It doesn’t help anyone understand your point.

As for the point of my post, it’s simply this: just because a person is honest and willing to admit that women aren’t perfect, it does not make them a misogynist. It makes them honest. Just because a person doesn’t hate men, that doesn’t automatically mean they must hate women. Stop using assumptions to satisfy your own agenda.