There still seems to be an irresistible
urge, for a certain swathe of the online male population, to interrupt
and derail any feminist discussion they see. Even if they don’t fully
disagree with what’s being said, these men simply cannot fathom that
this is one conversation to which their voice is not an essential
addition. While it may be a welcome addition, when tempered with
moderation and manners, it’s not vital.
In a patriarchal society that has historically and systematically
silenced women – and still attempts to do so by, among other methods,
trolling and derailing – women’s voices have been drowned out. Women are
still brought up to be polite and avoid confrontation, often to their
own detriment. Feminist discussions run off course again and again as
women are forced to turn their attentions to the uninvited male
participants and how the discussion makes them feel. This has been my
experience on Twitter.
And so I say this:
I refuse to be derailed by Twitter trolls and WATMers. I refuse to
treat half-formed opinions as sacred fact when the male commenter has
paid no attention to the conversation before his arrival and seems
concerned only with presenting his male experience rather than engaging
with, and understanding, points already made.
I refuse to insert unnecessary caveats into my writing as a comfort
blanket to those men who seem unable to accept that this is a serious
and ongoing problem and insist on my acknowledging that “It’s not all
men.”
I refuse to justify myself when I am approached by male commenters
whose online activity consists primarily of tweeting women to argue with
them.
I refuse to be drawn into semantic discussions when I choose not to
engage with someone, or to block them, because they are derailing me and
making me uncomfortable in my own virtual space, particularly if that
person has a history of anti-feminist trolling.
In short, I refuse to give over feminist discussion to men’s experiences.
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