Left-Wing Men Need To Do Better

Men will often pay lip service to women’s rights and do the bare minimum of saying women deserve equal “ rights and fair treatment. But when push comes to shove, protests surrounding women’s issues have a much lower rate of male attendance. ”

I’ve been involved in left-wing spaces for quite some time now, and over this time, one thing has become increasingly clear: there seems to be little hope of escape from sexism even within leftist circles. Even though we are all united in the fight against capitalism, climate change, and the oppressive structures that are driven by them, there still remains a divide. Leftwing men continue to uphold and benefit from patriarchal structures, and in many instances, that patriarchy is something they refuse to confront.

In some ways, sexism from leftist men is worse and more insidious than that of conservatives. With conservatives, their sexism is more overt, and the rest of their views equally reprehensible. It’s easy for everyone to recognise. Meanwhile, sexism from left-wing men is more subtle. These men will talk about class and climate, and they’ll criticise that same overt sexism spouted by conservatives. They’ll go to the women’s marches (not in the same numbers as they will for other causes, of course). They’ll share posts about Roe v Wade on their socials. They’ll call themselves feminists. They’ll do all of this while speaking over and on behalf of women and treating sexism as if it is something they are above - something the backwards right-wingers do, but that they have transcended due to their progressivism. In speaking with my friend Chanel about our shared experience in leftist circles, she said this of left-wing men:

This is an experience echoed by many women in politically left spaces.

There have been many occasions in my roles in positions of leadership in political circles where I have had men explain to me my own role or projects that I spearheaded. I have had men speak over me at every opportunity, and I’ve been made to feel intellectually inferior if I don’t want to spend an hour circlejerking over obscure pieces of theory. I have had men circumvent me entirely in my leadership position and instead solely go to my male counterpart, even in areas where I was very clearly the one to go to. I’ve had credit for my work stolen from me and entirely attributed to men who

“They can be incredibly tokenistic. They can talk the talk, you know, but never walk the walk. I’ve heard communist men and leftist men describe themselves as feminists yet still talk about women and treat women like they’re prizes to be won. They never challenge the way they view women or the way they treat them subconsciously. It feels like when they say they’re feminists it’s just a political act. They don’t go out of their way to be better, they just pretend.”

LEFT-WING MEN NEED TO DO BETT ER

sometimes had very little to do with the work. I have called out these men, and been called unreasonable or told that I’m emotional, or that I’m overreacting - essentially gaslighting me into thinking I’m imagining the sexism at play, and that I’m the one who ought to be apologetic in a kind of cursed misogynistic Uno reverse card. And I’m not alone in these experiences.

I’ve also seen a lot of the emotional labour in political organising fall to women. It’s largely women who call out inappropriate or insensitive remarks, who check in on one another, who draw attention to the welfare of their comrades. The women I’ve come to know through politics are some of the most intelligent, compassionate, resourceful, and driven individuals I’ve known, yet so many of them have felt silenced or felt as if their intelligence and knowledge of politics are less than that of the men who just so happen to be louder. Subsequently, they are less likely to want to put their hands up for positions of leadership, despite all the labour they put into organising. Many will feel discouraged from joining a political movement at all. This feeds into a consistent problem in which the number of men in most leftist circles will far outweigh the number of women, which is an absolute tragedy.

Of course, I don’t think many of these men are doing this intentionally. It’s a subconscious, insidious kind of sexism that men have internalised and never had to truly challenge; one that they either largely think they’ve overcome, or have never truly pondered because it’s an uncomfortable topic. It is the patriarchy in action, enforcing sexism and denying women the recognition of their voices and labour. It takes a concerted effort to unlearn subconscious misogynistic behaviour. Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of men are unwilling to make that effort. This can be seen in the notable lack of male presence in feminist spaces. Men will often pay lip service to women’s rights and do the bare minimum of saying women deserve equal rights and fair treatment. But when push comes to shove, protests surrounding women’s issues have a much lower rate of male attendance.

I’ve known men who will attend every protest they can - until it’s a women’s march, then they’re remarkably absent. When pressed on this, they’ll often come up with excuses about “not wanting to invade women’s spaces,” appropriating feminism to excuse their lack of allyship. This goes for any feminist space or event. A friend of mine, Laura, stated that:

There’s this stigma around discussing women’s issues, as if we’re making a big deal out of nothing and just playing into identity politics and hysterical femininity. I vividly remember being at an event with mostly men, and our (female) tour guide proudly pointing

“I have noticed that many left-wing men often preach (mansplain) the ideology of feminism to me, but when I invite them to join a feminist book club or discussion group, they never show up.”

LEFT-WING MEN NEED

TO DO BETT ER Words by Caitlin Battye | she/her

out a groundbreaking moment in female representation in SA politics. The men surrounding us largely rolled their eyes and snickered. Bringing up women and the strides they’ve made is seen as irrelevant and tokenistic when we do it.

There is also little to no effort to make male-dominated spaces accommodating for women. This can be seen in just how much men love to debate each other, with zero awareness of how uncomfortable the women in the room may be or how much they are being spoken over or not given the chance to speak. It would be so easy to remedy this by making the effort to turn to the women in the room and ask them what their opinions are and try to actively engage people, but that effort is rarely made.

Laura said of male-dominated spaces:

Another thing that myself and many other women have noticed is the prevalence in which leftist men will use sexism to belittle and insult women whose ideology does not align with theirs. Don’t get me wrong, making fun of right-wingers is extremely fun and always a good time. But when any woman left of Gramsci is open to sexist attacks, you have to ask: are these men just looking for an excuse

“I don’t think they [men] have called out sexism or misogyny when they see it. They wouldn’t be able to notice or accommodate if and when and how afraid a woman can feel sitting in a group full of men. That was my personal experience in this club at uni. No matter how ‘progressive’ these men are, if I was the only woman in a group of men there will always be a part of me that is afraid. Progressiveness and leftism don’t erase the inherent power in gender structures. And left-wing men can be just as punch drunk on power as any man on the left, right, or centre.” to spout misogyny, and do they realise how much it hurts the women around them? Leftist men are often already so open about their hatred of rightwing women, and barely conceal their objectification of women. I The situation sure seems dire. However, I have faith in my male comrades to take on that effort. I’m lucky enough to know some truly fantastic men who have started to listen and recognise what we women are saying has been a problem for a long time. A lot of men I know have made some great strides in being able to recognise and believe women’s experiences of being talked over, belittled, and ignored in left-wing spaces. A lot of them are also willing, when asked, to confront a fellow man about his sexism so that the burden isn’t always on us (and let’s be real, a lot of men are more likely to listen to things coming from a man). This is a step in the right direction, it’s much appreciated, and I’m very grateful to have these men in my life and to call them some of my closest friends. It’s also a depressingly low bar.

We know that women are disproportionately impacted by capitalism, and that capitalism both reinforces and is reinforced by the patriarchy. Leftist spaces should be actively platforming women and working to dismantle the structures that are working against them, rather than upholding those same oppressive structures in a way that is “totally okay” because they do it while preaching the works of Marx. No anti-capitalist movement can be truly effective if it is not simultaneously combatting the other forms of oppression that are intertwined with capitalism. If you’re not an active ally to women, queer people, disabled people, and people of colour, your anticapitalist rhetoric is ultimately hollow and self-serving.

It is essential that left-wing men do better and try harder. They need to actively

Leftist spaces should be actively platforming women and working to dismantle the structures “ that are working against them, rather than upholding those same oppressive structures in a way that is “totally okay” because they do it while preaching the works of Marx. ”

make sure the spaces they are cultivating are inclusive and accommodating for women, they need to include women in conversations without speaking over or for them, and they need to respect the women in their movement. They need to actively learn about women’s issues rather than deem them irrelevant to their lives. They also need to openly converse about and fight for women’s issues and call out other men on their sexist remarks and behaviour without needing to be asked to by a woman. I know men are capable of this, and of forging truly comfortable and respectful spaces for the women inhabiting them. I eagerly await the day more left-wing men embrace the label of ‘feminist’ as more than a keyword in their Tinder bio to help them get laid, and actually advocate for women and women’s issues in their everyday lives.