this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
36 points (78.1% liked)

Men's Liberation

1844 readers
1 users here now

This community is first and foremost a feminist community for men and masc people, but it is also a place to talk about men’s issues with a particular focus on intersectionality.

Rules

Everybody is welcome, but this is primarily a space for men and masc people

Non-masculine perspectives are incredibly important in making sure that the lived experiences of others are present in discussions on masculinity, but please remember that this is a space to discuss issues pertaining to men and masc individuals. Be kind, open-minded, and take care that you aren't talking over men expressing their own lived experiences.


Be productive

Be proactive in forming a productive discussion. Constructive criticism of our community is fine, but if you mainly criticize feminism or other people's efforts to solve gender issues, your post/comment will be removed.

Keep the following guidelines in mind when posting:

  • Build upon the OP
  • Discuss concepts rather than semantics
  • No low effort comments
  • No personal attacks


Assume good faith

Do not call other submitters' personal experiences into question.


No bigotry

Slurs, hate speech, and negative stereotyping towards marginalized groups will not be tolerated.


No brigading

Do not participate if you have been linked to this discussion from elsewhere. Similarly, links to elsewhere on the threadiverse must promote constructive discussion of men’s issues.

Recommended Reading
Related Communities

!feminism@beehaw.org
!askmen@lemmy.world
!mensmentalhealth@lemmy.world

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Kokomheart@lemmy.ca
spaduf
Veraticus@lib.lgbt
36
Next steps after the bear (lemmy.cafe)
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by spujb@lemmy.cafe to c/mensliberation@lemmy.ca
35 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

As has been discussed already here in this community, the key takeaway from the bear hypothetical is that it is an opportunity to truly listen to the lived experiences of women under patriarchal systems. I encourage "first response" to the bear discussion to head back to this post, as I am looking for discussion kind of after the fact. If this is your first exposure to the bear thing, head there, then pop back here after you have a good handle on the situation.

My question has two parts:

  1. Positive Steps: Let's explore resources for folks to act on the things they have learned from this discussion.
  2. Creating a Safe Space: During the course of the debate, it's likely that high emotions have led to lashing out and unkind words, perhaps even unintentionally directed towards men who may be survivors of SA themselves. Can we create a space here for listening and affirming one another about these potentially painful experiences?
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] pmk@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 5 months ago

I think a positive step can also be to think back and reflect a bit. Why did I react the way I did? When I first heard the hypothetical, it made me feel bad about myself. After that came a feeling of defeat. I was thinking "why even bother, whatever I do I'm the villain." I'm very afraid of bears, which may have played into this.
The main thing I've been thinking since then is that I find it easier to have empathy with people who show empathy to me. It's easy to think "well then, when they start showing empathy, so will I.", but it goes both ways, doesn't it? That made me want to influence this loop of causality, or what to call it.
I'll set my negative emotions to the side, and try to not contribute to the division between people. Maybe even manage to be a part in the positive direction. As I get older, the more I realize that I can't change the world, but I have a very deep wish to be a net positive somehow.
As for acting on the things I have learned, I don't really know what to do, and I hope this is a safe space for anyone who needs support.