It's True — The Problem is Always White Men
When male dominance is no longer guaranteed by law, tradition, or economic realities, it reasserts itself through authoritarian politics.
I recently participated in a small "Free America" walkout in suburban Philadelphia. The protest was organized in opposition to Trump's ongoing reign of fascist terror, with specific attention to the immoral and illegal deployment of ICE in our streets.
There were about 40 of us gathered on a busy street corner, defiantly holding signs with glove-covered hands, hoping to catch the attention of oncoming traffic. As cars sped by, I took stock of the drivers and their reactions. People of all ethnicities, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds (an assumption, based on their vehicles) honked and showed solidarity with waves, thumbs ups, and fist pumps. We cheered in recognition of our shared fight, but also, in celebration — each new expression of support, however small, fueling tiny glimmers of hope that building a better tomorrow might be possible with the help of our neighbors, friends, and coworkers.
Then there were the dissenters.
Cars with drivers who gleefully gave us the finger, others with a simple thumbs down, and one who eagerly put down his window to scream "I LOVE ICE!"
I was both amused and enraged by each of these encounters — an odd mix of emotions, I know, but it's because of the pattern that began to emerge among these "counter protestors." Out of hundreds of cars that drove by that afternoon, how surprised would you be to learn that 100% of fascism's supporters were white middle aged men? How about the fact that 90% percent of them drove trucks, were bald, and had some sort of neck beard?
You can't make this shit up!
These pathetic excuses for humans looked exactly like you would expect — a bunch of sorry old men whose eternal struggle in life has been trying to get someone — anyone — to fuck them.
And I guess that explains how often I've been accosted by them on streets, in bars, and stores…really anywhere where they can use their beady little eyeballs to see me. They're just so angry at the lack of control they have over women — whose bodies they believe they're entitled to access — that they will inflict harm just to feel something akin to power, however fleeting that feeling may be.
Recently, I went on a trip to Ireland with my partner and we made some single-serving friends on a night out. One of them grew extremely tedious as the night wore on, his love for putting people down and pretending it's all just "joking in good fun" did not take long to piss me off.
But wouldn't you know it…the second my partner stepped away to use the bathroom, his negging suddenly changed. "I think you're the hottest woman alive"… "I'd suck a fart right out of your arse if you let me…" were just some of the words of pure poetry he wetly whispered into my ear before I felt him grind into me from behind and grab my breasts firmly with both hands. His male friend stood by, a witness to it all, eventually apologizing and making excuses…he'd "done too much cocaine" (what year is it?)…he wouldn't "remember this in the morning"…"he's one of those friends that you just keep because you've known them for so long"…etc.
And that, my friends, is the reality of most women's lives, and hardly the first time something like that has happened to me in my 39 years on this planet. It's all about encountering the men who do the abusing and those who do the excusing, day-in and day-out. Men who yell out their windows about loving kidnappers and rapists, and those in tech vests and collared shirts who observe, but do nothing — unwilling to delay their business lunches and gym sessions.
And I know it's tempting to write this off as anecdotal — just a few assholes, a few ugly trucks, a few entitled men. But this isn't random. This is patriarchy in its late-stage form — when male dominance is no longer guaranteed by law, tradition, or economic realities, it reasserts itself through authoritarian politics. The ways in which sexual entitlement mirrors political entitlement are hard to miss.
Think about how much fascist movements have historically fetishized masculinity. They showcase men being fathers, defenders, and protectors (oh, the irony) who use force to preserve or restore patriarchal systems and institutions — what they conceptualize as the "natural order of things." And yet, they never stop to question why something "natural" requires force to maintain.
Just look at the type of imagery used to recruit Nazis during WWII compared to ICE recruitment ads now.
They all feature some or all of the same characteristics — traditional conceptions of hyper-idealized male bodies, warrior symbolism, romantic notions of violence and sacrifice, feminists and minorities as threats to Christian white male power and culture. It's all the same old obsessions with hierarchy and harm, repurposed for today's modern day slave catchers.
The reality is, the same men who cheer for state violence against immigrants are the men who feel entitled to women's bodies. The same men who excuse sexual assault excuse police brutality, deportation raids, and fascist policies. It's all rooted in one core belief: that some people exist to be controlled.
When people fail to give in easily to that control, the heightened white male grievance that results gives rise to movements like MAGA. The more social dominance they lose, the more appealing authoritarian regimes that restore control seem. So many of us keep pretending these are disconnected problems: immigration raids, misogyny, harassment, authoritarian politics, but they're not. They are expressions of the same entitlement — the belief that power, bodies, and nations belong to white men by default. Until we name that, we'll keep treating symptoms instead of the disease.
Ultimately, I know there will be outrage at the title of this piece alone, but I invite it. When every system of domination in this country, from immigration enforcement to reproductive control and sexual violence has been architected, enforced, and defended almost exclusively by white men, what other title would suffice?
Written by Kate Cassidy
Your friendly neighborhood leftist socialist feminist. 17+ Year Media & Communications Professional M.A. in Communication - Focus: Gender & Politics
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment