The same feminist activist known on the internet for telling Men's Rights Activists (MRA's) to "shut the fuck up" (multiple times) wrote a 10-line open letter to "dudebros who think feminism is irrelevant."
"They never seem to take into account how their own actions have helped to create the same culture they're complaining about, and feminists are fighting against," said the activist Chanty, who asked that her full name not be used because she has previously received online messages threatening violence. "[Dudebros] are almost always the ones who will then claim feminism is irrelevant," she added.
A video of Chanty at a rally protesting a MRA's lecture at the University of Toronto in April 2013 has more than 585,000 views, and resulted in tons of nasty online messages, comments and memes.
Chanty said the internet backlash and doxing attempts against her happened because some people don't like the fact that a woman told a man to shut up. "They can't get over the fact that I told a dude to shut the fuck up, repeatedly. A year later I'm still getting these [hateful] messages," she said in an interview via Skype.
In the video, her expletive-filled conversation with a Men's Rights activist is interspersed with arguments between other feminist protestors and Men's Rights proponents. In her open letter, equally strong in its feminist message, but without the swearing, she shares a list of hypocritical actions and reactions often attributed to dudebros.
Every time you complain about a girl who's too skinny, I want you to remember the time you made fun of a fat girl for being fat.Every time you complain about having to pay for a date, I want you to remember the time you said the gender pay gap was a myth.Every time you complain about a girl wearing too much makeup, I want you to remember the time you called a girl ugly.Every time you complain about a girl who's showing too much skin, I want you to remember the time you told a girl, "tits or gtfo."Every time you complain about a girl who got pregnant because she was "irresponsible," I want you to remember the time you didn't want to wear a condom because it felt better.Every time you complain about a girl not sleeping with you, I want you to remember the time you called a girl a slut.Every time you complain about a girl who's a fake geek girl, I want you to remember the time you complained there were no girls at [Comic Con].Every time you complain about there not being any girls at [Comic Con], I want you to remember the times you harassed women online.Every time you complain about a girl who's afraid you might be a rapist, I want you to remember the time you told a girl to stay inside to prevent rape.Every time you complain about a girl who's making assumptions about you, I want you to remember all the times that you never ever behaved in a way that would prove her wrong.
"Dudebro" is feminist lingo for anti-feminists or men willfully ignorant of patriarchy (also interchangeable with "douchebro"), Chanty said. Last year, she wrote a "patriarchy proverb," also published on her blog.
After getting 500 hate messages in 12 hours the day after the MRA's protest video was uploaded, Chanty said today she gets more loving messages than hateful ones, and the positive responses from fellow feminists motivate her to continue fighting for women's rights.
"It's unfortunate that I can't speak my mind and be as loud as I want to be and curse as much as I want to without some kind of repercussions. It's unfortunate that's the kind of culture that we live in. But you know what? That just proves all the more how much feminism is actually needed," she said.
"I'm done with being polite."
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