History of Feminism
Showing Original Post only (View all)Silencing tactics [View all]
I'm sure we are all familiar with these. Some of the more popular ones are
There are more important issues
Women have it worse in (some other place)
Just an isolated incident
This is trivial/boring
You're the bully/You're the sexist
Choice
Tone
Just ignore it
You should be flattered
Harming the community/cause
Free speech/censorship
These illogical arguments are very common and I thought it might be helpful to discuss some of the more common ones so that we can more effectively deal with them when we see them used. I will admit that I'm to the point that I tend to see them as a reason not to engage, but they may be used in all sincerity so, maybe its good to discuss ways to quickly illustrate how illogical they are.
Please share any other ones or any variations on these. My goal is more meaningful discussion of feminist issues, and fewer distracting, derailing subthreads.