I remember reading about a psychological experiment where participants were divided into a red and blue team, and asked to play in a competition against each other.
-
@Tattie At the moment, the discussions on r/MCFC are showing a wide range of character and opinion. From “We’re doomed!” to “it will just get overturned on appeal due to expensive lawyers” to “what happens to the giant, respected accountancy firm who were involved” and everything in-between.
The difference is probably how long someone has been a fan - as a very old fan, I am on the side of inevitable doom.
@Tattie and to get back to men’s advantage, over on r/MCWFC, it’s “hang on, this is going to fuck the women’s team, even though they have nothing to do with any of this”.
-
@Tattie As a bisexual, this checks out. There's a lot of pressure from both the red and blue teams to just "pick a side." Some do want to claim you for a particular side -- theirs because they think it's better, the one that your current (presumed-)partner would make you align with, etc. -- but a lot just want you to settle down onto either team so the world fits into their sense of it.
I've been bi my whole adult life, so 20 years of this meant transition was familiar to me in many ways!
@bright_helpings ooh I like this insight! Thanks!
-
When we ask men, in the name of feminism, to call out other men, to demand fair treatment of women and people of minoritised gender, it's not a small ask.
We're asking them to go against instinct, against group loyalty and group thought.
We're asking them to stand against the coding they've been subject to all their lives, the unspoken agreement that they do not acknowledge that the competition was rigged for their team.
I'm not saying I forgive sexism as "natural". It's still dead wrong. But I'm acknowledging the internal struggle, and inviting men to do so as well. Knowing your own brain is part of the problem is half the battle.
3/@Tattie I don't think I ever made it explicit to myself like this, but I probably always knew that it felt more natural for me to be a feminist than most men because I never felt at home in the prevalent masculinity behavioral codings in the first place. I present as a regular dude & I'm cis, so guys are often surprised & yes, often see me as a category traitor.
