timberwraith
So, let's talk about the phenomenon of not liking men so much.
1) Is it a real phenomenon? Yes.
2) Does not liking men/hating men hold the impact that not liking/hating women holds?
That depends. Generally, the answer is no because of massive power imbalances which exist across the (cis) male/(cis) female divide but there are exceptions in other contexts. Intersectionality complicates things. Misgendering complicates things. Patriarchy complicates things.
timberwraith
Lets move on to #2. What impact does a shared dislike of men/boys possibly impose? Can this entwine with any form of oppression toward men/boys?
Generally, on the most macroscopic level, no.
timberwraith
And that's because one usually needs hate/prejudice/bigotry *plus* a social hierarchy/power imbalance for a collectively shared animosity toward a group to have an impact that could be understood as a form of oppression.
And by oppression, I mean a set of social conditions that could come to bear upon society as a whole and impact institutions in a way that fosters an overall power imbalance that disfavors boys/men as a group, placing them *under* some other group in an overall hierarchy.
timberwraith
Most of my abusers when I was growing up were boys and men. As a woman and a trans person, much of the direct physical violence that I potentially face comes from cis men.
It is easy to feel negative feelings toward people who oppress and abuse you.
Disliking half of humanity isn't a terribly healthy response but it can happen rather reflexively. I always knew that in the back of my mind, but the feelings of dislike, animosity, etc. were there and quite strong during periods of my life.
timberwraith
And I have witnessed a similar animosity among other women, female friends, etc. across the years.
I understood where they were coming from. I understood why.
I tended to limit how much I joined in those shared feelings of animosity because I understood that it wasn't the best response to have.
But I certainly felt those feelings.
I've worked through a lot of them.
I don't feel those feelings like I once did.
I'm in a different place at this point but it took work.
timberwraith
So, can people feel an animosity/hatred/dislike toward men/boys/mascs as a group?
Absolutely. I know this from personal experience.
timberwraith
Let's deal with #1 first.
As always, let me make this personal.
I've certainly had eras of my life, in the past, when I did not like guys very much. In fact, *hate* would be a more accurate term.
It's not the healthiest response to gendered trauma and oppression but it's real.
timberwraith
In other words, hatred is real but if that hatred occurs in a social matrix that already favors the group of people receiving that hatred, the overall impact is limited.
On the flip side, if hatred occurs in a social matrix that already disfavors the group of people receiving that hatred, the overall impact is *accelerated* and readily propagated.
timberwraith
BUT, there can be exceptions.
As usual, I'll give you a personal example to illustrate...
timberwraith
Over the years, I've seen how a dislike of boys/men has spilled over to a dislike of trans girls/trans women among some cis women and in some cis feminist spaces.
This happens because of misgendering and a refusal to see trans girls and trans women as female. We are misgendered by some as male and as gender variant boys/men rather than as girls/women.
And so, some of those feelings of hatred/animosity toward men are directed toward us.
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