Written by: Sonishma Basnet - 2022021, Grade X
Posted on: 21 March, 2021
Kill all men is a hyperbole term used as a protest by women against sexual, domestic abusers. It is a protest that got trending first on Twitter in mid of 2020 by victimized women of patriarchy and the abusive living environment created to them by men. Even though it started as a protest to remove toxic masculinity and end patriarchy, the phrase itself has brought a huge controversy in the world as males and females refer to it literally and use it as misandry.
I believe the term itself doesn’t harm any males and it never meant for it. For centuries-long oppression faced by women of all sorts in all means, men should not be offended by it. Even in today’s world girls are abused and are not given proper attention. There are men who rape young girls even of the age of 6 and 7 and kill them brutally, there are men who physically and mentally abuse their women, there have been cases of women being victim rape and sexual abuse by their own relatives, cousins, brothers, and even fathers. And many times their voices and pain are unheard and unnoticed. They spent their whole life being prey for those men. And in this context, stating to kill all men for their justice and voices to be heard is not an offendable act. It is a bold statement that speaks for world equality and equal position in society for all genders.
However, even though this protest was meant for good and world peace there are some pseudo-feminists who use the term literally to attack all men in any situation. they‘ve been using the term attacking and use it to define men. Which in all means is a wrong thing to do. Also how many media reports have been showing it is also wrong. The media often portrays this term as something that normalizes violence against men and there have been cases where protesters brought up the term “Kill all women '' not understanding the meaning and irony of the original phrase and these people have been encouraging males to believe so. Kill all men is a slogan that originated after years of anger felt in women due to oppression and violence while killing all women is after women started asking for their rights. Also, women have always had a minor role in society, they are always kept under males which is why being suppressed is a norm. While males on the other hand being abused are less of a problem the world faces. This obviously does not mean men are not being abused and their voices should not be heard. There are clear differences and gaps between the two terms.
Our society is in desperate need of social progress. And all this word emphasizes is for that. It stands for women being equal to men in an ironic way by mocking toxic masculinity and patriarchal society. It is created with the concept of bringing discomfort in men which may lead to them working together with women to bring equality. It is a plea to end their traumas and disturbing experiences and end the world which mostly belongs only to men. And men should understand this phrase is not something that means to shed blood from the men’s body. And if there are people who are offended by the term, they should work on bringing equality and treating women with respect rather than protesting against it and try to bring women down even more.
