The Men “Rebranding Masculinity” Are Always The Creeps

Only one month before Election Day in America, shocking allegations emerged against current vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff. According to DailyMail, he not only assaulted his ex-girlfriend but also cheated on his first wife and mother of his children with his daughter’s nanny. Worse, he reportedly impregnated her.

Harris, a bastion of feminism in the eyes of liberal Americans, should indeed surround herself with feminist men, no? If the allegations are in fact true, then Emhoff’s reputation as a “wife guy” who “reshaped the perception of masculinity” must be a total sham. 

And this is all too believable. Why? Well, feminist men – no matter their claims of being allies toward women and against so-called toxic masculinity – are some of the creepiest guys on the planet.

Why Rebrand Masculinity in the First Place?

Earlier this summer, the Harris campaign gave us top-level cringe during their “White Dudes for Harris” fundraising event held on Zoom. It was followed up with a female counterpart: “Women for Kamala.” I mean, you’d assume it’s the female equivalent, but as it turns out, it featured a man identifying as a transgender woman known as Charlotte Clymer.

Clymer, who was once known as Charles Clymer, was a male feminist turned gender radical. According to Andy Ngo, a journalist from The Post Millennial, Clymer “rebranded himself” into a woman after being kicked out of the feminist movement. Why was he kicked out? Allegedly, he was abusive toward women.

While we have no tangible proof to these claims, it does reek of the typical male feminist affliction: men who are fundamentally insecure about their masculinity simp for women’s rights because, deep down, they see women as gullible tools for their selfish use.

The “rebrand” of masculinity is, by and large, a product of cultural Marxism. Influential male figures seek to subvert traditional concepts of masculinity that they perceive as “toxic” traits that hold back women and minorities. Self-sacrificing codes of ethics and chivalry? That’s homophobic and sexist, according to male feminists. They say men should learn from “queer men” like Billy Porter, Harry Styles, and more who “have a greater zeal and lust for life” after they reject capitalist “patriarchal conditioning.” And if men push back against masculinity’s rebrand, they’re accused of merely projecting their own self-hatred.

Those who fall into the trap end up in one of two camps, wisely broken down by Josie Glabach, a.k.a. The Redheaded Libertarian on X. First, you’ve got male feminists who take on a “hero” role, but their heroism is predicated on how many vulnerable women they can coax into casual sex. 

“Often times these movements benefit his desire to use women consequence free, like pro-abortion rallies. This behavior inflates his illusion that he is masculine but that illusion is fragile because he is weak and selfish,” Glabach wrote on X. 

Next, you’ve got the male autogynephile, who derives power and pleasure from inserting himself into women’s spaces – whether that’s sports teams, sororities, scholarships, or even prisons. 

“He will using [sic] the government, the courts, and sympathetic media and activists to enforce his fetish, and overpower and humiliate any woman who stands up to him. This male plays the victim,” wrote Glabach.

Glabach wrote that both male feminists and autogynephiles are acting selfishly, using Machiavellian tactics to “harm and overpower women in different ways for sexual satisfaction.”

Since this phenomenon cannot be proven by double-blind, peer-reviewed research, we cannot say for sure that all men who clamor for a masculinity rebrand are creeps, but there sure is a weird, anecdotal track record to back up the claims.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Before Emhoff and Clymer, the biggest male feminist scandal revolved around writer and director Joss Whedon. Once a powerful cog in the Hollywood machine, Whedon’s public image was destroyed by misogyny allegations. Despite touting himself as a feminist man, stories emerged that he was anything but an ally to women.

Beyond Hollywood, you can look to more anecdotal evidence from users online (albeit anonymous) who share their stories on forums like Reddit. One user in r/TwoXChromosomes, a subreddit for women’s perspectives, confessed that the “worst, most backwards men” she ever dated were self-identified male feminists, one of which would shame her for her eating habits and treat her like a maid, and the other who was allegedly a rapist.

Another redditor on r/TooAfraidToAsk, a subreddit for people who have questions that may not be suitable for casual conversation, posed a question: “Why does it feel like the guys who are the most feminist are also the ones leaving the most creep-like comments on girls' posts?”

The redditor explained that his male feminist friends, who speak out against misogyny and "call out" creeps, regularly leave inappropriate comments on women’s posts. The top commenter in the thread said, from his perspective as a man, “Men who say they are feminists are notoriously creepy. I can easily support equality without having to label myself, and I find that with that particular label, many of the men using it are doing it performatively.”

Another chimed in to say, “My motto has always been, ‘Never trust a man who says he’s a feminist.’ Because he’s about to say or do something incredibly misogynistic.”

In yet another thread, this time on r/self, a subreddit for personal discussions and questions, another redditor complained, “Every f***ing time one of my female friends have had a bad case of an stalker or a f***ing abuser it's always the ‘I respect women’ guy. [sic]” 

Again, don’t blindly trust things you read online, but it is curious how many people share similar sentiments. I’m just not convinced that hardcore male feminists all have noble intentions. It’s a red flag when anyone tries too hard to prove themselves. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put it best when she said, “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”

It’s all too common to laugh off masculine behaviors as being “cope” and overcompensation, like when people say, “The bigger the truck, the smaller the junk.” So why can’t the same principle apply here? Men bending over backward to dismantle the capitalist patriarchy are overcompensating for their genuinely problematic beliefs. 

Do pro-abortion men actually want women to experience free sexuality, or do they secretly feel relief when they know they can have as much sex as they want without ever having to face the consequences? Not only do they not get tied down to a woman who may want to keep the child growing in her womb, but they don’t even have to experience the physical and emotional effects of chemical or surgical abortions. They’re so far removed from the process. It’s easy to see how feminist men profit off the pro-choice movement.

If they don’t have ill intentions, then chances are they’re just socially awkward, emotionally castrated guys who have been chronically online and lack life experience for behaving normally around women. Feminism offers these types an easier road to communicate with the opposite sex, but they still struggle since they lack social skills.

Men who truly respect women don’t have to tell you they do – they just do! Honest masculinity helps men find meaning in standing up for those they love and the causes they believe in. They don’t seek glory for their good deeds; they act on principle.

Closing Thoughts

Masculinity isn’t a problem. Predatory men who use machismo or an effeminate take on masculinity to assert their dominance are a problem. We’re already skeptical of those who profit off insecurities, such as Big Pharma’s big bucks made from the body positivity movement. So, we should be equally wary of people who profit off a particular cultural moment, whether that’s a health trend or the movement to “dismantle the patriarchy.”