Simply labeling something as satire does not make it satire. The primary purpose of satire is to expose the flaws of a system or movement in an entertaining way. Meninism, the self-proclaimed satirical Twitter movement that is mocking feminism, is not satire; it is a harmful farce that is trivializing serious societal issues.

The majority of the things most “meninists” say are exactly the things that misogynists say. The tweets constantly refer to women in derogatory terms. One specifically offensive tweet from @TheMeninism reads, “I don’t understand why women wear watches when there’s a perfectly good clock on the stove.” Joking about issues such as sexual assault and domestic violence is unacceptable. Prefacing these statements with “parody” or “sarcasm” does not excuse their harmful nature. This is essentially the same thing as punching a stranger in the face and expecting it to be excused because it was intended to be a prank. Not only are these Twitter accounts perpetuating the objectification and shaming of women for their sexual activity, but they are also furthering misconceptions about the feminist movement, depicting it as an extremist cause that is about bringing men down, instead of bringing women up.

As it stands, feminism is extremely necessary in our society and will remain necessary until serious progress is made. Women make significantly less than their male counterparts, are forced to walk the streets in fear of being sexually assaulted and are constantly put down for embracing their body.

This, among many other things, is what feminism is working to change. Asserting that the struggles faced by men in contemporary America are anywhere near as serious as those faced by women is distasteful and largely false. There is, of course, a place to critique the modern feminist movement, but this is not what meninism is doing or even attempting to do. Although it may have started as an attack on third-wave feminism, it has digressed into a breeding ground for misogyny. It is acting as if the struggles faced by women in our society are not serious, which is nothing but harmful.