all-male feminist support group

Portlandia mocks showy male feminists

Today on Portlandia, Fred and his all-male feminist support group full of self-congratulatory allies are on a mission to “solve feminism.” 

Aaaaand applause.

Transcript:

Hi everybody, I’m Doug. This is my first time doing a male feminist meeting.

Hi, Doug. [applause]

I guess I’ll just start off talking about what kind of feminist I am. I’ve never hired a geisha. [Applause] I’ve been saying to ladies on the street, Are you a doctor? Hi, I’m sorry, are you a doctor? Just so there’s not a feeling of it like only men can be doctors. When I watch TV I’m never like, Oh man, look at that lady, man. Woah, she’s a blond, she’s a brunette, she’s a red head. Well, what the hell does it matter what color their hair is?

Yeah, I don’t even see hair color.

I don’t even see hair. I just see bald women. [applause, blowhorn]

I used to be the worst of the worst. I would look at women like–you know. I would say hubba hubba. But them I met a girl and she was a feminist. Next thing you know, I’m…a feminist. [applause]

It takes a lot to say that.

Great story. [blowhorn]

I just wish there was a way that we could be like, validated for being such great feminists.

So we have to be showy about it. We can’t just be quiet. We have to be showy. We have to brag about being male feminists. For lack of a better word, it’s bragging.

Some day they’re going to write an article about us. And there’s gonna be like black and white photos of us like– [pose]. We’re pretty powerful dudes. We can gain more. We can do a lot more. And you have got to pay more attention, buddy. I’m just worried that you’re just part of the problem. Our job, guys, fellas, people, is to solve feminism.

To solving feminism. [cheers, applause]

 

 

St. Paul, MN

Maya Dusenbery is executive director in charge of editorial at Feministing. She is the author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick (HarperOne, March 2018). She has been a fellow at Mother Jones magazine and a columnist at Pacific Standard magazine. Her work has appeared in publications like Cosmopolitan.com, TheAtlantic.com, Bitch Magazine, as well as the anthology The Feminist Utopia Project. Before become a full-time journalist, she worked at the National Institute for Reproductive Health. A Minnesota native, she received her B.A. from Carleton College in 2008. After living in Brooklyn, Oakland, and Atlanta, she is currently based in the Twin Cities.

Maya Dusenbery is an executive director of Feministing and author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm on sexism in medicine.

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