Although I respect your opinion and feminism as a whole, this Buzzfeed style of social justice is ridiculous. This type of article makes feminism less accessible to every male on the planet, because it’s always the man’s fault. Making real social progress is impossible if you make it impossible to support. It’s as if you blame every problem women have exclusively on men.

In the opening sentence, you suggest that men and women are treated differently. Maybe this is a valid point, but it doesn’t pertain to anything else in the article. All that was discussed was how men and women act differently, not how they are treated. Truthfully the only thing I gathered about women is that as a whole they have awful spending habits.

One of the bigger ideas that I hear thrown around in the realm of feminism is the “expectations” men put on women. This seems to be the main focus of your argument. You talked about how women absolutely must have a brand new dress, exquisite nails, and amazing hair. It would be absurd to say that men are the ones who create those beauty expectations. No guy will ever notice if your dress is new, or how much it costs. No guy will ever know how much you paid your hairdresser, or what they did to it. No guy will ever care what color your nails are. No guy will ever know if your jewelry from exploited African children is real. I’d also like to add that most men would be more appalled by wearing excessive makeup than none at all. The only ones who discuss and fret about these standards are women. Before anyone asks why I am able to speak for men and not the author, it is because I am a male. The author is not.

Before being enlightened by this article, I was unaware that only women have to spend money at school dances. I now understand that men don’t have to pay for clothes, even though they grow out of their old ones. I never realized I didn’t have to pay for my dates dinner, yet society always told me I did. I never knew I didn’t have to buy new shoes, even though the ones I wear every week wore out. Oh, I almost forgot I didn’t know women were forced to buy inherently impractical clothes. I mean it truly is an obvious afterthought to buy something that can be worn more than once. Huh, sure learned a lot today.

It may be true that women are seen as high maintenance, but this article only contributes to that stereotype. By making arguements that are based in feelings and emotions rather than facts and evidence, you come off slightly irrational. Although this is a strategy used successfully by many politicians, I doubt you’d want to use Donald Trump’s campaign tactics to gain feminist support.

Gender roles are another major point of feminism. This is a major double standard. While women are seen as the emotional ones, I have been trained since birth to be tough and hide my emotions: ever heard the phrase “man up”? While the traditional gender roles still exist, the negative side effects aren’t purely on women.

Generally at formal events, the goal is to look your best, and the same applies to homecoming. If you have a date, I would think it is respectful to to be hygienic. Hygiene is not unreciprocated between both parties. I will also look unkempt if I don’t shave. I will look unkempt if I don’t get a haircut. If you don’t shave your leg, armpit or toe (singular not plural apparently) you may come off as untidy, which I would thonk is somewhat disrespectful to a date. Yes, preparing for the dance may be more time consuming for females, but it is not unchallenged. If you don’t have a date and are only going with friends, then who cares. If you are only going with friends and you still feel these beauty expectations, you prove my point that these standards are put on by women, not men.

So while your emotional rant may seem like fact to some, most of it is completely false. While feminism has a purpose, this article steps way outside that purpose and unfairly portrays the roles of women and men in society. However, people don’t recognize this, resulting in people like myself being labeled mysoginistic for “opposing feminism”.

PREACH!

I would say that if it’s a person’s personal choice, regardless of gender, they should be able to wear whatever they would like, no matter what however if someone is doing it just because of patricarchal pressure, it’s definitely a problem! People should have their own personal choice over themselves and their actions.

While I don’t deny any of the statements you wrote, I would like to point out that males feel an equal amount of pressure too. They spend hundreds on a tux, transportation, dinner, fragrance, etc, all to make themselves appear presentable for the person that they asked out. Also, more often than not, since society has engrained it into many, it’s the males who go out on a limb to propose. It’s all a matter of respect to for both of them to look presentable for each other.