Why Do Radical Feminists Resent Men’s Clubs?

Chief Concierge Michael D. Anderson (L) and Assistant Chief Concierge Simon Matthews from The Observatory Hotel pose for photos in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 22, 2007. AAP Image/Jeremy Piper

Commentary

Feminists seem endlessly to covet things that give men a thrill. They are working hard to take over all the boys’ clubs—the organisations and activities previously reserved for males—determined that men shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy what was traditionally their territory.

It is like covetous children. Haven’t we all witnessed kids who have no interest in a toy or activity until it attracts the attention of another child, particularly a sibling? Then the battle is on, as the first child seeks what the other one has.

Everywhere there are individuals making the case that men should be forced to share their toys. Toys like bicycles.

With twice as many men as women enjoying regular cycling, there’s a major push to attract more women, and that means making it safer. Fair enough.

But according to gender researcher Kate Jelly, this means we must “build cycling infrastructure that is explicitly feminist.”

Her article argued that the reason more British men than women use bicycles is that tge “UK’s cycling infrastructure is especially hostile to women.”

“We have normalised a society in which men can move around as they please while the rest of us fear for our lives for the simple act of travelling home,” she writes.

And the evidence for this statement? Jelly digs up a study that found that motorists are 3.8 times more likely to pass too closely to female than male cyclists (pdf).

It turns out this research study, from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, studied only ONE female and two male cyclists, measuring the distance between the cyclist and the passing motorist in nearly 3,000 separate events.

Their data, in fact, revealed almost all the motorists behaved well— with all but 1.12 percent keeping the required safe three-foot distance from the cyclists. And the much-heralded greater hazard for women turned out to be based on motorists passing three inches closer to the women (68 inches compared to 71 inches) in the tiny number of risky passes.

A cyclist rides along an empty St Kilda Road in Melbourne, Australia, on June 5, 2021. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Is there no limit to the lengths gender warriors will go to claim victim status for women? It seems not when arguing that women shun cycling for safety reasons rather than acknowledging more mundane issues like helmet hair.

The lesson is clear—if women believe that the roads aren’t safe for them to ride, then cycling infrastructure will have to change.

Yet an element of risk-taking is surely part of the attraction of cycling for many men, who regularly sail past me on Sydney’s hazardous roads as I dutifully stick to the city’s infuriating cycle paths, complete with uncoordinated traffic lights at every corner.

In the past, it was often the bicycle that gave little boys their first chance to escape their mothers’ skirts, a taste of real freedom, even if it came with the occasional bent bike and a bloody knee.

But now that more women are keen to take up cycling, it is decreed that safety is paramount.

Male Superheroes Turned Female

As Canadian commentator Janice Fiamengo has pointed out, we’ve recently seen women’s obsession with safety in full flight, with mask-clad female health officials leading the push for “safety at all cost” when it came to COVID lockdowns.

Safety at all costs isn’t usually what springs to mind when facing city roads on two narrow, wobbly wheels.

The result is city cycling will end up being a tamer experience.

That’s the point. Whenever women muscle in on men’s activities or interests, the end product is something very different, often holding far less attraction for either gender.

The classic example is the humble comic book featuring the heroic male superhero that entertained generations of little schoolboys—and a few of their female friends.

But when feminism came to control our cultural narrative, it was determined these pale, stale supermales must be shoved off their pedestals.

Comic book creators tinkered with the formula, introducing all manner of female superheroes.

A little boy dressed as Captain America has his photograph taken with Iron Man as they attend the London Super Comic Convention in the Excel Centre in London, England, on March 15, 2014. Mary Turner/Getty Images

That all went down like a lead balloon. Marvel Comic’s Vice President told a 215-person sales conference that “people were turning up their noses” at the new female characters.

His words created an uproar, and he was forced to backtrack, stating his company was proud of its new creations, and the diversity crusade continued.

Recent offerings include the Secret Six’s asexual Indian character, Roshanna Chatterji, the deaf Phoenix host, Maya Echo Lopez, and Marvel’s first Latin-American LGBTQ+ superhero, America Chavez. A thrill a minute, eh?

Traditional fans don’t think so. Last year, non-woke Japanese Manga comics absolutely dominated the market, accounting for more than three of every four comics in the country. American superhero comics made up just 6.5 percent.

Men’s Only Institutions Under Siege

Endless other male bastions are also under siege. The exclusive Australian Club is holding out, still refusing to admit female members after 146 years of men only.

Sydney’s Cranbrook School, an elite private school for boys, is being bullied to submission, forced by a new head to admit girls. The school board resigned in November after strenuously resisting the move.

One of the most outrageous examples of women chasing men’s toys is their demand for entry into Men’s Sheds.

This organisation was started exclusively for males only about 15 years ago—designed particularly for older retired men to support each other. But suddenly women wanted in, and sheds came under pressure from women who wanted to join cosy woodwork sessions with the boys.

It’s led to a huge split in the movement between those still keen to promote the mateship they believe is vital to support vulnerable men and those seeking brownie points from the ladies by embracing inclusiveness.

The jury is still out as to which side will prevail, but given the thousands of women’s organisations thriving across the country, it is quite remarkable that blokes weren’t allowed to keep this one for themselves.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.