Rodney Rock:
What up, everybody! I'm Rodney Rock, and I am a feminist. And I believe that all men need to be feminist. All men need to be advocates of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality of men. Because without a shadow of a doubt, there is an inherent inequality between males and females all over the world. I can throw a tank top on, go to the mall, walk on the street all by myself, and feel completely safe and protected. A woman, on the other hand, could do the same thing, but still be faced with harassment and even could legitimately fear for their own livelihood. That is a horrible reality.
This is a conversation I feel more and more men need to have because just by virtue of being born with a penis, we are a part of the culture of misogyny and inequality. That's a little harsh, right? What, you don't believe me? Well, say you're at a party with your friends and one guy says, "I mean, with the way that she's dressed, how does she expect me to act, right?" And you don't even necessarily agree, you just kind of laugh along and let it slide. You are perpetuating the misogyny because by laughing along with that kind of misogynistic comment, you say it's OK to make them. You say it's OK to objectify women and you encourage the douchebag for saying these idiotic things. I see this happen with a lot of young guys who want to belong and want to be accepted. But guess what, boys? You earn respect by setting off the what's good and right, and for calling out your friends on their bullshit.
What's even more maddening is that there are intelligent guys out there who come up with these idiotic solutions that sound like they know what they're talking about. Here is, sadly, an extremely common example. "I mean, she was talking about how she was getting hit on and harassed a whole bunch. If that's happening to her, why doesn't she just reconsider what she's wearing, so she's not provoking all this attention?" Oh my God, girls, we are so smart, right? We're so smart. No. First off, why should women have to change? Why can't we, as men, grow some character and learn how to show respect, instead of taking everything as a invitation for sex.
And I'm not trying to point fingers because for a long time, what that idiot said, used to sound like something that made sense to me. And it's such a common thing for guys to get together and reinforce that kind of notion. But what I've failed to understand, what I had failed to perceive, is that it has nothing to do with what women wear or how they present themselves. On several occasions, I've observed my sister, I've observed my girlfriend dressed in their sweats and their hoodie, no makeup on their face, trying their best to be obscure. And they're still objectified, hit on, and harassed. It's not on them, fellas. It's on us. Ask any woman. It doesn't matter what they wear, they still can be victimized by men on a daily basis.
Now, I know it can be hard to spot. Inequality and sexism is so stealthily ingrained into our society that oftentimes, you don't even notice it. But women do. They must constantly deal with the objectification, the sexism, and the inequalities of our society. How many female actors get paid as much as Robert Downey Jr.? How many female C.E.O.s are there? How many females are there with start-ups?
So we've got to train ourselves to be mindful and ever active in our pursuit of the equality of the sexes. We've got to do our parts. Make sure that our future mothers, daughters, sisters are afforded the same opportunities that we are. So fellow fellas, I'm a feminist and you should be too. [Ha hi!]
There may be small errors in this transcript.
