Flawed Villain and Echoes of White Feminism
I wrote about this on Facebook first— this clock app beef between the “misandrists” (pause for laugh track) and, particularly, a grifter who was obviously pro-MAGA while spewing her anti-XY chromosome rhetoric. I mentioned previously that I felt like the whole kerfuffle was simply chickens coming home to roost. 🐓🐥
Yet, folks seemingly confused really wanted to unpack this “pink pill 💊to alt-right pipeline” and the “Flawed Villain” (pro-MAGA👲, misandrist grifter) discourse, because there are multiple layers here. 👀
The biggest point? Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. When most white feminists say they’re “pro-women,” they’re often not including Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian women. Sometimes it’s purposeful; sometimes it’s internalized bias they may not be aware of.
Overwhelmingly, Black women along with other women of color are frequently the first ones sacrificed on the road to obtaining [their/white feminists’] goals. “Flawed Villain” voting for Mango Mussolini while espousing a pro-woman stance, despite his obvious misogynistic stances and being anti-all other races (especially Latina women being affected by barbaric ICE raids and Black women like the deceased Adriana Smith, used as a human incubator posthumously), proves my point: for them, “all women” usually just means them.
“Flawed Villain” is essentially repeating the groundwork laid years ago by figures like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Gloria Steinem. They turn on the women they “other” when it’s convenient. Ms. Anthony and Ms. Stanton both bristled at the possibility of Black men getting the right to vote over white women. Who could forget Gloria Steinham despite the years of collaboration with Shirley Chisolm with Ms. Magazine and N.O.W. threw her support behind a male candidate against Shirleys' presidential bid in 1972.
In my humble opinion, “Flawed Villain” — much like Gloria Steinem admitted to being a CIA operative — is a plant. Not for any “alphabet boys,” (who knows?) but likely for dark-money GOP organizations designed to create dissent online.
Lastly, we need to examine how white people are afforded the luxury of trying on different personas and ideologies as cosplay. The white classmates who in high school were taking up social causes, marching, lecturing us on supporting institutions that supported genocide, listening to Rage Against the Machine and the Grateful Dead graduated to become young Republicans with the staunchest anti poor and working class stances.
So, the moral of the story: if some nondescript, random alabaster woman is being forced down your FYP without your consent, do your research. At best, she’s trying on a new persona to monetize her page. At worst, she’s a full-on opp. Be safe out there.