On New Year’s Eve in Bangalore, India, several women claimed they were molested and heckled in a crowd of thousands. A public official there said the crime was prompted by the victims’ resemblance to “westerners.” As commenters called out the government for what seemed like justification for the attack and the online conversation snowballed, some men chimed in with the age-old response that “not all men” commit these kinds of acts. Women were quick to dismiss that tired argument. “Stop diluting the issue,” one wrote.
The “not all men” defense had a moment back in 2014 when it was mocked mercilessly in Internet memes that skewered it as tone deaf and characterized it as missing the point completely. Around that same time, writer Jess Zimmerman argued in a Time magazine piece that the “not all men” argument was actually an odd step forward from other perennial responses like “what about the men?” and “patriarchy hurts men too.” While infuriating, at least the former acknowledges that rape, sexism, and misogyny are serious issues. From the “not all men” level, Zimmerman wrote, men could progress to the next stages of awareness. That would entail them recognizing that they are unavoidably sexist sometimes because they were socialized that way, and to be anti-sexist, they have to actively work against that socialization.
If the response to this weekend’s attack in Bangalore is any indication, we’re not to that level yet.