On Male Authorities and the Gender Inequality Problem

I remember having a conversation a while ago with a friend, who is back in Nigeria. I don't remember specifics of this conversation, and I'm not bothered enough to think about it. I'm pretty sure though that it hovered around U.S. politics. We were debating (or so I thought), and going back and forth on an issue. And before I could say Haagen Dazs, I was being accused of having "issues with male authority." Me? Moi? Èmi?

Pause.

If this was a sitcom, the narrator would say: It was at this moment Ife realized a fact of life. As a woman, no matter how smart you are, someday, some guy would definitely mansplain to you, without forgetting to patronize you in the process. To be honest, I don't necessarily care that a person has a dissenting opinion from mine. I like to think I can disagree with you/engage in a healthy debate, and not resort to absurd accusations, and also still remain friends. But to so carelessly dismiss my opinion and call me "sentimental" even after giving you objective facts is confusing. To not even for a second consider I could, you know be able to reason objectively, without my hormones interjecting. As if women don't know have brains to think; we are strictly controlled by our feelings. To be so condescending; so disrespectful; so dismissive of what I had to say. Now that's just rude. Had I been a man, there is NO way this person would have called my argument "sentimental". I remember having to explain that I wasn't just spouting off things off the top of my head: in fact, I had to explain that I had worked with/studied some of these things. Nope, he conspicuously ignored all of that. So to say I have issues with male authority because I disagreed with you, thereby implying you are some sort of authority is just...nonsensical at best, and outright misogyny at worst. How does the ordinary virtue of being a man make you an authority over me or anyone else for that matter? HOW? How can you believe that you are inherently superior to/better than someone else, either because of your sex or race?

Woah. Misogyny. Ife, how did we get here? I will tell you.

I remember saying misogyny and sexual assault aren't trivial issues to be just swept aside. To which, this so called male authority responded that they were no issues to him in any way. It was at this point, I think, that I went crazy. I remember being so furious, I was probably hyperventilating. What?!

And because I find that when you are quiet in the presence of bullies; when you don't give them a rebuttal, you are enabling them. So school them instead. Of course this will come with the risk of being called angry or accused of having issues with male authority or whatever else rocks their boats. Do it anyway. Because for every such man who merely thinks women are lesser creatures than men, there is another who actually acts as though men are inherently better. So no I have no problem with male authority. I just have a problem with rape apologists, sexual assault, misogyny, and gender inequality.

Anyway, that was just a story I remembered and wanted to share. I find that people usually prefer silence; they'd want you to be subservient, to cower. Nah. With that said, I should probably head on to the main reason for this post. I found some tweets, which really demonstrate why everyone should be feminists.