I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Why not, right? We all have our own problems to deal with and you never know what exactly is going on in someone's life to influence them in the present. Naturally, this applies to everyone, but unfortunately, some don't see it this way. Some would rather plug their ears to anything that isn't blind agreement or condemnation of what they themselves dislike.

Full disclosure, I'm a woman. Throughout my life, the subject of gender influence in society became more and more complicated, and the tide became aggressive. Before I had a chance to form my own opinions, I was told I'm right. Before I'm given proper judgement, I was told I'm innocent. Before I could blame myself, it wasn't my fault. It's all so patronizing to be treated like I could do no wrong, and that I'm not responsible for my own actions and undeserving of being reprimanded for the problems I cause. Have I always been free to do whatever I want under full social protection? No, of course not. But far too many times when I feel like I'm the wrong one in an argument, someone's there to 'defend me.'

But there's a catch to all this: You have to conform. If you disagree, you aren't one of them. If you argue on behalf of men, you're part of the problem. If you don't mind being taken off the pedestal you never wanted to be on in the first place, said pedestal is destroyed and you never deserved it. Radicals exist everywhere, no group of people big or small exist without a few troublemakers and bullshit actions, but apparently, as a female, you either join the hive mind, or they'll turn their back on you. Suddenly being a woman isn't enough to earn their good graces when it was all that mattered prior to speaking out.

I was ostracized from one of my social circles after it came out that I didn't agree with most of their views on gender politics. It was a gradual, gaslighting phase-out where all of a sudden my messages are ignored and I'm invited less and less to calls and gatherings. I concede that there could be other reasons for the sudden shift, but their attitudes and the timing of it all seemed pretty clear on my end. It hurt because they were great friends, and I miss them dearly... but I'm not peer-pressured into despising men in totality, which is where the line is drawn.

Fighting against the patronizing words I've been told all my life makes me a traitor of some kind. I guess that makes me an outcast. Be loud and proud of your feminity, unless your opinion isn't the same inane bullshit, in which you can go fuck yourself.

There aren't many places for a woman to turn to when she disagrees with the majority opinion, and when there's a space to discover and discuss these concepts, your feminine membership card expires and your thoughts are valueless. It's a frustrating cycle, to say the least.

I'm sure not everyone here approves of me being here, and I understand that, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are plenty of us on your side in all this. I would never claim to have a harder life by any means, I hope it didn't come across that way. But regardless, just thought I'd share a little perspective from the other side. Best of luck to anyone dealing these physical and mental assaults to their comfort in their gender.

TL;DR: There's an assumption that all women should agree with the majority opinion, and being ostracized or considered a 'traitor' for disagreeing is an unfortunate reality a lot of people have to put up with.