Theindigowitch

Biosecurity

Customs management (you do not want people importing a bunch of stuff that doesn't meet your country's safety standards, for example)

Things like that one lake in Europe where three national borders coincide and they built an island specifically so you can run between countries for fun

Things borders shouldn't be for:

How to talk to doctors

Emphasizing that it was only offering an opinion and any choice made would be acceptable, a little voice reportedly whispered, “…or you could just get takeout,” Tuesday despite already knowing it had won. “Just offering my two cents here, but it’s been a tough day at work, and there’s always pad Thai from the place around the corner,” said the soft-spoken interior monologue, admitting that it was ultimately your decision, even as it knew full-well that the battle was over before it began.

I thought we made fun of MRAs because they are misguided and misogynistic for believing that feminism is against their interests and they need a movement apart from it. I thought we made fun of them for not understanding that feminism is in favor of men's liberation from the oppressive patriarchal binary as much as women's.

But some of you are actually making fun of MRAs because you think men have no problems to complain about, and feminism ISN'T for men, because they don't need anything, and the patriarchy isn't the enemy, men are?

But some of you are actually making fun of any men who ask to be taken seriously and have their needs met and issues heard, even though they aren't talking over women? Some of you are making fun of marginalized men for talking about the experiences at their unique intersections of identities and asking for justice because you actually DO think "all men [insert bad behavior here]?"

This is why you sound like a clown if you say "trans men who want feminism to be for them are misgendering themselves" and "trans men benefit from the patriarchy because all men benefit from the patriarchy" and "trans men experience no unique injustices because misandry isn't a systemic axis of oppression" and "trans men have male privilege so they can't be oppressed."

Because even if you take "trans" out of these statements, they're still incorrect. Feminism is for people of all genders. Men can be harmed by the patriarchy. The ways in which men are harmed by the patriarchy are different from the ways others are harmed by the patriarchy. Having certain "privileges" in certain contexts doesn't negate the harm of a rigid social structure that punishes nonconformity.

The patriarchy is a system where ALL people have rigid roles imposed upon them. All else being equal, certain advantages are more likely to be given to men (or masculine people, or people AMAB, or people with male sex characteristics, depending on CONTEXT). But all else is RARELY equal and even when it is, the range of experiences is vast, and the system is rigged against almost everyone.

Because the goal most individuals have, and the right all individuals deserve, is to be themselves, and to do so by choice. And no matter who you are, the patriarchy stands in opposition to this goal. It tells you who you're allowed to be, who you're not allowed to be, what you're allowed to do, and what others are allowed to do to you. This is an injustice for people of all genders.

We're ALL trapped. This system can only be dismantled if we understand the WHOLE thing. Which means we need to listen to everyone when they talk about the harms the system is causing them, from where THEY'RE stuck in it.

in both cases, the primary emotional argument is "these people are faking something in order to gain access to spaces and/or resources that belong to a different group who REALLY has that thing" and in both cases the thing that people are supposedly trying to gain access to is a broken system designed to marginalize a group of people so that other people dont have to think about them.

women's sports are less prestigious, less lucrative, and less well-funded than men's sports. they exist as a way to silo competent women away from men who might be discouraged that a woman is better at a thing than they are and so that everyone else can say, "look, we respect women, we gave them their own sports!" and pat themselves on the back for handing out peanuts.

disability payments (in the US at least) are difficult to get, easy to lose, impose harsh restrictions on ones finances, and dont even pay that well. they exist so that politicians can pretend we have an effective social safety network, despite the inordinate requirements meaning many people who qualify will never recieve their benefits, and many who should qualify do not.

in both cases, the juice is simply not worth the squeeze. the idea of a man choosing to pretend to be a woman in order to win at a sport that will pay and respect him less is absurd. the idea of someone faking a disability to a doctor in order to then spend months or years trying to legally prove their disability so they can make less than they would working at mcdonalds and never be allowed to save money or get married is absurd. an athlete who wants an easier time winning will probably just take steroids. a person who has the resources and time necessary to fake a disability to the government could probably find a job that pays more for less effort.