On Ignorant Anti-Feminists

E Lawrence, over at Women in Theology, on interacting with men who are not sympathetic to feminism while also being ignorant of it:

 "I suddenly find myself having to play the dual role not only of adversary but also of educator, all at the same time. It’s like being around somebody who wants you to hold his hand while he slaps you with the other. So I end up having to defend the legitimacy of feminist concerns and method to somebody who has never taken the time to learn these fundamentals and who perhaps asks questions from the baseless presupposition that feminist concerns are invalid and perhaps even dangerous."

Yes, I can relate, as I'm sure many feminist readers can as well.

In fact, some give-aways that I'm dealing with what I'll call the Ignorant Anti-Feminist include:

• dismissing feminist blogs as a "feminist echo chambers" ;
• making fantastical statements about the "death of feminism";
• feeling a pressing need to play Devil's Advocate to the "brainwashed women's studies set";  
• citing Rush Limbaugh quotes about feminism rather than citing actual in-context quotes by actual feminists; and
• believing that men and women act the way they do for "obvious, evolutionary reasons";

While it can be quite telling to actually press the Ignorant Anti-Feminist to share their actual "knowledge" and "familiarity" with feminism and hear *cricket cricket cricket* in response, it's actually one of my least fave Internet experiences to interact with men who expect me to coddle their ignorance as they simultaneously act hostile toward all of feminism, pretty much everything I say, and everything they think that I think.