hgoddyn

Hi Cassie, I was very enthousastic when I first came across your project, as a former feminist turned egalitarian focussing on men's rights myself. However I notice a lot of people in the men's rights community are very sceptical about you (I'm not that familiar with your past work I'm afraid, but I will look it up) and the media in general. So I hope you don't mind I bunch a few seperate questions into one, but here goes.

A lot of the media coverage of men's issues and especially people involved in advocation of these issues has been anything but objective. Especially if those advocates are white men. Being a feminist yourself, do you think you are approaching this project with an open mind? And as a feminist, did you find it hard to do so? (I've been there, and (also being a woman) I had a very hard time with coming to terms with reality in the beginning)

And also what has been your goal from the start? Did you want to go in depth on the 'manosphere' in general? (including PUA's, RedPillers, MGTOW's, MRA's, and other 'groups'?) Or did you specifically want to look at men's issues that are finally starting to slowly make it into the mainstream media, often in SPITE of feminists.

And also, having been through it myself I had a harm time coming to terms with the blame feminists got in the men's rights community at first. But after seeing all the ways in which (radical) feminists and feminist organisations in positions of power and influence have actively stood in the way of men's issues being dealt with, and in fact often making them worse, I now understand it and have become slightly anti-feministic myself. Although I am glad many still differentiate between moderate and radical feminists. I think a lot of the opposition to the men's movement is mainly caused by ignorance, propaganda, and fear.

How did you deal with that? Because I know it can sometimes be quite overwhelming. Specifically coming from people like Paul Elam who - although I agree with most of what he says - is hardly as ... diplomatic as Karen Straughan or Christina Hoff Sommers.

Either way, from the trailer footage I've seen I am very hopeful you have approached this from a neutral and objective standpoint, and am very curious about the end result. I also hope this AMA helps the many doubters in the men's rights community decide if they want to financially support you or not.

Even in the worst case scenario that it doesn't gain much mainstream traction (which wouldn't surprise me given how the mainstream media does it's best to avoid this topic) I'm sure it would be extremely succesful on YouTube, and perhaps from there on lead a life of it's own. It's hard to ignore a video that goes viral, after all.

I think that really depends on if you see the feminist movement as a continueing movement or not, which I don't. I was an active first wave feminist, a passive second wave feminist, and an ANTI-third wave feminist. Now I prefer to distance myself from what the feminist movement has become and identify as an egalitarian that mainly focuses on men's issues, now that I feel the feminist battles in the west have been fought and won.

If you are interested, there was an interesting article about this just a couple of days ago, that does a rather good job covering it: http://new.spectator.co.uk/2015/10/the-decline-of-feminism/

I think they would be better off calling themselves egalitarians rather than feminists, to be honest.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but yes, in short I do hope - and think - that feminism will decline even further. However I also believe that will result in the increase of people calling themselves egalitarians/humanists, and will also result in the formation of less gendered organisations in positions of power and influence. For example, rather than having NOW, the national organisation for women, there would simply be the 'national organisation for equality', or something like that. And instead of the 'violence against women act', there would be the 'anti-violence act' or something like that. Etc etc. I think a lot of the causes of many societal problems are precisely this one sided approach, nearly exclusively on women and female victims. Even though very often half the victims of those same issues are male, but they get no attention, help, or are even mentioned.

And for that to happen yes, I do think the feminist movement has to not only continue to decline, but also admit that it has done a lot of harm to gender equality in the western world.

I know we won't agree on that last part, and we don't need to. Either way, I am sure as more awareness to these issues is raised, there will be a more - genuine - egalitarian approach. And that's what matters. Not my personal need for vengeance :-)