By transposing a couple of letters from "Men" and "Women" and mashing them together, I have arrived at Me&Wo. Short for Men and Women the Me&Wo movement strives to improve the lives of both men and women. If you're thinking to yourself "this is an absolute joke, an acronym of Meow and a picture of a cat are not going to translate into real, sustainable, meaningful change, rest assured there is an underlying logic behind the name and the representation. And, since nothing else so far has worked, I figured I'd dip my toe into the water- maybe I'll muddy it up some more, maybe I can adjust the flow.
Movements start small. If a movement is to grow everybody who believes in its vision will need to back it. This isn't some hail mary power grab. This is an actual proposal to address serious issues in society. If you are interested, regardless of how stupid this may look, I implore you to read on.
The cat, incidentally, is not a permanent fixture. To assist the reader in taking this seriously, here is a different picture I found that is more representative of what the movement actually could be.
So, why the cat? As I previously stated, this is only the beginning. If this were to go anywhere, this movement would not be associated with the picture of the cat- it would be presented as a serious movement. But it is rooted in a philosophy that resembles a cat.
Let me just get straight to the point. Here are the core tenants the movement is built upon
First, that each member of the movement is an individual with different experiences, thoughts, and feelings not part of a collective or hive mind. As such, each individual- regardless of former or current political leanings- should be given the chance to speak their mind.
Second, this movement is very focused on one particular thing- that is, addressing issues men and women face. This is not a movement advocating for transgender rights or any other genders. This movement strictly focuses on men and women, believing that other movements can better address the issues other groups face. Racial injustices are not the focus of this movement, for a similar reason. However, where they pertain to issues men and women face, keeping them entirely separate is infeasible and unreasonable. This is not the gender-neutral version of white feminism. Everybody is welcome into this movement. Any man or woman will have a voice on issues concerning gender.
Third, the movement does not anticipate harmony. There are many issues, on both sides of the political aisle, that will likely cause tension and strife. Where necessary, this will have to be dealt with accordingly and denounced. The movement will initially focus on issues that are not at the expense of men or women and are less polarizing. If it grows, it will change to deal with other issues within the men-women realm accordingly.
Fourth, sole leadership is dangerous. A system of checks and balances would have to be implemented and the right people would have to head the movement. And, yes, I include myself in this. Good intentions can have bad outcomes.
Fifth, any individual addressing an issue should be given full, undivided attention.
Six, the movement does not rely on external sources to "clean" it. It will clean itself by denouncing bad behavior and self- evaluating its own goals
Seven- this is not a selfish movement, but everybody has done selfish things before that would not be entirely in line with the movement's goals. Attempting to present this as pure or holy in some way would be a mistake and will deeply backfire. This is a movement of people. It is flawed. It may be hypocritical sometimes. This must be realized in advance.
Eight- this movement must be able to "see" ahead, in detail, and anticipate potential changes and strife. Each action will have a reaction. If that reaction can be dealt with in advance, the movement will survive through hard times.
Nine- this movement will stay its own movement.
Ten- This movement must be able to balance itself and not lean too far or the other, though also expect shifts and cope accordingly.
Cat owners will probably better understand what I mean about the philosophy being "based on cats"
It would be inappropriate for me to decide which problems men and women want addressed as a whole. Instead I will focus on how these problems could be dealt with. This is a work in progress and I am open to any suggestions.
First, evidence must be presented. Solid evidence, by both people who believe the stated problem is an issue or exists and people who don't.
Next, viewing this movement as a people based democracy (not communism) majority vote of the gender rules supreme.
Next, the other gender will review the issue and, providing evidence, review the effects it could have on that gender. If the majority of members of that gender believe it will negatively impact them, the issue is not addressed.
Finally, If the issue had the support of the first gender but was vetoed by the second gender, the issue would be put up for discussion to see if a compromise that helps the first gender slightly without impacting the second gender could be reached. If no compromise is reached, but the issue had the support of the first gender, the issue is tabled. Through this process, the issues with the most support will be addressed first and, over time, the other issues may be addressed as well. The two gender, diplomatic approach, is crucial to the overall success of the movement.
Ok... Great. So two people from here support it. And then talk about it once. And then never do anything again. How in the world is this going to actually get off the ground?
The same way any other movement gets off the ground. So it doesn't seem quite so ridiculous/stupid and in case the hashtag already exists I would suggest using the hashtag womenandmen or something along those lines. I will check some of the hashtags to see what is taken and what it is used for and pick a good, catchy but descriptive, hashtag. I welcome any suggestions.
Once this is established, this is where you come in. You will have to promote this movement, in connection with stories or issues you feel need to be addressed. I, of course, will do the same. This is how many modern movements have achieved liftoff and it is vital to overall success. However, there is a significant caveat to this: DO NOT LINK TO THIS PAGE. The fact that it was created by one person makes it seem small and strange and the result of a strange dream or not a real thing. The important thing is the overall message gets out that, independent of other movements, there is a push for men and women to cooperate. This is just a model. Nothing about this is final. The underlying idea is this changing tide in society where men and women are coming together to cooperate. NOT THIS POST. I like cats, so I used the cat. That's not the overall image of the movement. This is a serious, much needed movement. If you like any ideas, copy them and spread them- and it is important for people to be on the same page. But don't link back to this post. A movement with one leader can be toppled- a movement led by multiple people will not be. Even leaders should be removed if that is necessary and conducive to the movement's success.
Policy towards other groups Other gender based groups exist and take on each other. This movement strives to stay outside of all that. It is not against any of these groups it does not support any of these groups. By policy. Those groups exist and so does (hopefully) this. The movement has nothing to say about other groups. It is presented as an option. A different way of approaching issues. The movement is not trying to "tackle" groups and should not be used as a bludgeon. It is its own thing and it has enough of its own issues to worry about without focusing on outside groups. It is not perfect, it does not pretend to be. It is flawed, but it has good intentions. It is not called men and women because it feels other groups are at odds with the philosophy, it simply wants to make its own philosophy clear.
Names are powerful. The original name I suggested was "men and women"- straightforward and to the point. However, "women and men" can also be recognized as the name and I will look for a second hashtag. Two hashtags, two choices, one movement. It means literally the exact same thing- it just allows some flexibility so if the order is swapped it is still getting the word out about the movement. The names mean exactly the same thing, but the movement does have two names. If there are any other suggestions, list them down below but I would like the name to be straightforward and to the point.
Thoughts? As I said before, if you believe in what I'm saying share the ideas not this post. It doesn't look mature or proper for a movement and links to my profile and some comments I've made about one thing or another that could be problematic. Anything truly offensive or hurtful I apologize for in advance.
I honestly believe this could be the start of something great. And though I'll always be partial to these ideas, because they are my own, I recognize whatever movement comes out needs to focus on the greater good and am open to hearing and seriously discussing other ideas. Before the end of the year I would love to see a truly gender neutral movement take off... but if it takes two, five, or even ten years that's fine as well. Any movement should grow in a slow and controlled fashion, the idea being that if it accrues the right people it will continue to grow, however slowly, and blossom into something truly fantastic.
Thank you for reading. Have a great day and please share your thoughts down below!
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