My Entire Department of Teachers Is All Women. I'm Fed Up With the Way They Talk About Men.

"I work in a progressive public school in a small department where I am the only man. Much of my time is spent in meetings where there is an ever-present thread of, quite frankly, misandrist commentary. Each day involves some slight against men, from dismissing a sociology paper as a "typical white, male argument" or condescending that men are incapable of child care without constant supervision, to lamenting that they can't live without men altogether."

"I'm sorry you're being subjected to this ignorant and demeaning commentary. If your co-workers thought about how their conversations sound to others, which I'm sure they don't, they'd probably consider it a compliment that they speak freely in front of you. But it's no better being "one of the gals" than it is being "one of the guys" when the in-group is bonding over how much they despise the out-group."

A male staff member in a progressive public school reports persistent misandrist commentary during department meetings, which includes dismissing scholarship as a "typical white, male argument" and suggesting men are incapable of childcare without supervision. The remarks also range to lamentations about not being able to live without men, producing a pattern of daily jibes that leave the writer feeling fed up and excluded. The writer often laughs them off after being reassured as "one of the enlightened ones," but the reassurance still grates. The response labels the remarks ignorant and demeaning and notes that in-group bonding by disparaging an out-group is not genuine inclusion.

Read at Slate Magazine