So today I want to talk about a very specific aspect of misogyny that is part and parcel of this white patriarchy fighting with all it has to survive.
Apparently there is a guy named Hank Green who did a video about the physics of knots. And in doing so, he talked about knitting.
The one teensy, weensy problem with that is Hank apparently doesn’t know the first thing about knitting. And when I say he doesn’t know the first thing, he reportedly said kitting is a series of knots, when it is, in fact, a series of loops.
Anyway, I am not a knitter, and I did not see his video, so if you want to know the knitty (!) gritty of what actually happened, here is an awesome video from ParkrosePerma@bsky.social unraveling (!) the misinfo.
It’s a great and interesting video but you don’t have to watch it for where I’m going.
Every single woman in the US, and probably on the planet, has had the experience of a man–and in this country, it’s usually a man who looks much like Hank–going on and on about a topic while people nod their heads along with him.
While you know that he is not making sense, or has no idea what he’s talking about.
It takes a certain kind of privileged arrogance to do a video on a specific topic without doing any research on that topic. And I mean ANY research on the topic, down to your basic premise being wrong.
The thing is, men like Hank, and in this country that is generally white men, are treated as though they have a base knowledge in everything. That they have a level of expertise, no matter the topic.
Other people are treated exactly the opposite way, and so even overtly knowledgeable people, people with industry reputations, people with degrees in the subject, are demanded to prove themselves constantly.
Usually by people who look like Hank.
And that is because those men like Hank believe they have the expertise because they are treated like they do.
At this point, I don’t think he’s apologized or admitted his mistake, or even corrected the wrong information. But in a quick google, I see this discussion breaking down the same way these always do.
People pointing out the problems in plain language. People couching the criticisms in weaker language so as not to offend. And the people who completely defend the wrong information given in the video, glossing over that entirely to chastise yet another woman for complaining.
Those last two are that gasping patriarchy, by the way. What’s to defend if he didn’t research the topic and had information that was objectively wrong?
How is pointing that out problematic?
Oh, it’s who is pointing it out.
It’s like this viral story about a woman who “yelled” at a man for giving a home run ball to his son. Everyone has agreed those are the facts and she’s a terrible person who deserves to be torn apart.
But if you watch the video, the ball fell at her feet. He leapt over a bunch of seats to get to it, and from what I understand, that’s not proper etiquette for home run balls. We also can’t see if there was any physical contact when he snatched the ball from her, but let’s be clear, he snatched the ball from her.
The ball was at her feet. He covered quite a distance to get it. She bent to grab it. He grabbed it.
All she knew in that moment is a man came out of nowhere and snatched the ball. Did she know he had kids? No. Did she know he would hand it to a kid? No.
Does his handing it to a kid change what actually happened?
No.
And I can promise you if a woman had done that, we would be hearing all about the etiquette of balls in the stands and how you don’t grab it from someone else’s seat.
But it doesn’t matter what actually happened, because the story is set. The man is a victim of a woman saying harsh words to him, and his child, a greater victim. There is no discussion of whether his initial conduct was even appropriate.
No, his part in the situation has vanished into the mist. Even the AI summary of the incident starts with her yelling at him, not at him taking the ball from in front of her.
This is the reality of women, all day, every day. Our space is invaded, our expertise is trampled, we are degraded in one way or another, and if we don’t speak up, it’s our fault all of that happens, and if we do, well, how dare we.
And it’s another long one, but there’s much to say.
Have a great Wednesday.
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