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@MeninistTweet: Funny or too far?

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Temple chapter.

The Twitter world is a media hot spot for any sort of controversy, whether it’s celebrity gossip, world affairs, or any sort of hot-button scandal that has people itching to make their own statement.

Active Twitter users may have noticed a new parody account that has certainly managed to stir the metaphorical Twitter pot: @MeninistTweet.

This account has the anti-feminists of the world rejoicing in an uproar of retweets and favorites, and has others disgusted and offended.

For those unfamiliar, this account essentially makes a satire out of plight of the male population, particularly the most trivial problems that they face. Some could also argue that it pokes fun at the sudden surge of “new wave” feminism that seems to be omnipresent on social media recently.

The account’s photo features an old-time photo of a man with a thick beard with the phrase, “Excuse me miss, my eyes are up here” printed just below, an obvious take on women having their breasts stared at. Although the account’s bio clearly states “(parody) obviously sarcasm,” it has some people questioning if the account takes some topics too seriously, such as gender inequality and domestic violence.

The account tends to exploit, rather frequently, female bodies.

“Girls are like rocks, the flat ones get skipped,” the account tweeted on Jan 15, racking in 1.4 K retweets. Also on Jan 15, the account tweeted a photo of a blank, black screen accompanied by the caption “List of ways to win an argument with a feminist.”

Another popular tweet by this account is “What is the difference between a knife and a female arguing? The knife has a point.”

Granted, the bio of this Twitter account states the tweets are sarcastic, and obviously meant to be lighthearted and make people laugh, such as “Feminists are all about equality until they find out ladies get in free all Friday night.”

However, there are times where the account has, for lack of a better word, crossed the line.

The account took a series of photos along with an explanation from another account, detailing why the phrase “daddy issues” is not acceptable to use because it alludes to violence and abuse that may be sensitive for some women, and tweeted it saying “Bitches with daddy issues wrote this.”

What also isn’t funny is that the account often alludes to sexually abusing women.

“Beer…helping guys get laid since 1876. Rohypnol…guaranteeing it since 1992.”

For those of you that don’t know, Rohypnol is a tranquilizer “about ten times more potent that Valium” according to DrugFreeWorld.org.

Domestic violence is also referenced on the account which is also not, in any context, funny by most peoples’ standards.

“Females do all this FBI research just to end up crying and staying with the guy who hurt them.”

As it turns out, one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, but women are not the only demographic affected by domestic violence. According to SafeHorizon.org, men fall victim to domestic violence too, and are victim to approximately three million attacks in the U.S. each year.

Domestic violence is a very serious matter, and by joking about it what is being accomplished? If anything, the jokes imply that men are never victims of domestic violence, making those men that are and have been victims feel weak or emasculated.

There will always be semi-offensive Twitter accounts in the Twittersphere, because it’s human nature to make a satire out of issues plaguing society.

However, be careful when determining what is funny and what is wrong.  Take everything on Twitter with a grain of salt, no pun intended. 

Logan is a junior journalism major, and serves as Campus Correspondent.  She is also the proud president of Delta Phi Epsilon, Delta Nu, her sorority. Logan is typically super busy, but still dedicates hours to reading a Cosmo from front to back...twice. Logan loves all things social media, especially following puppy accounts on Instagram. Her dream is to break into the magazine industry and help empower other women to pursue their dreams, whatever that may be. 
Lindsey is a senior magazine journalism major at Temple University. After she graduates in May she hopes to return to NYC, which she fell in love with this summer during her ASME internship at Real Simple magazine.