[The Sexuality Blog] Joss Whedon is the latest male feminist to get outed as a misogynist

For years, American filmmaker Joss Whedon has been praised for his portfolio which is filled with layered three dimensional female characters cast in films that pass the Bechdel test. Whedon was also praised for his openly feminist stance and his readiness to speak on matters pertaining to women and support women in public spaces.

In a community that was aggressively debating the place of men in feminist discourse and whether men can help further the feminist discourse, Whedon’s work and life served as open example of how things could work. But not anymore.

Over the last week, Whedon’s ex-wife from a 15 year old marriage and 20 year old relationship, Kai Cole went on record, outing Whedon as a hypocrite and serial cheater who used his outward appearance as a lovable geek to hide his infidelities. She alleged that Whedon had profited off his public persona as a feminist while he used his influence as a director to initiate and engage in a series of affairs with actresses in his film that spanned the entire duration of his career. His wife spoke out because she felt keeping quiet would have allowed him continue to move in feminist spaces, using the goodwill that it gave him to remain profitable while he privately continued to rubbish the principles he publicly professed to believe in.

Whedon isn’t the first self professed ‘male feminist’ to be outed as a misogynist. There was professor Hugo Schwyzer, who used his mother’s pedigree as a second wave feminist to launch his career as a male feminist while he used his influence and position to sleep with his students, attempt to murder a sexual partner and cheat on his four successive wives, three of whom had been his former students. Schwyzer is currently disgraced and in an assisted living facility even though he is still trying aggressively to return to the public feminist sphere.

It is important that we do not paint these men as the standard for men who profess to be feminist or publicly adopt the struggle, but it shows that we must also be vigilant so that men seeking to capitalise on the pain and struggle of women who identify as feminist do not succeed.

We’re not big on ‘cancelling’ people, but in this case, if Kai Cole’s allegations turn out to be true, we will make an exception.

Joss Whedon will be cancelled.

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