ActivismFeminismSkepticism

#EndFathersDay: Using Hashtags as Retribution Against Women of Color

Last week I wrote that it was pretty obvious that #EndFathersDay was in no way a part of the feminist movement. Not only is there not a single shred of evidence indicating that feminists as a whole supported the hashtag, but well-known feminists like Jessica Valenti have even written in support of fathers. Based on recent tweets from an account called @NayNayCantStop, it seems that while the tag was created as part of a 4chan hoax, there is a deeper backstory:

https://twitter.com/NayNayCantStop/status/479004536153980928

For those who didn’t follow along on Twitter, #BlackPowerIsForBlackMen was a hashtag started by prominent black feminist Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) to discuss how black women are affected by black male privilege. @NayNayCantStop appears to be claiming credit for #EndFathersDay as some sort of retribution for that tag – going so far as compare black feminists on Twitter to the KKK:

https://twitter.com/NayNayCantStop/status/479010644952227840

NayNay’s anger goes to further demonstrate the level of outrage that feminists of color receive when they dare speak out about the intersections of race and gender issues. Another hashtag recently started as a 4chan hoax, #WhitesCantBeRaped, was viewed by many as an attempt to drive a further wedge between white feminists and feminists of color. White feminists like Michelle Goldberg claim that black feminists are “toxic,” and mainstream feminist media overlooks the fact that white feminists ignore the struggles of feminists of color. It’s easy to see how trolls would latch onto that existing divide to try to break feminism into racial factions.@NayNayCantStop was clearly playing along these divisive lines, as indicated by their pinned tweet from 6/15:

https://twitter.com/NayNayCantStop/status/478241382168268800

One of the easiest ways to defeat a group is to reap discord from within. While these divides are easily exploited because mainstream/white feminism sweeps the concerns of black feminists under the rug, the harm falls almost entirely to women of color. Feminism’s path to reducing oppression can only come to fruition by fostering an atmosphere of intersectional feminism – feminism that exists along the lines of race, class, sexuality, and gender [Commenter Sharon Morris notes, correctly, that this should include intersections along the lines of disability]. A community that ignores the struggles of women of color is not a community any of us should want to be a part of. Until the feminist community, as a whole, comes to that realization, internet trolls like @NayNayCantStop will continue to tear us apart – at the expense of women of color.

Courtney Caldwell

Courtney Caldwell is an intersectional feminist. Her talents include sweary rants, and clogging your social media with pictures of her dogs (and occasionally her begrudging cat). She's also a political nerd, whose far-left tendencies are a little out of place in the deep red Texas.

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6 Comments

    1. You are absolutely correct – that was a huge oversight on my part! Thank you for calling that out, I’ve updated the post.

  1. courtneycaldwell,

    Hmm racist and sexist. I didn’t know people like this existed…. NOT…

  2. At the same time this is all fascinating ( and disgusting) to watch. White males, in their zeal to denounce feminism, focus most of their ire at White women, completely disregarding women of color, until it’s time to throw us underneath the bus to further their cause.

    And this is the reason why I track the Manosphere so closely. Sooner or later, one of them is going to drag our name into their s***, in an effort to hurt the women they say they hate. And WoC need to get on board and pay attention to this bc while it may seem as if they’re focus is White women, they really hate ALL women.

  3. I wouldn’t believe a word “NayNayCantStop” says, has a whole lotta problems with feminists and SJ people, but the most expedient of black women supposedly shitting on back men is the “reason” for the trolling. I don’t buy it, especially with all the incredibly racist fake black men accounts they used as well.

    1. The name NayNay gave it away for me. I was immediately thinking of Martin Lawrence’s old show. ShaNayNay (Lawrence in drag) played the role of crazy neighbor. It’s a vintage “funny name” joke, since Martin hasn’t been on since 1997, but that’s all it is.

      The #EndFathersDay thing was kind of strange to me, but then again, most MRA things are. In the old days, one way Lakota women made sure we behaved was, if the marriage ended, they’d usually take care of the children. A common MRA complaint is that the ‘right’ to abandon their children is the same as the right to an abortion. But for us? Especially given the history of predatory behavior in the adoption industry, MRAs are so adorable when they have a problem with child support.

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