I saw a post on the front page earlier today (which seems to have gotten deleted before I could respond) calling attention to a long and somewhat condescending comment from a male user here on Ovarit. I looked up his profile out of curiosity, and while some of his posts seemed reasonable, I also saw that he had once made a post inviting women to comment about “sex play” without making it clear that he was a man (not gonna lie, this came across as creepy if not outright predatory behavior). But anyway, that got me thinking about the motivations of men on this site more generally.

Now, I know there’s no rule against male users joining (not the least because any such rule would be impossible to enforce)... And personally, I’m open to the possibility of men having something valuable to contribute to discussions about gender / sex stereotypes / sex based oppression / etc. (perhaps more open than many other women here) provided that they’re able to do it in a respectful way without dismissing or talking over women.

But what I’m really interested in is the thought process of a man who decides to join Ovarit specifically, rather than absolutely any other forum across the entire internet where those kinds of topics could potentially be discussed. As a man, what exactly do you hope to get out of becoming a member of a site that has this in the footer?

“All space becomes male space unless females maintain a concerted effort to mark a space for themselves.” –Sheila Jeffreys

Are you just here out of a good faith desire to be able to discuss certain topics (e.g. criticism of gender identity ideology) that have largely been banned elsewhere, in a place with generally good and intelligent people (rather than a bunch of religious conservatives and/or nazis)? Is it more that you feel like you have something uniquely valuable to contribute intellectually? (And if so, what exactly?) Do you feel any misgivings about taking up space on Ovarit rather than attempting to cultivate a community of like-minded men (and any women who would be interested in discussing feminism etc. in a more male-dominated environment) to engage in those discussions?

By all means let me know if I’m posting this in the wrong place or if it’s somehow out of line... I’m just really curious about this. Thanks.