because one or two men have behaved inappropriately.
I don't know, I don't subscribe to the "all men are shit" position, but my experience is certainly of more than "one or two men [who] have behaved inappropriately". But it is misogyny and patriarchy that are the problem, and I see it perpetuated by both men and women. And the OP has stated that it is these she objects to.
It's every time I challenge any one, boy/girl/adult, who uses "...like a girl" as an insult.
It's the men in my social group who won't ever let any of the women buy a round, even the one woman in the group who quite clearly out earns all of them.
It's my ex husband who has reduced his contact time with the children to one day at the weekend, if he doesn't have other plans, because he "deserves to have a life". And the society that allows him to do this without shame or question.
It's the man who offered me compliments on the train. Loudly and across the quiet carriage and, when I ignored him, proceeded to spend the rest of the 20 minute journey becoming increasingly aggressive, trying to humiliate me and deride me for thinking I was better than him because I was reading a book instead of entertaining him, until he was threatening to rape me to teach me a lesson.
It's the man who 24 years ago did try to rape me.
And the man who 21 years ago who succeeded.
And the woman who told me that was what I had to expect if I was going to be out in the world with men, especially alone. And it was my own fault.
It's the game that women are 'supposed' to play in which they are demure, and quiet and ladylike etc. And the fact that those who play along seem to fair far better than those who don't. The friends I have who are in LTRs all subscribe to 'traditional' stereotypes and relationship dynamics.
It's the differences in expectations of boys and girls and every time a boy's poor behaviour is explained with, "boys will be boys" and "it's a boy heavy class, so it's going to be boisterous".
'Consent' is one of my biggest bugbears. I tell children as young as Nursery that it doesn't matter how much you want to play, if the other person doesn't or stops wanting to play or changes their mind, they are allowed to and you must stop. And sharing. Just because someone wants you to share with them, doesn't mean you have to. And already, it's often the boys who have already learnt that share means "I want it so give it to me" and girls who have learnt share means, "be nice and give it to them". I quite often have to explain why this is an important message to the adults too. Because it's part of the discourse.
It's when you look on dating profiles and see they won't date anyone weighing more than 9st 6 who is no older than 8 years younger than them who "looks good in skinny jeans" and doesn't drink beer/pints of beer with a value judgement attached explaining why that's unacceptable.
It's every time a woman is 'slut shamed' or 'fat shamed' or 'skinny shamed' or her motherhood choices are criticised: wohm/sahm; only child/multiple children; younger mother/older mother. Whilst no one even has a thought about men in the same respect. Well, ok, maybe the 'fat shaming'. Sadly that seems to be creeping into men's experience too.
It's every time you watch an American sitcom (the misogyny is horrific!)
It's everytime a girl/woman is valued for their looks above all else (I overheard a conversation today in which someone said that, with all the products and procedures available nowadays, there is no excuse for anyone not to be pretty
).
It's my friend who, when I told him I was cleaning the oven instead of doing my medium term planning responded with, "ooh you're good. My oven hasn't been cleaned it years I don't think. I wish my wife was as diligent as you" He responded with silence when I told him that if the state of his over bothered him that much, he could probably clean it himself.
The list is endless and these are only a very small sample of examples. It's not always about violence against women or obvious acts of aggression by nasty men against women. Misogyny is such a prevalent discourse in our society that it is difficult to avoid. There are some people who position themselves outside of that discourse, but their voices don't carry as much weight. As is always the way. And the men get labelled and mocked as wusses and having no balls, and the women get labelled as 'feminazis' and the like by the very men who benefit from protecting the status quo and their position of authority.
And it harms men as much as it harms women because it means men are viewed with suspicion when they take their children to "Mother and Baby Groups"; or are encouraged to not experience a full range of human emotions, and certainly not to express them ("what have I told you son, you're a boy, you don't kiss your dad" dad to his 5 year old son upon picking him up from school) or have their choice of toys restricted ("He's not having a doll to play with, I'm not having him turn into one of them" mum of a child in my son's Reception class. One of what exactly..? A man who doesn't see children as wimmen's work?)
It doesn't need to be like this, but it does need all of us, men and women, to change it in terms of what we expect and accept and how we raise our children.