it is my opinion as an intersectional feminist that misandry does not exist in the form of a genuine axis of oppression under cisheteropatriarchal white supremacy, no. misandry does not exist in the same fashion that misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, or etc. exist.

however, ‘misandry’ does exist in the form of a network of behavior that mocks men in a manner that boils down the behavior of men in general to biological/sociological gender essentialism, and ultimately undermines intersectional feminism. misandry, by this definition, exists as a system of beliefs that drastically oversimplify men and those often perceived as men, and the issues they face.

many people are comfortable mistreating men under the guise of feminism, of mocking men and people they perceive as men in ways that completely contradict their body positivity or any other beliefs that are applied to the 'good’ or 'more oppressed’ genders.

for example, Betty the 'feminist’ sees someone who’s walking down the street who she thinks is a man. she sees that he has a patchy beard and is wearing unfashionable clothes, and is out of shape. betty laughs at how little men have to try in order to be accepted in society, she mocks his appearance to her friend. betty’s friend points out that the stranger might not be a man based on their appearance, that that person may be closeted trans, or may be nonbinary, or any other non-man identities. betty, remembering the rules of feminism, considering the stranger might not be a man, walks back her remarks and says that the stranger can look however they want.

it is crucial to acknowledge first and foremost that this kind of mockery is bad because it can and often is displaced onto people who aren’t men; people who are the victim of cisheteropatriarchal society. but it is, by the same token, not okay to treat a man like that either. men are still people, and basic mockery isn’t helping anyone.

it’s like pop-cultural feminism has decided that men, (or people wrongly seen as men, that’s a whole other can of worms) are some sort of category of people that concepts like respect, body positivity, and other general feminist principles don’t apply to. because men are the bad guys. i can’t think of anything less intersectional than this behavior.

to say nothing of how the (mis)identification of men as a blanket oppressor class (and thus open season for ridicule and mistreatment) completely disregards any sort of class consciousness or understanding of the effect racism has on like, a fuckload of men.

it is important, if not one of the prime goals of intersectional feminism, to acknowledge the way cisheteropatriarchal systems favor men, and to hold men accountable for harmful behaviors that these systems support and encourages (rape culture, etc). but it is needlessly reductive to target men as the sole perpetrators of these wrongs, and pointless to think that bashing them in this way is going to help anyone ever.