Modern feminism, in many of its loudest forms, has become a hollow crusade – standing on a platform that looks solid from a distance but crumbles under scrutiny. What began as a righteous push for fairness has, in places, morphed into a system riddled with double standards, selective outrage, and convenient accountability.

I call myself a true feminist – not because I follow hashtags or cheerlead every protest – but because I believe in equal outcomes for equal effort, regardless of gender, race, or circumstance. Equality should mean equal standards, not preferential treatment. Yet what we often see today is something very different.

Too many women tear down other women – especially those in committed relationships. A man with standards is no longer seen as stable or discerning; he’s branded as “controlling.” The same voices that criticize him will cheer on reckless weekend behavior and call it empowerment while ridiculing the woman who builds a quiet, strong home.

We’ve built a culture where it’s socially acceptable to dismantle a man’s life on the basis of an accusation. No evidence? No problem. The court of public opinion is always open – especially for men. But when women cross lines, too often the excuse is “I didn’t know.” Really? You’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond with degrees and job titles, responsible for people’s livelihoods, and you’re telling us you don’t know right from wrong?

Let’s stop pretending a paper degree is a moral compass. It’s not. And yet we elevate certain women solely based on their credentials – then twist ourselves into knots excusing bigotry, narcissism, and cruelty when they “mess up.” It’s not ignorance – it’s selective ignorance. They know what not to say when it’s about them. But when the harm falls on others? Suddenly, it’s a learning experience.

Too many want power, none of the accountability. And when they’re called out? They fix their face and ask, “Well, what are you men doing to change?”

New flash: most men – especially outside the privileged few – have been getting “corrected” since childhood. Fail once, and society doesn’t coddle them. No one’s handing out excuses or hiding their faults behind cleavage and curated tears. They fall, they rebuild – quietly, without sympathy.

Don’t confuse the 1% of spoiled, powerful men with the everyday ones who grind, who build, who carry the weight and still get dismissed. Most men aren’t slipping past mistakes with charm or soft lighting. They’re held accountable by default.

Let’s also address the convenient moral math: “I wouldn’t have done wrong… but someone else did it first.” That’s not justification. That’s deflection. If your values crumble the second it’s not fair. You didn’t have values – you had a costume.

Within the Black community, another layer of dysfunction exists. Many Black males have been the targets of Black feminist guilt, absorbing the pain and projected trauma of women who – while deserving of justice – often channel their frustration at the only people with less societal protection: Black boys and men. Black women still don’t receive the full equity of white women, true. But they do receive some external sympathy. Meanwhile, the abuse – yes, abuse – that many Black sons endure, physically and emotionally, from their mothers is rarely spoken of.

How many sons have been guilt-tripped from childhood to believe their purpose is to financially support the woman who raised them – regardless of the trauma she inflicted? Look at awards shows. Who gets thanked? The mother. Even when the father stayed, provided, and sacrificed silently, he’s erased.

And here’s a hard truth: many Black women choose to play the role of single mother, not because the father abandoned them – but because he rejected her. Out of pride and pain, she withholds access to the child. She goes on to claim she “raised the child alone,” but that aloneness was often by design, not by circumstance. Public aid and child support replace co-parenting, and the innocent child becomes a pawn in a war for control and revenge. The father is painted as absent, while every effort to be present is blocked behind court filings, gatekeeping, and bitterness. Hence, a father wanting to protect his children and leaving the state without her approval equals kidnapping charges for him; yet the mother has all the legal protections to abuse a child at will.

Let’s talk false paternity – a crime that ruins lives. If someone knowingly names the wrong father, collects child support, and builds a lie on the backs of innocence, that’s not a “mistake” – it’s fraud. It’s theft. It’s trauma. But call for mandatory paternity tests? You’ll be labeled as cruel. Cruel to who? The truth? None of these convenient feminist seem to care about innocent damaged children nor the innocent, trusting, responsible males. Protect the criminals at all costs, right? Not many people are lower than those who abuse kids unless it’s at the hands and benefit of another woman?

Even movements that once stood for justice – like Black Lives Matter – have been hijacked by clout chaser and attention seekers. Too often, those who co-opt these causes ignore the real pain, especially when that pain wears darker skin or speaks uncomfortable truths. They want the image of struggle, not the weight of it.

And let’s not forget the Mother’s Day effect – a billion-dollar celebration that rarely questions the quality of motherhood. True feminism should mean equal scrutiny. Where are the matching prison records? Where’s the child support enforcement for false claims? If women truly want equal rights, they must also accept equal consequences.

Because real feminism isn’t about immunity. It’s about responsibility. It’s about looking in the mirror and asking: If I demand accountability from others, can I take it too?

This isn’t about hate. It’s about truth. Real equality isn’t selective. It doesn’t blink when the guilty wear heels. It doesn’t cheer for double standards in prettier packaging.

• Paternity fraud represents trillions in emotional and financial costs when it occurs – and yet it’s often ignored or excused.
• Child support systems show disparity: While custodial mothers are more likely to have orders, custodial fathers are more likely to be ignored and receive nothing.
• Black fathers are more actively involved than the stereotype – and father absence is decreasing significantly.
• Father absence correlates with significant societal and personal challenges, including behavioral issues, school dropouts, teen parenting, youth incarceration, and increased suicide risk.
• The emotional and economic tolls of father absence are well-documented, underlining the need for accountability and support across all communities.

Equal rights. Equal wrongs. Equal reckoning.

Come back tomorrow for: The Broken Male

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