The Double Standard of How We Treat Male and Female Feminists

We live in a society where double standards are a common frequency. Example: If a woman has a lot of sex, she is a 'slut' and condemned, if a man does it, he is a 'lad' and congratulated. But what has come to my attention in the past few months is quite a significant double standard in feminism. What I've noticed is that we tend to treat male and female feminists very differently. If a woman declares herself a feminist and makes a stand about it, there are people watching her every move, ready to criticise. If a man declares himself a feminist, he is more often than not lauded with praise and declared a 'hero'.

Exhibit A: Emma Watson made a valid speech about gender equality for the United Nations and yes, there was a distinct lack of intersectionality mentioned but nonetheless it was still a damn good speech. However, in the days that followed it seemed that for every article praising her, there were 3 more criticising her. They claimed it 'wasn't a game changer' and then went on to tear her speech apart, overanalysing it and looking at it under a microscope. Okay, it wasn't a game changer, but what speech ever has been? Then, when Mark Ruffalo declared himself a feminist and published an essay he was a 'hero'. His essay was quite good I'll give him that but like Watson's speech, lacked mention of intersectionality and just went on to say why you should be a feminist. There have been plenty of articles and essays about why we should call ourselves feminists, so why was Mark Ruffalo's deemed to be the best?

I'll tell you why. For years feminism has been seen as exclusive to women, that it only benefits women. But it doesn't. Feminism is working to de-stigmatise male sexual assault, to ensure that custody battles aren't gender biased and is redefining masculinity among other things. But people don't see that. They only see how feminism benefits women, and more often than not, showcase misandry. So when a big shot Hollywood actor declares himself a feminist, everyone goes wild and when an equally successful actress declares herself a feminist, people criticise and think 'what's new?'. But we should be celebrating anyone who has that big of a reach to various people who then not only declares themselves a fighter for equal rights but actually puts that into practice and as a result is able to influence others.