The Slumflower may not want to acknowledge it but male suicide is a feminist issue

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. But there's a worrying trend of making light of the issue among feminist influencers like The Slumflower

It’s likely the word “feminism” has been plastered across your newsfeeds recently, namely by brands looking to capitalise on International Women’s Day by hawking sweatshop-made slogan tees. But yesterday evening, the debate around what constitutes feminist politics was reignited by author and influencer Chidera Eggerue, professionally known as The Slumflower.

In a tweet, she disputed a claim that “some young men have it so hard” from a woman who approached her in tears after an event.

When someone replied highlighting the importance high male suicide rates, she responded with the now-viral statement that: “men are murdering us and abusing children and you think I have time to theorise on why they can’t cry? Lmao not me hun.”

It’s an undeniable fact that women are crippled by patriarchy. Men are statistically much more likely to abuse, murder and rape women, and they’re also much less likely to be held accountable for doing so.

Rape conviction rates in the UK are atrociously low, while the women who share their stories are routinely disbelieved, slut-shamed and – in one of the most egregious recent cases – forced to justify their underwear choice in front of a jury. These are all feminist issues.

Still, deeper analysis is needed. Today’s activist soundbites tend to come in 280-character chunks which leave little to no room for nuance. As a result there’s a tendency to forget that women of colour – especially those who are also trans, queer, migrants, working-class or living with a disability – are significantly more vulnerable to oppression.

They’re also more likely to be erased in feminist discussions. Meanwhile, women worldwide are being exploited and sexually harassed in sweatshops, sex workers are still fighting for decriminalisation and migrant women risk being ill-served by protective laws. Again, these are all feminist issues.

Eggerue has repeatedly explained that her feminism doesn’t centre men, and nor should it – men benefit from privilege and patriarchy more generally, especially white men in positions of power. But we cannot ignore that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.

Men are also more likely to struggle with addiction than women, and remain under diagnosed when it comes to poor mental health. It’s a well-established fact that oppressive notions of masculinity – which shame men into silence and prevent them from seeking help – contribute to these issues. As activist Chardine Taylor-Stone summarised this afternoon, these problems are all caused by patriarchy.

Therefore these are feminist issues, too. There are clear links between addiction, poor mental health and violence; men struggling with alcohol and drug dependency tend to abuse the women around them, and one regularly-cited report found that 70 per cent of all male prisoners show evidence of at least one mental illness.

Statistics show that male perpetrators of sexual violence have often been abused as children, although of course most assault victims don’t go on to become abusers.

These are tricky, loaded conversations, and Eggerue is right that the burden of engaging with them should not be falling solely onto the shoulders of women. But that doesn’t mean that feminism should disengage with them.

Contrary to Eggerue’s insinuations, it’s possible to examine these issues through a feminist lens without decentring women. It’s also important not to ignore the vital work of charities like CALM and platforms like Vent, which aim to tackle stigma around male mental health and offer support to those struggling with it.

Eggerue could have used her huge platform to state that these issues aren’t her priority, but that the work is being done – and not just by women.

It’s worth noting that International Women’s Day was founded by a socialist collective, but this spirit of unity and collectivism is lacking in today’s digital activism. In a sense, this is inevitable. As influencers gain platforms, they also build working relationships with brands keen to profit from their message, and as a result we see activism co-opted by capitalism.

Political debates are reduced to soundbites, which are then used to sell books and merchandise – and, of course, to boost the platform of activists whose messages aren’t quite radical enough to alienate the mainstream.

But what we’ve seen as a result is a growth in popularity of political discourse written from a blinkered perspective and diluted through hashtags, brand partnerships and buzzwords.

Feminism isn’t just about becoming a #GirlBoss – it’s about analysing the ways that gender as a construct oppresses us all.

That doesn’t just mean “theorising on why men can’t cry.” It means acknowledging the complex link between mental health and violence against women. It means engaging with subjects that might not necessarily be a priority in our own lives. Ultimately, it means fighting for human rights – and doing so without using male suicide rates as a feminist punchline.