Recently on Twitter, the hash-tag #Meninist has been used to protest against feminism. What these “meninists” don’t realize is that their problems can be solved through feminism.

Feminism is not about hating men, it’s about equality. It’s called “feminism” because it acknowledges the fact that women are the ones being oppressed the most, and they are the ones whose problems must be addressed first.

Countless studies have proven this, and shown that women are often underpaid, less likely to be hired, and more likely to be a victim of sexual and domestic violence. Women’s issues don’t just affect women, however. Many of the problems feminism sets out to end can affect men as well.

A large majority of these issues can be traced back to toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity is the idea that if a man isn’t stereo-typically “manly,” then he’s feminine, and therefore weak. It also dictates the thought that men must demonstrate their dominance over women. Boys learn this from childhood, where they are shamed for playing with dolls and taught not to cry. As said by former NFL quarterback Don McPherson in a press release on the Steubenville case, “We don’t raise boys to be men. We raise them not to be women, or gay men.”

Toxic masculinity leads boys to think they are better than women, as if women are some kind of play toy. This sparks issues such as men thinking that sexually dominating women makes them powerful, an idea which is often backed up by society with victim-blaming (“She was asking for it”). In the Steubenville case, for example, two football players got to keep their spots on the team after raping a girl and laughing about it, as if their positions in a “manly” sport are more important than a girl’s bodily rights.

But men are hurting themselves and each other with toxic masculinity. You may have heard of a situation where a young boy is playing with a doll or anything pink, then they are told “That’s a girl toy” and refuse to pick it up ever again. These boys feel ashamed of doing something they enjoy purely because they are told it’s for girls.

Toxic masculinity can become an even bigger issue as boys mature, because they are taught that showing emotion makes them weak and feminine. Men are often very reluctant to seek help in times of need for fear of being called a “sissy” or a “girl”. According to ABC Health & Wellbeing, only 27% of men look for help, compared to the 40% of women. Could this be why men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women?

For this same reason, male rape often goes unreported, despite the fact that one in ten males will become a victim of sexual assault or abuse in the US, according to After Silence. Many male victims will feel as though they’ve been dominated, and feel humiliated about it.

Toxic masculinity tells men that women are sexual objects there for them to enjoy, so if they are assaulted by a women, when trying to turn to their male friends for consolation, they may be told they were “lucky” or that they “wish they were them”. In an attempt to maintain a positive reputation, they will often agree and act like it was the best experience of their life, even though deep down it continues to tear them up inside.

The main focus of feminism at the moment is getting the world to treat women as people, not objects, and showing that “feminine” is not synonymous with “weak”. If this goal is accomplished, the toxic masculinity that is affecting so many boys will cease to exist. A large majority of these “meninists” have already fallen prey to toxic masculinity. They claim that what is truly unfair to them is that some girl won’t date them, as if the love of a female is something they are automatically entitled to simply for having a Y chromosome. The rest of the “meninists” do make some good points, reminding that men do have issues as well as women, but what they need to know is that feminism can solve that too.