A TikTok user is facing major backlash for making an inaccurate and sexist remark in light of the crisis in Ukraine. The video has climbed to 2 million views as users continue to weigh in.
In the original post, TikTok user @notpoliticalspeaking posted a video with a text overlay saying, “Facts #63: Once agian [sic] all the men in Ukraine have to stay and fight.”
“Where are all the Feminist [sic] at saying this is Unfair?” he continues. “It’s been real quiet lately.”
The user’s post has left out the multiple reported instances of Ukrainian women staying to fight the Russian invasion.
On Thursday, a 21-year-old Ukrainian woman emergency-married her fiancé in Kyiv. Immediately after the ceremony, they both planned to report to the military reserve offices and fight for their country.
“We have to protect it. We have to protect the people we love and the land we live on,” she told CNN.
And on Saturday, a New York Times photograph went viral depicting a Ukrainian woman, a teacher, fighting back tears as she awaits deployment. In the image, she’s surrounded by other women also equipped with firearms.
Ukrainian women were granted the ability to officially enlist in combat positions in 2018, and Ukraine opened it’s draft to able-bodied women aged 18 to 60 in December. Before Russia invaded last Thursday, NPR reported on women preparing for battle.
The TikToker told the Daily Dot that he made the video to point out, in his opinion, that men are called upon “when hard times come up in life.” He said he’s not bothered by the comments and claims “what matters is the truth.”
The TikToker pointed to a Wall Street Journal article that stated 32,000 women are enrolled in the Ukrainian military, calling it a “small percentage” of fighting age women in Ukraine. At the time of writing, women made up 15% of total personnel in the Ukrainian military.
The same WSJ article stated that women will play a “key role in the nation’s defense” amid ongoing aggression from Russia. Statistics are not yet available for how many women overall stayed back to fight after last week’s invasion.
TikTok users were furious with @notpoliticalspeaking trying to turn the Ukrainian crisis into a talking point against feminism.
@benjamin1709 said, “What are you talking for. You ain’t the one fighting rn in Ukraine.”
@lukehaskell0 commented, “Y’all I’m telling you, not hating women is so much less exhausting than hating women. It’s easy. Try it.”
And many users were quick to point out that the “fact,” as the TikToker called it, was incomplete.
@jonahethan commented, “There is a grandma with an AK”
@buggy8491 said, “y’all do know that women are also fighting right”
@serenly2 added, “you know women in Ukraine are actually joining the army now right? it’s no secret”
In response to the backlash, the TikToker was adamant none of the comments would change his thinking.
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