Listen, little man.

Patriarchy is a political system, and as such it martials its forces to fight those who stand against it.

The methods of attack run an extraordinary gamut, from ongoing harassment, to impugning the character, or the general competency, of the person that the troll considers it worthwhile to attack.

In all of this, psychological warfare is the primary approach at hand. Disguising the harassment of a feminist as either meaningful and legitimate criticism, or as concern for her well being (concern trolling), or as genuine moral outrage, or indeed, as an authentic critique of her competency, is the name of the game.

Now, there are ring leaders in all of this -- the anti-feminist opinion makers -- who know what they are doing. Then there are the muddle-headed patriarchy advocates who follow in tow. These are the foot soldiers in the war against women -- the ones who genuinely buy into the arguments presented; who take them at their face value. These swallow whole all moral condemnations against feminists, without wishing to see that attacks on feminists are political. These may even accept a biological basis for discrediting women, whist choosing not to see this as payback for feminists' criticism of the patriarchal system.

In all, discrediting the characters of feminists has been the game the patriarchal warriors love to play. Silencing an enemy reduces its influence over others, and makes it more likely that your side will triumph.

The spoils of a patiarchal war against women are, of course, domination of the defeated enemy. Women have been dominated for centuries, to the point that when feminists speak out about it, their words sound threatening and strange to ears attuned to listening to their enemy.