Following the manosphere can really fill an old broad like me with despair. And it's been a particularly horrible year for many women on the Internet, thanks to the misogynistic shit goblins and grifters who broke out of the confines of the manosphere to invade gaming. What gives me hope is seeing so many successful men come forth and stand up as self-identified feminists in the wake of a twitter-driven witch hunt -- a veritable orgy of doxxing, threats, and harassment -- that was ostensibly about "ethics in journalism," but was never, ever about anything but angry white, mostly anonymous guys having meltdowns over their perceived "loss" of privilege.
Today my students are writing about whether celebrities and professional athletes should be role models, so this is on my mind today:
To anyone who uses his position of power, his louder voice, to champion those who have relatively little power, I salute you. I want to throw you a ticker tape parade, bury you in flowers, buy you drinks, kiss your hand. You make a difference. You give others hope and strength.
I have so many masculine heroes right now, I can't name them all: Aziz Ansari, Louis CK, Stephen Colbert, Chris Kluwe, Arthur Chu... Help me out, who am I missing here?
Pro wrestler MICK FOLEY (aka "Mankind")!!!
ReplyDeleteHe is a huge supporter of (and volunteer for) RAINN (Rain Abuse Incest Nat'l Network). Speaks out against misogyny, sexual abuse, rape culture AND can do a flying scissors kick. :D
Ooops! RAINN =
DeleteRape,
Abuse &
Incest
Natl
Network
Nothing manlier than a gentle giant, a man of great physical strength with a heart to match. I'd love to throw Mike Cernovich in a ring with Mick Foley.
DeleteJoe Randazzo:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-randazzo/how-twitter-made-me-a-feminist_b_6101848.html
Great article, thanks for the link.
DeleteJon Scalzi, David Futrelle, Sam Biddle
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I take David Futrelle a bit for granted.
Deletethat's a shame, he seems like good peeps. I feel like some of his regulars are a little... overzealous but his posts are truly yeoman's work.
DeleteYeah, I like Futrelle's articles, even if he never answers my emails suggesting stuff to write about; forcing me to go write about them myself *sheesh*.
DeleteSeriously though, it was because of Futrelle that can feel reassured that the manosphere is a toothless tiger.
Oh yeah, John Scalzi - it's hilarious how much of a hate-on so many in the Manuresphere have towards him (I think they're just following the example of one of their dubious heroes - that veritable embodiment of crank magnetism and the Dunning-Kruger effect, Vox Day - who has a real bug up his butt about him for some reason). Yeah sure, some anonymous loser who spends his every waking minute leaving anger, bitter (and often downright bizarre) screeds about women and "manginas" on the Internet is far more of an "alpha" than a guy who makes a living doing what he loves, is happily married (to someone who, as far as anyone knows, he doesn't need to "dread game" in order to make her stay with him), and has a daughter that he cares very much for.
DeleteYeah, I like Futrelle's articles, even if he never answers my emails suggesting stuff to write about; forcing me to go write about them myself *sheesh*.
DeleteYou have that problem too? I remember once sending him a couple of emails suggesting he update his Boob Roll (as more than a few of the sites on it were no more), but never got a response to either. Glad to see he's finally done that, though!
Agree with Anonymous about the "overzealousness" of some of his regulars. All of the comments on his blog that go along the lines of "ZOMG, your last comment was so triggering I can't breathe! You monster!" get a bit much!
@Anonymous & Zosimus
DeleteI hear you on Futrelle's comment thread regulars. I hardly ever post there, lest I trigger someone by insensitive use of words like 'and' or 'the'.
I guess Futrelle gets a massive load of emails to work through, he did go with one of my suggestions once, but since then nada. I'm glad he updated his Boob Roll, that was long overdue.
Snork Maiden, I am glad you've brought it. I've been deeply perturbed by your insensitive use of "and" and "the" and unable to sleep or eat since I saw you so recklessly abuse both.
DeleteYou should know by now that both "and" and "the" are very productive and proud parts of our language and that dismissing their value is unforgivably ableist on your part. You must apologize profusely ASAP and repent several times over, or else.
While on the subject, you should also know that your appropriation of one of the most adorable of Moomintrolls as your moniker and avatar is immensely triggering to my feelings of bliss, joy, and whimsy. You should probably apologize and repent for this too, but, honestly? I'm too triggered to decide. :)
P.S. I've corresponded with David about assorted matters, so I know that he responds to e-mails, but not to all. He's a genuinely good guy. I'm glad he exists and does what he does. Gods bless him.
Edit:
Delete"I'm glad you've brought it up."
See, I'm so upset I can't even type straight.
Well I'M triggered by your use of the word 'triggering'. That word indicates that I am about to read something upsetting and therefore makes me suffer a Pavlovian response of PTSD flashbacks of other upsetting words I've seen written down. Henceforth I demand that you only refer to the t-word by using the oblique phrase 'twigger' so that I know to have a supply of cleansing cat gifs to hand in case I must revive myself before reading any further.
DeleteI may also have to write to David and his mods and insist that they forbid the use of the word 'asshat', a slur which they wantonly throw about in a derogatory manner. I am the proud owner of numerous bottom shaped hats, and when I see the word 'asshat' or 'asshattery' used in a negative way it traumatizes me so much I must lie down in a darkened room and listen to Enya for several hours.
P.S. I get that Mr WHTM is a busy chap, but still, there is so much manosphere nonsense I would like to see given the Futrelle treatment :)
My dear Snork, deal: I shall cease using tr... that word and use the other one (friends don't let friends stare at cat gifs or listen to Enya for several hours).
DeleteGood idea to write to David with your objections to asshat abuse. I may send him an e-mail as well, complaining that the use of the word ableist is ableist in the most extreme -- if only because it is the end of the week and I should be doing more important things. :)
Meanwhile, you may enjoy this (*TWIGGER warning*):
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/25/triggers
I guess Futrelle gets a massive load of emails to work through, he did go with one of my suggestions once, but since then nada. I'm glad he updated his Boob Roll, that was long overdue.
DeleteOut of curiosity, which suggestion was that? I was once pleased to discover that a comment I'd left on this blog had provided the inspiration for a post on WHTM (the comment in question related to my discovery that Matt Forney had once given a glowing review to one of his own books); and also saw, in a more recent WHTM post, that he seemed to have checked out a link I once emailed him (the link in question leading to a hilarious article about how a bunch of Manurespherians had a meetup in DC, and struck out with pretty much every woman they tried their lame "game" tactics on). Other than that, though, he's not followed any of my suggestions. I do have a great deal of respect for him, though, especially given how deranged and potentially dangerous a lot of the people whose nonsense he exposes are.
Thanks Anon 1:52, that New Yorker article was very funny :)
Delete@ Zosimus, I tipped David off when an MRA type on Reddit made the mistake of suggesting that the Return Of Kings's clickbait about dating girls with eating disorders was making the movement look bad; and was rapidly shouted down, mores the pity. Roosh still threw a tantrum and accused the manosphere of throwing RoK under the bus.
He doesn't write about the PUA culture much of late, I think Gamer Gate is offering up more material.
Gamer Gate is getting kind of boring :/
DeleteI've suggested Oссident Invictа to him a few times. You should check them out. My favorite of the co-bloggers is Dotа. He's a grade-A misogynist (in an arranged marriage), Indian immigrant, 'white preservationist' conspiratard among other things
@snork maiden and others
DeleteHere are some examples of his masterful work: http://fstdt.com/Search.aspx?Fundie=Dota
Patrick Stewart
ReplyDeleteOh yeah! He was so evil on "I Claudius" and is so good IRL.
DeletePatrick Stewart is the sexiest old guy on the planet, move over Sean Connery.
DeleteI think Patrick Stewart's first-ever role was as Lenin in a so-bad-it's-good '70s BBC costume drama called Fall of Eagles: a role that seems oddly prescient in retrospect (given that he'd go on to play the leader of another Utopian society in Star Trek: the Next Generation!).
DeleteDon't forget PZ Myers! :)
ReplyDeleteOf course.
Delete@Zosimus:
ReplyDelete"that veritable embodiment of crank magnetism and the Dunning-Kruger effect, Vox Day"
Perfectly put. (lol)
That bug up his butt, IIRC, has to do with the fact that Scalzi took effort to unmask the non-existence of Mrs. Vox, aka Spacebunny, and point out the overall d-baggery of "that veritable embodiment of crank magnetism and the Dunning-Kruger effect."
The manurespherians are very sensitive to having their lies, stupidity, and general loathsomeness exposed for all to see (as if that needed to be done... well, OK, sometimes it does).
Does spacebunny really not exist? I've seen her Facebook profile and twitter one, and a few photos of her... And not just the red one. Of course none are with vox, but eh.
DeleteYou are not alone in your musings:
Deletehttp://jamesworrad.blogspot.com/2013/06/vox-day-schrodingers-spacebunny.html
@Zosimus:
Delete"that veritable embodiment of crank magnetism and the Dunning-Kruger effect, Vox Day"
Perfectly put. (lol)
Ha ha, thanks! I remember once paying a visit to Vox's blog, and encountering so much craziness there, I ran away screaming and never went back. One of the highlights was definitely his comments policy, which basically boiled down to "I'm right, you're wrong; now get the fuck off my blog!" (I was also bemused to read a comment from one of his idiot groupies who described men who bought music and movies, rather than illegally downloaded them, as "neutered males". Given how many of Vox's fans are fundamentalist Christians, I wouldn't be surprised if the above pillock was someone who constantly bangs on about how much more moral his religion makes him than all those filthy atheists and religious liberals.)
One of the many, many reasons I'm not a Manurespherian is the fact that if I was, I'd probably be expected to join everyone else in kissing Vox's arse. Seriously, that guy's like their fucking pope or something! One thing that never fails to disabuse me of the misguided notion that a particular Manurespherian is a "moderate" is when they (invariably) start praising Vox for his purported wisdom and genius (another is when they (invariably) treat Roissy as a friend to all men, rather than what he really is: someone who views his own sex with nearly as much contempt as he does women).
@Anonymous 12:33pm
DeleteHeather Beale is a real person. I wouldn't blame her for keeping a low profile, though. TB is from a srsly unhinged family. Here is her public FB, she looks like a nice, middle-aged lady:
https://www.facebook.com/heatherbeale/
@Zosimus
DeleteZosimus, VD/TB is what an unworldly person thinks a smart person sounds like.
He only has a glib, shallow understanding of things like the classics (as opposed to the bitchy manurespherian "escoffier" who actually has a learned knowledge of them). He's kinda the living embodiment of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
LMAO @ escoffier having a learned knowledge of, well, much anything. Those are some very low standards indeed.
DeleteAnd it so happens that "Mrs. Beale"'s profile is unavailable. Just like the fantasy Mrs. herself.
"And it so happens that "Mrs. Beale"'s profile is unavailable. Just like the fantasy Mrs. herself."
DeleteIt's probably his sister.
I think heather Beale exists, but the obnoxious "spacebunny day" twitter profiles are probably just vox.
DeleteI always find it funny when women say real men wouldn't/would
ReplyDeleteHow do you know???
From experience, with real men who stand in stark contrast with self-pitying, whiny man-toddlers.
DeleteJon Stewart (The Daily Show) is pretty good.
ReplyDelete