Fox News lends a hand to the White Men’s Rights Movement
Suzanne Venker: White Men’s Rights Activist
In a case of spectacularly bad timing, Fox News happened to choose the day before the Zimmerman verdict was handed down to publish an op-ed proclaiming “the White American Male” to be the most oppressed creature on Planet Earth. In a piece entitled “Men — The New Second Class Citizens,” professional antifeminist Suzanne Venker declared that
From boyhood through adulthood, the White American Male must fight his way through a litany of taunts, assumptions and grievances about his very existence. His oppression is unlike anything American women have faced.
What is revealing about this quote, besides its complete disconnection from reality, is that Venker makes no other references to race in the rest of her piece, which runs through a number of tiresome and oh-so-familiar MRA talking points about the alleged oppression of men.
Venker complains about schools being biased towards girls, from grade schools that force students to sit still to colleges with their infernal Title IX. She whines about “sit coms and commercials that portray dad as an idiot.”
Quoting antifeminist psychologist Helen Smith, a friend of and sometime contributor to A Voice for Men, she suggests that women can get their boyfriends or husbands locked up on a whim just by claiming abuse.
I’m surprised she didn’t talk about the evils of “friend zoning.”
But when Venker refers to “men” in all of these complaints, she is evidently thinking only of white men — why else would she switch so seamlessly from talking about the alleged oppression of “men” to proclaiming “the White American Male” the ultimate victim?
There’s really no other word for this than, well, racist.
The day after Fox published Venker’s nonsense, we were of course reminded (as if any of us really needed to be reminded) of the very real oppression faced by “the Black American Male.”
Trayvon Martin didn’t die because he happened to see a show featuring a bumbling sitcom dad. He died because George Zimmerman saw a young black man in a hoodie walking home from the store and assumed, apparently because Martin was young and black and wearing a hoodie, that he was up to something sinister.
Trayvon Martin didn’t die because he was male; he died because he was a black male. His killer walked free not because his victim was male, but because his victim was a black male.
Suzanne Venker did us all a favor by revealing the unconscious racism underlying so many Men’s Rights complaints. The Men’s Rights movement is not only a movement that is overwhelmingly made up of white men; it’s a movement that’s almost exclusively about white men, and their largely imaginary oppressions, as well. We might as well call it the White Men’s Rights Movement.
Posted on July 16, 2013, in a voice for men, antifeminism, FemRAs, imaginary backwards land, imaginary oppression, irony alert, ladies against women, misogyny, MRA, on the tv, oppressed white men, racism and tagged antifeminism, fox news, men's rights, MRA, racism, suzanne venker. Bookmark the permalink. 665 Comments.
@Nahida
Careful, there’s a Tom Martin joke lurking there.
It was the other students that got me instead of the teachers. Apparently taking auto shop so as not to end up stranded by the side of the road makes me a lesbian? In electronics, I was actually told, “I don’t need help from a Girl Scout!” when I was asked for help on a project by the first person he had asked for help, my male lab partner.
“she suggests that women can get their boyfriends or husbands locked up on a whim just by claiming abuse.”
If men were being locked up for DV, there would be less violent crime. I don’t see how devaluing and disbelieving victims does anything other than enable abusers to step up their violence.
Argenti: Signed, and will be signed by the Lady Faire once she gets online tomorrow night.
Brain-Bleach for the weary:
http://www.upworthy.com/a-12-year-old-egyptian-boy-flabbergasts-an-interviewer-they-werent-expecting-a-political-genius-4?c=ufb2
This kid is my new hero. 12 years old, fighting a theofascist regime, and, oh, by the way, knows what the fuck a tehofascist regime IS. This kid’s toenail clippings have more activist spirit than every MRA to ever walk the earth.
Happy to sign.
As for those boys having to sit still. I’m old enough to remember the 1950s primary school routine of boys not sitting still being sent to the headmaster for a few strokes of the cane – or, much more often, being threatened with those consequences.
Of course, Miss Martin in gr 5 didn’t need any such namby-pamby referrals. She had a ruler which was a souvenir of a trip – had samples of wood from trees in some region or other, it looked to be nearly half an inch thick on on side to a nervous nellie, goody two shoes like me. She just cracked it across any offending knuckles she happened to notice – mostly the boys.
@Freemage
I watched that video too. That kid’s awesome.
By the way, his language seems very precocious in the translation, but he’s just speaking Modern Standard Arabic, which is basically a standardized variant of Arabic used for writing and formal speech.
Pollydactly and freemage, I pull my hair out when male engineers redo my measurements because womens, or when a representative whose tender I was assessing thought I was the secretary, cos writing. Arghh!
Oh, and I checked out the more recent case in Indiana. Seriously, WTF? These shitheads arrested her without any actual medical evidence. She’s been held in custody with no formal charges against her, because they’re waiting to hear the lab reports. I suppose if they discover that she in fact suffered a perfectly normal, non-induced miscarriage, they think they’ll be able to just release her and hey, no harm done, right?
I suppose it’s hardly worth noting that neither of the two women arrested for feticide on their own offspring are white?
Naturally, the feticide law was passed on a completely different pretext (charging assailants who caused a pregnant woman to miscarry against her will, which is something that I have no problem with them being charged with). Amazing, isn’t it, how they just happened to leave it worded in such a way that it could result in the mother being charged, too?
All the fucking Legos, all of ‘em.
According to just about every Fe/MRA – everything bad that’s ever happened is feminism’s fault. Even the fact people died on the Titanic (nevermind “women and children first” wasn’t exactly official maritime law or anything). I even remember one other post on this blog where someone made the claim suicide didn’t exist until the 1970’s – which obviously means he has no idea a country called “Japan” used to have a ritualistic version of such.
If they had to base anything on facts or valid sources rather than ruminate on theories they pulled straight out of their ass or from Warren Farrell, they couldn’t continue to make up examples of their supposed discrimination for being males that has not been observed or documented by any other entity.
@Polydactyl & Augochorella:
Just about every guy at my school, save for myself and a few others, were the most obnoxious people to have as classmates. They’d constantly pick fights with teachers over one thing or another when not trying to converse with one another, even when across the room. It got pretty unbearable at times.
It’s also why I don’t get the “women talk too much” notion either – no one talks more loudly and as constantly as guys do (especially dude-bros). Tell them to be more considerate of others by lowering their voice? FREEZE PEACH! ‘Cause, like, freedom of speech means you can be a dickhead without dealing with the consequences…right?
The notion that “girls go on and on” seems to just come from the fact they love the sound of their own voices and are dismissive when it comes time for anyone else to speak. It always came off as something like this:
“So, like, me and my buddies went down to the lake and went water skiing – until my best friend, Tim, ended up breaking his leg when trying to do a trick. We then had to spend a bunch of hours at the hospital before we went back. After that – we got some pizza and had some beers before passing out. What about you?”
“Well, this morning after I got up–”
“Goddamn – you’re boring me, bitch!”
It’s the classically hypocritical “when I do it, it’s fine – when you do it, it’s wrong. Just ’cause.” mentality.
saintnick86-I think not only is it hypocrisy is the only reason it’s okay when guys talk a lot, it’s also based on an assumption that nothing a woman says is ever anything important. But when men are talking, it’s the most important thing ever!
Saint Nick, my daughter is running into this at school . Her teacher has no control in the classroom and the boys run wild, firing lit spray cans at each other and fighting yet the girls get told off for wearing jeans in winter. Only the boys are allowed pants.
Can we not link “low expectations” to becoming a librarian (or nurse, or teacher, or any other “traditionally female” job)? It’s fine if it’s not your thing, but preferring the sciences doesn’t mean the sciences are objectively more challenging, or fulfilling, or whatever. I’m not mad; I just think it’s sloppy thinking.
(Not to mention that those of us who can choose jobs/fields because they are challenging or fulfilling are a tiny minority of people on the planet.)
(And not to take away that women are definitely steered into/away from certain fields, which sucks, but doesn’t make those fields inherently worse or better.)
(Parenthetically yours, cloudiah.)
Excuse me, men face oppression worse than anything women ever faced? Being too young to personally remember, or never having been personally affected by sexual discrimination in education, employment, etc. is no excuse for supposedly educated women to display such profound ignorance of recent history & social conditions.
Cloudiah-You’re right. I’m sorry.
“Trayvon Martin didn’t die because he was male; he died because he was a black male.”
Can you honestly argue that if it had been Trayvona, a black 17-year-old female walking down the street instead of Trayvon, George Zimmerman would have shot her, or given her a second glance? Yes, Trayvon’s race made him more of a target. So did his gender. The stereotype is about “angry black men,” after all, not angry black women.
In any oppressed group, the males bear the brunt of the hatred. They’re usually portrayed as lustful, violent, animalistic bastards.My fellow Jews in Nazi Germany were portrayed in a similar way. What does feminism do? Extend this to all men. It’s not just Jewish or black or Latino men who are violent rapists, now. It’s all men. And you call this liberalism?
We MRAs have a good deal of compassion for men of minority groups; they provide a perfect example of why we need to address men’s issues. Just as blacks get longer prison sentences than whites, men get longer prison sentences than women. Just as blacks are more likely than whites to be seen as criminals or evildoers, men are more likely than women to be seen as criminals or evildoers. “Shrodinger’s Rapist” might have been published as “Schrodinger’s Negro” a hundred years ago, as a pamphlet warning young white women of the danger they faced. Why was Emmett Till murdered again? For flirting with a white woman. You feminists chip away at due process for those accused of rape. Your desire – to protect women from the dangerous force of male sexuality, no matter how many men are demonized in the process – is the same. The only thing you do differently is target black and white men roughly equally, and clothe your essentially conservative actions in the language of liberalism and social justice.
On Bill Maher the other day, I saw Cornel West talk about how being criminalized is a form of murder in and of itself. As a fellow male, I can sympathize.
The Trayvon Martin verdict started a discussion about race. It should do the same for gender. Racism is, by its very nature, misandry. And until we acknowledge that fact, there will be many more Trayvon Martins and Emmett Tills.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
I’m sure that MOC are so happy that you’re willing to use them as an “example”.
And right on cue, an MRA decides to appropriate the issues faced by people of color in the US. Is there a bingo square for this?
(pollydactyl, no worries; we’re all good.)
@ saintnick86
http://www.nek.uu.se/Pdf/wp20128.pdf
I’m not sure if the takeaway of “if you don’t give MRAs what we want then we white men will keep killing black men” was intentional or if Jason is just suffering from the usual MRA literacy problems and doesn’t realize that he implied that by structuring his rant the way he did.
Chew toys have shown up! Yay!
Cloudiah-I have only recently stopped thinking that I am better than “the other girls” because of choices I made, so I appreciate you calling me out when I started thinking like that again. I really want to stop thinking like that.
Seriously, Google “Marissa Alexander” and tell us she got that sentence primarily because she was a woman, and not because she was black. I am SO glad that feminists increasingly are at least partially aware of the incredibly complicated nature of this shit.
Jason is a fucking idiot.
How about you actually understand the notion of Schrodinger’s Rapist before you make bullshit claims like that?
No, Cassandra, I’m warning you that if we don’t address certain social issues now, more bad things like this will continue to happen. And when men of color are done being insulted by you feminists comparing your “oppression” to theirs, they can take a little of the time left over to be insulted by me.
Wait, Jason just said that when feminists were done insulting men of color, it was his turn to insult them.
He’s … not very smart, is he?
Oh, it’s the “argue with the imaginary feminists” portion of today’s stupid troll show.
(Not to mention there are actual black feminists, but I don’t want to totally blow his little mind.)
@ cloudiah
Jason thinks that “intersectionality” is what happens when multiple freeways meet at an overpass.
@ Jason
“And when men of color are done being insulted by you feminists comparing your “oppression” to theirs, they can take a little of the time left over to be insulted by me.”
Please clarify. Are you saying that feminists can be insulted by you or are you saying MOC can be insulted by you?
And by “to insult them” I mean of course “to insult men of color” which is what Jason’s sentence construction means
So, Jason, can you explain why men of color should take a little of the time left over to be insulted by you?
Oh, it’s the “taking quotes out of context” portion of today’s stupid feminist show.
I think any fair reading of my comment would see my point. So, will you argue with the style, or the substance?
Originality doesn’t seem to be Jason’s strong point.
JASON, THE CONTEXT IS ALL RIGHT HERE. THIS IS THE CONTEXT. OUT OF CONTEXT WOULD REQUIRE GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE. PLEASE LOOK UP THE WORD CONTEXT.
Jason-We can’t figure out your context. That is why several people have asked you to clarify.
Can we not link “low expectations” to becoming a librarian (or nurse, or teacher, or any other “traditionally female” job)? It’s fine if it’s not your thing, but preferring the sciences doesn’t mean the sciences are objectively more challenging, or fulfilling, or whatever. I’m not mad; I just think it’s sloppy thinking.
I second this. I see this attitude in scientists all the time and it drives me batty.
Some of the smartest people I’ve ever met, the best conversationists, the people whom I’ve learned the most from in life, and who have made gigantic contributions to society have been journalists, lawyers, housewives, people who never got a degree, bellhops, whatever.
I’m familiar with the notion of “intersectionality,” thank you very much. And that’s exactly what black men should be insulted by. They were taken from their homes, deprived of names, shipped across the sea in chains, worked to death, punished brutally if they disobeyed, forced to live under a system of apartheid for a century after being freed, and still face inequality in many aspects of life. And now they have to hear feminists say, “We’re oppressed just like black men! Someone asked me out in an elevator and respected me when I turned him down!”
@Jason
There’s this stereotype about black women, perhaps you’ve heard of it, it’s called Jezebel. It means that black women are often perceived as lascivious and overly-sexual. Now, does that stereotype support the demonization of men or the demonization of blacks?
Please note that I am framing this discussion in your selected terms.
Good point, Polly. When I’ve talked with my other guy friends, it was common to hear one of them mention how women just “talk about stupid shit.”
Of course, considering a lot of conversations I’ve had – guys talk “stupid shit” as well. I’ve never been fond of televised sports and hearing other guys obsess over the stats of athletes we won’t remember 20 years from now befuddles me. None of it is exactly important and yet they put a ton of energy and investment into it as if it did. I might read comics and play videogames – but at least I can admit to enjoy such as entertainment and not as some de facto social ritual I feel obligated to care about because everyone else does.
Besides, a lot of that “stupid shit” is actual meaningful…it’s just that guys don’t want to come off as emotionally open. It seems – in most groups of dudes – the only valid behavior is to either be angry, pick on others for their weaknesses, or being an arrogant show-off. Talking about your personal issues for psychological catharsis and peer support? Totally off the table. Bringing it up was like putting albatrosses around your neck. Makes sense why I prefer talking to women more these days – my guy friends made chatting into either a debate or contest out of the silliest things and made it forbidden to be deep and sincere (’cause you don’t want to ruin their buzz) about anything. It’s not fun to talk to someone while also have to walk on egg-shells…
I do not want to assume, but is it a private school? Given how absurd it is to tell someone they can’t wear pants during the winter – that was my guess. They’re sticklers for the dress code and even the slightest deviation (perhaps wearing a t-shirt under the jacket) isn’t tolerated, as if it really matters at all (it doesn’t). The fact they still expect girls to wear skirts even in colder areas is utterly preposterous and pretty fucking backwards culturally. I’m sure corporate office buildings let their female employees wear pants if they wish, and they’re not exactly the most progressive places either.
LIBRARIAN SMASH!
Bonus points for not only not understanding what intersectionality is but attempting to explain it to people who do.
Feminists: Wants to make sure there are no more Emmett Tills, Trayvon Martins, Amadou Diallos, or Oscar Grants.
MRAs: Rubs hands with glee and cackles at the thought of more dead black men who can be used as a club against feminism.
Jason, I hate to break it to you, but talking about something you have almost no understanding of generally isn’t a good way to build your credibility around here. Just saying!
Hint: You might want to start at understanding what intersectionality is and how racism works in this society.
@Jason:
Do we need to buy you a dictionary? Or are you just being obtuse?
Speaking of obtuse – read the racism tag on this website, or maybe just start here: http://manboobz.com/2012/11/05/election-eve-the-spearhead-endorses-reactionary-misogyny-with-a-side-order-of-racism/ . . .
Then contrast with: http://manboobz.com/2013/07/13/open-thread-zimmerman-verdict/
Which side is more accurately described as ‘racist’ here? The feminists, or the MRAs?
NEWS FLASH: Black women were not taken from their homes, deprived of names, shipped across the sea in chains, worked to death, punished brutally if they disobeyed, forced to live under a system of apartheid for a century after being freed, and of course no longer face inequality in many aspects of life.
Thanks, Jason!
@Sarah – that’s a very fair point. However, you’ll notice that the stereotypes of black women portray them as manly (overly sexual). Their womanly qualities are under-emphasized. Because we care inherently more for the pain of women than we do for the pain of men, racism tries to keep women out of the picture as much as possible – otherwise, we might start feeling sorry for the racial group in question, and seeing them as humans.
Fixed that for you.
Also, you guys, remember when Rebecca Watson compared being asked out by a complete stranger while trapped in an elevator with him with no one around to slavery?
Oh wait, I don’t remember that either. Still, what a b*tch, amirite? How dare she have boundaries!
@Cloudiah – I never said they weren’t. But that’s where “intersectionality” fails. Because you really can’t argue that it was significantly worse to be a black woman than a black man, or that a white woman didn’t have it infinitely better in just about every way than a black man did.
Shorter Suzanne Venker: White men are an endangered species. Evidence of this?
Too little recess and they can’t even play their favorite brand of sportsball anytime they want to.
MISANDRY!
Jason, can you explain why white men are able to kill black men with impunity? Is that also misandry?
(Citations available upon request.)
Hey, how about you actually learn about how misogyny affects black women? Oh wait, you won’t because you’re an obtuse asshole.
The stereotype you’re referring to has been used to demonize women who are perceived as “overly sexual.” It relates to slut-shaming, not male-shaming.
How about you stop spewing your dumbass theories about racism and sexism and actually try to understand how they work?
“that’s a very fair point. However, you’ll notice that the stereotypes of black women portray
them as manly (overly sexual). Their womanly qualities are under-emphasized. Because we care inherently more for the pain of women than we do for the pain of men, racism tries to keep women out of the picture as much as possible – otherwise, we might start feeling sorry for the racial group in question, and seeing them as humans.”
I’m sorry to disagree, but there are stereotypes about men with East Asian ancestry being feminine and sexless. This does not fit with the logic of the above statement that characterizing an “Other” group as masculine allows the “Main” group to feel no sympathy.
Anyways, none of this is the point. You can nitpick little things I’ve said, try and make me racist or whatever, but you can’t disprove my original point – that Trayvon Martin was, in part, shot because he was male, and that racism is largely misandrous – and we need to address this issue, or else more incidents like this will happen.
Jason has a rather familiar smell about him, doesn’t he?
Jason, see Aaliyah’s comment.
Might be too subtle for you.
Oh, yes we can. Given that it was a racially-motivated attack, Trayvon most likely wouldn’t have been shot if he were white.
All black people are viewed as dangerous in a white supremacist society. Including black women. And in many ways, sexism affects black women way more than black men. Just look at the rates of sexual assault for black women.
You can
nitpickdemolishlittle thingseverything I’ve said, try and make me racist or whatever, but you can’t disprove my original point – that Trayvon Martin was,in partpretty much entirely, shot because he was a black male.FTFY.
@yoyo I still remember that happening in my english class when I was in yr 7. The teacher had no control over some of the boys and the class was a total waste of time.
The ringleader of that mayhem was at my school reunion just the other week. I commented to my friends about it when I saw him because I remember it so vividly. I didn’t speak to him then, but I would put money on him either not even remembering doing that, or remembering it as a bit of fun.
Haha Fox news though. No normal person would watch it anyway
@Sarah – well, there are probably millions of different stereotypes out there. Jews eat hummus, Brits are snobby, Asians are good at math, whatever. (I’d go on but it would just give you guys more fuel to call me a racist.) Anyways, there are lots of stereotypes, and of course most aren’t sexual. Not all are even bad (except inasmuch as judging a person by the group they belong to is inherently bad). But when you really want to demonize a group, you portray it as full of dangerous, sexual males. Back in the day, there were stereotypes about crooked Chinamen luring innocent white women into their opium dens. Fortunately, no one perpetuates that one anymore, because we’re far more accepting of Asian-Americans today than we were back when they were building the Transcontinental Railroad.
@Ally – Trayvon wouldn’t have been shot if he was white. I agree. But can you honestly argue that, if he were a black female, it would have gone down the way it did? No matter how racist Zimmerman might be, he wouldn’t have gotten out of the car to chase down a black woman because she might be a criminal.
Haha. Jews eat hummus? I think you’re doing stereotypes wrong, Jason.
I call Poe.
“Anyways, none of this is the point. You can nitpick little things I’ve said, try and make me racist or whatever, but you can’t disprove my original point – that Trayvon Martin was, in part, shot because he was male, and that racism is largely misandrous – and we need to address this issue, or else more incidents like this will happen.”
I believe I just did. I am not sure if you are from the United States and familiar with our history, but we imprisoned a portion our citizens because they were of Japanese descent. That does not fit with your narrative, slick.
@Jason
“But can you honestly argue that, if he were a black female, it would have gone down the way it did? ”
Unfalsifiable claim as well as a strawman.
@Ana – You’re right. Next time I want help stereotyping, I’ll ask a feminist for assistance.
“… that Trayvon Martin was, in part, shot because he was male,”
And he was shot by another male. What does that mean?
“… and that racism is largely misandrous – and we need to address this issue, or else more incidents like this will happen.”
But since he was shot by a man, you’re implying that men shooting other men is misandry.Okay, but explain what you mean.
Right, that would be unthinkable.
Nope, unarmed black women never get shot by the cops.
@Sarah – Well, let’s put it this way: I don’t think we were afraid of Japanese women and children being spies for their country. And it’s a thought experiment. We don’t know for sure what Zimmerman would have done. But I think it quite likely that far more people would see a black man as a potential threat than a black woman, don’t you?
Apparently young girls don’t have any energy, they just sit around and paint their nails all day. Young girls could not possibly also be struggling to sit through boring, repetitive lectures about things they don’t care about, frustrated that they’ll have to go home and sit around doing more of the same. No. This is a MALE problem, only young MALES have to fight back the urge to run around when they’re supposed to be sitting in class.
I’m just Jewish enough to be offended that you don’t think Jews are an international cabal of neurotic bankers who control the media and the world economy, Jason.