A Voice for Men’s Honey Badgers ask: Why hasn’t Anita Sarkeesian been harassed MORE?
A Voice for Men’s so-called “Honey Badgers” — its little super-team of female MRAs, led by blabby Canadian videoblogger Karen “GirlWritesWhat” Straughan — have a new theory about Anita Sarkeesian. And it’s a doozy.
Sarkeesian, you may recall, is a feminist cultural critic who’s faced pretty much nonstop harassment from misogynistic internet assholes since she launched a project to dissect sexist tropes in video games. AVFM has contributed, in its own special way, to this wave of harassment, with articles describing Sarkeesian as, among other things, a “moneygrubbing liar” and a “queen bee … girl interloper” in the world of video games; AVFM’s Dean Esmay also held her partially responsible, along with an assortment of other internet feminists, for the suicide of one Canadian Men’s Rights Activist.
The principals at AVFM have blamed her for — either inadvertently or deliberately – bringing this harassment on herself by going to 4chan and posting about her project. (As I noted in a previous post, there’s no actual evidence she ever did this.)
The Honey Badgers, for their part, are certain that getting harassed by 4chaners was part of her devious plan all along.
In a teaser for their internet “radio” show tonight, the “Honey Badger” known as TyphonBlue writes:
Like all professional damsels in distress, Anita Sarkeesian had to choose a good dragon. Just the right looming shadow to fall over her delicate and fragile sensibilities; just the right cackling stage-villain to inspire her cries of helpless horror.
She chose 4-chan. An internet forum known for it’s underbelly of foul-tempered and hair-triggered trolls.
Then, after accusing Sarkeesian of inviting countless rape and death threats upon herself (and only a portion of it from 4channers, I should add), the Badgers take their weird conspiracy theory one step further:
But we at Honey Badger Radio have noticed something… odd. The wave of so-called hate that Anita received from her carefully chosen dragon, wasn’t really all that bad.
Yeah. A year and a half (so far) of pretty much unending harassment and baseless criticism, complete with violent threats directed not only at her but at other women who have defended her — that’s nothing.
Compared to 4-chan’s usual scorched earth strategy–raizing [sic] everything to the ground and pissing on the ashes, Anita got a little singed, like she sat too close to a campfire.
So we have to ask… Did 4-chan white knight Anita? I mean, come on. Was that the best 4 chan could do?
Yes, that’s right. The Honey Badgers are accusing those who sent rape and death threats to Anita Sarkeesian … of “white knighting” her.
I can’t even.
Posted on November 14, 2013, in a voice for men, a woman is always to blame, antifeminism, empathy deficit, FemRAs, harassment, misogyny, MRA, no games for girls, none dare call it conspiracy, oppressed men, rape culture, taking pleasure in women's pain, threats, TyphonBlue, victrim blaming, video games, white knights and tagged a voice for men, anita sarkeesian, anti-feminism, antifeminism, female antifeminists, men's rights, misogyny, MRA. Bookmark the permalink. 718 Comments.
Lol, good one. =P
Zoot:
Are you aware that there have been feminists who suggest making those hordes of faceless mooks match the historical record in terms of gender balance (ie, typically about 20% of the fighting force)?
For that matter, are you aware that it’s feminists who have attempted to alter the rules of the actual U.S. forces to allow women into combat roles?
This is, of course, a rhetorical question, as I realize that you are far too busy simultaneously patting yourself on the back for your clever retorts and shoving your head far enough up your ass that you can ignore the real world.
*************
For some brain-bleach: Little girls design superheroes–and it’s AWESOME!
http://bettersupes.tumblr.com/
This looks like an attempt to bait 4chan into stepping it up a notch in their harassment of her. Basically it looks like they are saying to 4chan “is that the best you can do?”
I ssomeow managed to listen to a good portion of the last HB show on her and to hear some women call in and including the honey idiots say that Anita is making it harder for good women be accepted by male gamers was pathetic and sad. So to be accepted in a so called male space you need to shut up and not toe the line, lest the poor men get suspicious of all women. And as if all men agree with each other’s behavior and all make rude comments.
Also the obsession with Sarkeesian and conspiracy theories about her are so bizarre. This one dude keeps stalking her on twitter leaving snarky comments. Wtf? So you disagree with her, fine. Get over it like most people do. I think they are just paranoid she’s gonna make all pixilated boobies dissappear or something >_>
And to add one more thing: I love when the dudebros argue “it’s just as bad because of all the faceless men you mow down,” and then refuse to acknowledge that games like Mainichi or Journey are actual games because “there’s no combat.”
Sorry that should say women SHOULD toe the line, lest they get kicked out of the clubhouse.
freemage, that tumblr is adorably awesome.
“ssomeow”
Ugh. Damn phone. But lol at meow. So fitting for manboobz.
Heh heh…please do! I did.
Now there’s a thought. She’s probably only ever seen the dreck through the beer goggles of local boosterism. And she probably thinks it’s some kind of Happy Hunting Ground for hussies, too, due to the wildly out-of-whack ratio of males to females there. Misandry!!!
Shush, dear, the grown-ups are talking.
@HeatherN I think that sounds about right!
@Zoot
Sadly, I wasted five minutes of my life perusing the non-YouTube link, the tumblr page of one of her online stalkers/critics. What does it prove? She’s not what you consider a hardcore gamer? She worked in PR? She works with her boyfriend? In the adult world, people switch careers and fields, non-die hard fans can comment on media, and people can collaborate on things like videos to earn money.
Are you suggesting Sarkeesian deliberately baited male gamers with her feminist critique to create a massive controversy, that she planned and wanted all the harassment? It’s all her fault and the hundreds of morons who harassed her are blameless puppets, manipulated by a PR wizard?
Sorry, her rabid detractors and harassers are responsible for their own actions and if she profited from this shitstorm, well bully for her. In the end, every reasonable adult in the gaming community should be a little embarrassed that an army of fanboys reacted like hearing feminist criticism of video games is the equivalent to having battery acid thrown in their face.
You can think Sarkeesian is wrong, that she doesn’t understand video games or that she’s a complete joke. You can be her harshest critic, without acting like a jackass and casting her as the anti-Christ.
Also, her criticism in no way prevents you or anyone else from criticizing the excess, dehumanizing violence and pro-war sentiments in video games. Everyone is allowed to pick their personal causes. Have at it.
As side note the guy with the tumblr page doesn’t understand what sexism is, because he thinks women wearing sexy costumes at Dragon Con is something Sarkeesian would denounce. Bit of a fail there.
Bina – Not having your choice in fuck buddies is MISANDRY!
Also, apparently the threat of having women with personalities is MISANDRY.
Well, I bit and looked. Aside from the stalkerish vibe there’s not really anything remarkable there.
Well, I guess if you consider a Communications student working a PR/event coordination job ground breaking or if you think that Anita having someone running the camera cracks this whole thing open; then prepare to have your mind BLOWN. Oh, and the kicker: Anita might not have always been as vocal about the way women are portrayed in media! And we all know a person can only ever have one opinion on a subject and it can never change.
I’m going to listen to the Circle Jerks classic Sex Act on vinyl in honor of our
trollguest!That tumblr is gorgeous!
@chibigodzilla
You went to the Top Secret tumblr page as well? We both know too much!
Zoot: So much for you breaking the circlejerk, because all you’re doing is wanking in public. Call yourself Poot, because that’s about what your contributions here amount to.
NonServiam:
Depends. If it’s happening at work (and it does), I don’t usually call it out, but I am VERY wary of that woman from then on. Like, we have one woman exec who pretty much refuses to hire women for her department and is what I like to call a Professional Girl (very into appearances–hers and others–currying favor with men, compeitive with other women for that favor, etc.) who I don’t trust as far as I could throw because of the misogyny coming off her.
If it’s someone I know outside of work, I’ll call it out in “why would you say that/think that?” kind of way.
God, I keep hearing that over and over and over again – yet am given no evidence of such (30-second clips from YouTube from some random asshole don’t count). Being a gamer and having bothered to watch her videos (which I doubt many of her “critics” do), she uses actual examples from those games and in the proper context. But I’m sure there’s some dumb conspiracy theory attached to that too…
Honestly, this intense and obsessive hatred towards Sarkeesian is just bizzare. No one is forcing any of these people watch her videos – yet they keep getting worked up over every single observation she makes. Y’know what I do when I dislike a “talking head” video on YouTube? I ignore it and do something else. See, it’s easy!
The weird part, to me, is how many people I’ve come across who despise her…yet don’t play videogames themselves. I keep hearing the claim she isn’t a “real gamer” (God, I hate that gate-keeping shit…) yet I come across plenty of her “critics” who never as much pick up a controller or even familiar with the games she’s referencing. They claim to be angry at her arguments but, well, how does that make any sense? They don’t get the context which she’s making these observations – which is important. It’s certainly not made in a vaccuum, since the subject matter involves analyzing fictional tropes from a specific medium.
Wouldn’t the equivalent of that be crashing some symposium between molecular biologists and, despite knowing nothing about the subject, arguing that everything they’re saying must be bullshit ’cause it doesn’t “sound right” to you?
But obviously was too busy rage fapping to hear the words that Anita was saying.
*loosens shoulders*
All right, let’s do this…
If you’d listened to the videos as well, you’d know that women are represented as objective goals and are not allowed any agency or actions as independent actors on their own. Anita repeated shows how Damsel in Distress reduces women to trophies that are won or lost by the *real* heroes, men.
As far as your faux outrage about “the THOUSANDS of men that you are mowing down” I’m not seeing any calls for less violence in video games. Are you working to reduce the market for violence as the only solution that make up the largest portion of console games? Because that’s a feminist ideal. Are you calling for more and equal representation of women as heroes and villains in video games? Because that’s a feminist ideal.
Yeah, she’s only been playing games since she was 10.
Just keep spouting your debunked talking points, we love Whack-a-Troll here.
Hey, guys, d’ja miss me?
Hi Cynickal, how ya been?
G’day, cynickal, been a while! :)
“Much of AvFM is carefully crafted articles to offend the emotions of certain people to get attention to men’s issues (real one’s, like suicide, custody, disposibility in wars, etc) and I think that demeans the whole conversation.”
The irony is that when MRAs are being serious like this it sounds like good satire.
Among all the “criticisms” Sarkeesian had shot at her, the one that makes me scratch my head is the one where she is a scam artist who intentionally baited trolls, knowing that the death threats could work to her advantage and get her extra money. My take on that is, even if that was true, *why* did it work so easily?
If Fat, Ugly or Slutty and this study (http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/WaiYenTang/20130208/186335/Reactions_to_a_womans_voice_in_an_FPS_game.php) among other sources are any indication, the gaming community is very hostile and unwelcoming to women.
Clearly, they’re aware of that. Shouldn’t we want to address the gaming world’s misogyny?
@Quackers
There are at least four very depressing aspects to this sentence, it’s packed full of sadness.
The honey badgers in general have a dour vibe, it’s as if they believe hundreds of men will immediately die the moment they stop broadly condemning women and/or feminism.
And they spoiled one of my favorite all-time viral videos. Boo.
I wish they’d stop comparing themselves to certain animals Honey badgers are awesome, these guys are not.
Totally off topic, but WTF?
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/14/anger-erupts-in-new-zealand-after-defense-lawyer-told-victim-to-close-your-legs-to-avoid-rape/
On another note, Cracked apparently did an article that makes mention of MRAs and the irony of the fedora. It’s #1 http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-awesome-things-with-inexplicably-bad-reputations_p2/
Hey, cool article, naltia! Nice to see MRAs and associated losers given a poke. Plus, fedoras are gorgeous hats, and it’s such a shame they’ve become associated with these oxygen thieves. Hell, the fedora would be the only good thing about most of ‘em.
(Not that I’m biased or anything.)
Hey Zoot,
Whether she’s a “real gamer” or not is irrelevant to the content of her critique. If you don’t understand why, then you have pretty much demonstrated that you are a sexist.
What does it take to be a “real” gamer, anyway? I mean, I’m almost strictly a table-topper myself. Is that real?
Feckin’ links!
thebobgoblin – easy. Real gamers are dudes and they SUFFER TERRIBLY because everyone picks on ‘em and women won’t fuck them on demand.
kittehs – And don’t forget that they need to have their women bland and personality-less, preferably with large boobies and impractical clothes, or otherwise they’re being oppressed!
I don’t really feel any anger towards these women, just pity. They obviously are seeking male attention, and seem to be going about it by trying to be one of the guys.They all take the most extreme, hateful views,in order to prove themselves worthy of the male attention they seek. I’m sure the rest of you have realized already that these women have quite low self esteem. I really do feel sorry for them. :(
Totally, Alice!
And young, of course. Over 25 is just so old and eww for manly dudebros.
Y’know, it never seems to occur to these idiots that the whole “the school jocks picked on us for being geeks” defensiveness and gatekeeping doesn’t cut it. It’s not just that it didn’t happen to all of them, or that they’re being just as big arseholes now. School bullies are likely to pick on their targets because of the person, the perceived weakness or vulnerability, and it doesn’t matter what the victim’s interests are. Like sport? They’ll take it out on you on the sports field. Like popular things? You won’t be good enough to be allowed to like them. Like unpopular things? Just fodder for the bullying.
Did someone say tabletop games? VtM? Do we have another VtM fan?
(No, I have nothing on topic to say)
Whenever I think of tabletop games all that comes to mind is
1) table tennis
2) Scrabble
kittehs – Seriously. I’m sorry if you got bullied, but that doesn’t justify being an asshole in return. Gatekeeping and misogyny isn’t cool, no matter what your history.
Also, when I think of tabletop games, I think of Pictionary, Apples to Apples, Munchkin, Scrabble, and Guillotine. Good times…
Oh gosh, the board games of my youth come to mind – Haunted House (damn bits never did work properly), the Funky Phantom, Monopoly, jigsaw puzzles …
The bullying thing doesn’t even make sense, since no one is stopping “jocks” from being in the gaming community. It sounds like their idea of “bullying” is when they didn’t get laid in high school.
LOL too true, auggz!
Kind of off topic, but on the topic of mocking misogyny, some Texas high schoolers might be stealing your act, David:
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/11/texas-hs-students-revolt-over-sexist-speaker.html
http://gawker.com/motivational-speaker-tells-high-school-kids-dateable-g-1464304493
The man they’re criticising is a real piece of work, too:
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2013/11/the_6_creepiest_things_about_r.php
Apparently, “dateable” girls shut up an don’t ask guys out and guys need to lead. Also, “girls” are soft and gentle.
Right.
Bridge? Cribbage? Monopoly?
Do things like chess, mah jong, or backgammon that have movable bits count? You do generally play them at a table…
So I realized I didn’t sumarize what was going on. Basically, a Texas school invited a “complementarian” Christian speaker to talk to their students about… something. Dating. Also abuse (because complementarians are so useful when it comes to fighting abuse). The students basically attacked him during the QandA and took to twitter to um… vent their frustrations.
Also, “Men of God are wild, not domesticated.” Really. It says that on the speaker’s site. “They don’t live by the rules of the opposite sex. They fight battles, conquer lands, and stand up for the oppressed.”
One of those three is not like the others, and women don’t stand up for the oppressed? Also, “the rules of the opposite sex”? Are those things like “be kind to people” and “be polite”?
wordsp1nner – Oh my gods, I’m mocking that guy’s “dating rules” right now.
I never had anyone to play Vampire the Masquerade with, but I did have a book on Brujah lore. Would have been awesome to play.
The quizzes are the best. I’m only dateable as a dude, apparently (though most of the questions are meaningless as an adult–and as someone who is probably* bisexual, too) (if I’m dating someone with a curfew, I’m probably a rapist).
http://www.rudateable.com/cool_quizzes.php
*Still figuring this shit out. At 22.
wordsp1nner, I’m wondering how they reconcile “conquering lands” with “standing up for the oppressed.” erm….
I know!
Michael – Simple. Think of yourself as George Bush.
On games, I remember I loved the hell out of Nintendogs. I always forgot to take care of my dogs though, so I freaked the fuck out whenever they bit me out of starvation and neglect. That’s kind of dark for a kids’ game, now that I think of it…
wordsp1nner – Welp. I’m totally undateable according to that because I don’t like playing hard to get (when I answer as a chick), and I’m totally pushing it because I’m honest and want to enjoy my SO’s company (when I’m answering as a dude).
Why is this so heteronormative?
Definitely!
Draughts, Chinese Checkers and cards, too.
Michael – just what I was going to ask.
Sorry, that was off topic. I was thinking about how I liked some not “legit” games as much as “legit” ones, and Nintendogs is an example of a non “legit” game.
I looked at that *cough* quiz *cough* and couldn’t even answer the questions. Partly that was ‘cos some are so irrelevant I wouldn’t know how to answer them, but mostly because it made my skin crawl.
Legit games are the ones that involve killing lots of people, right?
I’m trying to imagine what a dateable girl acts like on a date according to that site. I guess she just sits there very quietly and tries to look interested (but not interesting, because that would be manly).
Hmmm. Here’s a question: is poking your SO in the ribs with a knitting needle a valid response when zie’s being a PSH?
(PSH: persistently smartarse husband, but insert appropriate name)
;)
Cassandra – maybe she sits knitting, ‘cos knitting for someone else is what Femininely Feminininininine Ladies do.
I don’t think teenagers are allowed to knit in this scenario, plus then he might feel like she was ignoring him and that would be misandry.
Just so long as she isn’t knitting a uterus to send to an anti-choice politician.
No really, that was an actual Thing a few years ago–it was a pro-choice protest along the lines of “You want our uteruses? Well have these! Also base on the fact that anti-choice politicians tend to be squeamish about the squidgy bits involved in making babies.
CassandraSays – A dateable girl follows “The Rules” when trying to catch a man. She can’t be too interested, because that’s MANLY and obviously guys don’t like it when a chick takes initiative. *nod*
I went through a looooooonnnnnnngggggg period where I only played V:tM and its cousins, but I’m getting into old-school(ish) D&D(ish) these days. I always wanted to try a thematic hybrid of the two in a campaign pitched as “Greyhawk By Night.” None of my friends ever liked the idea, though. And I’m right now DMing a 3.5 edition campaign in which all the PCs are nonhuman animals.
Omigod, that Justin Lookado guy is a conservative Christian PUA. Talk about twisted minds thinking alike!
Yep, that’s what I want, a man who doesn’t care that I don’t appear to be interested in him and keeps pestering me anyway. The people who wrote these rules are very wise.
Alice–ah, now I see!
wordsp1nner, if you ever date someone who’s on probation, they probably will have a curfew, so there ya go! :D
In terms of datability, for experimental reasons that for the purpose of this comment I will call “desperation”, I put up a singles ad on craigslist in my small Ohio town about a year ago; it went something like this: Single, unemployed godless heathen, with 2 pet rats living in my room doing whatever they want. My 2 pet cats pretty much own me, I play video games when I’m not watching my TV shows and Youtube compilations, and I write science fiction and other stuff. And I’m 32.
And wouldn’t ya know, not a single reply in a town full of college bros and other people I’d like to avoid! That’s okay, I’m married to my work. :3
I’m not datable as a woman, but I’m “da man” if I take the boys quiz.
Man, not only are these people disgracing the actual animal, but also the assault weapon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAC_Honey_Badger_PDW).
CassandraSays – Well what guy wants to be emasculated by a girl who can take care of herself? If she’s not dependent on you for everything, she doesn’t like you!
*rolls eyes*
anita lied about being a gamer