So I recently ran across a site called “Is It Normal?” The idea behind it is simple, and kind of wonderful: people confess some possibly odd thing about themselves, and others tell them if it’s normal. Now, normally (as it were) I’m against the too-rigid enforcement of what is considered “normal” behavior, especially when it comes to sexuality and sex roles. But that’s not really what we’re talking about here. Ohhhh, no. We’re talking about grown men and women eating their own boogers; having sexual fantasies about zombies; feeling an urge to jump off of high places; or wanting to be turned into a doll or manikin. (Hey, whatever floats your boat.)
Naturally, I did a search for “misogyny” just to see what turned up. Is that a normal thing to do? I don’t know, and I don’t care, but I did it and the search pulled up a couple of pretty interesting little discussions.
The one that really grabbed my attention was from a guy who said he hated female sexuality. Which may not be “normal,” though as readers of this blog know it’s not uncommon. But this guy is no Christopher from Oregon, whose hatred of female sexuality is part of a package deal that includes hatred for pretty much everything female.
No, this guy hates female sexuality in part because, well, he thinks the male body is ugly and so assumes – or at least feels on a gut level — that any woman having sex with a man is being coerced, bamboozled, or raped. Yep, we’re talking about a rich and toxic stew of misogyny and misandry here. Let’s let him explain:
I Hate Female Sexuality
What little mysogyny I have in me is directed at female sexuality. I can’t stand it that females are attracted to males, ever. I hate them a little for it, just feel it in my gut. I thought for a long time when I was younger that females were basically asexual, not interested in sex, and that romance for them was something far removed from physical love. It didn’t occur to me that anyone might find the male form attractive, and I always suspected males were using some form of deception or raping women in some way when they were with them. I don’t understand this hate and distrust for my own sex. It really bothers me.
I hate that I feel there’s something wrong with a female having an active sexuality when I know intellectually there’s not. I’m a passionate feminist and attracted to females myself. I don’t really understand this feeling.
I think maybe a small part of it is jealousy when I see a couple, and the rest mostly my wierd, incongruous hatred for the male sex.
I don’t think females are doing something wrong but that something wrong is being done to them when they engage in sexual activity, even consentual, with a male, and they’re allowing it to happen, are complicit in it. This is just a feeling I have and can’t shake. It’s not overwhelming, like I’m freaking out whenever I see a couple but it’s there a lot, subtle but persistent. I’m atheist and I’m not someone who belives sexual promiscuity is wrong or even undesirable in male or females. This is just a wierd, lingering emotional problem, like fear of the dark or something like that.
Is it normal?
So, yeah. For what it’s worth, only 14% of those reading this confession rated it normal. But, as I said, I don’t think it’s uncommon. We grow up, after all, in a society that treats sexuality as a commodity that women possess, and that men try to “get” from women – by charming them into “giving it up,” by buying it directly or indirectly (by going to a prostitute or paying for dinner), or simply taking by force.
This way of thinking about sex is pretty deeply embedded in our culture; as regular readers of this blog know all too well, many MRAs, MGTOWers, and PUAs (especially) seem unable to conceive of sexuality in any other way. Neither does the questioner on Is It Normal (who goes by the name SamuraiPeeper), even though he’s a self-described feminist.
Like a lot of misogynistic ideas, this “women own sex, men must fight to get it” idea contains a heaping helping of misandry as well – suggesting that women basically don’t enjoy or desire sex with men because male bodies and male sexuality are inherently disgusting. It’s only a few small steps from this to SamuraiPeeper’s whole muddled mixture of desire and disgust, hatred and self-hatred.
The biggest difference between SamuraiPeeper and the MGTOWers and other misogynists I write about here is that he’s aware that his views are fucked up, and is trying actively to work through his issues. And he’s actually gotten some good responses to his query on Is It Normal?
PoisonFlowers suggests that some of his hatred and disgust probably stems from a fear of female sexuality:
Is it misogyny? I don’t think it’s as clear cut as that. Perhaps because the image you had of women (almost an idealised impression it seems) when you were younger has been destroyed (instead of having romance that is above sex, it turns out that women can be just as animalistic as men), you feel a sort of resentment and that mixes with the jealousy and then as you say “a weird, incongruous hatred for the male sex.” This then becomes a strong dislike for female sexuality.
Why do you have these feelings about men? Is it the people you’ve been surrounded with throughout your life and their behaviour/attitudes? Have you witnessed a man being abusive towards a woman at any point in your life? …
You say that you feel as though “something wrong is being done to them,” which could point to an urge in you to protect women, or perhaps it is more accurate to say to protect the _idea_ you have of women that stems from the concept you had when you were younger.
randomsensuality offers some similar observations:
It definitely sounds like you want to protect the idea of females as pure, with an almost divine stature. It also sounds like you have been taught or embraced the idea that penetrative sex is inherently degrading or immoral: therefore a woman who enjoys it is equally so.
Another bit on the matter is that many men do not find it attractive when women lead the hunt, as it were. They want to be the ones in control, in the pursuit of the sex and relationships. If a woman is as much “on the prowl” as he is, then he can’t say that it was a full conquest. He wants to know he’s been where others have failed to enter, that it took his prowess to crack the nut, setting him apart and making his mate a trophy and attribute to his stature.
Lets also not forget the angle of loathing the male form, which you say you can’t understand a woman being attracted to. If you are heterosexual male, this makes sense. Of course it’s easier to wrap your brain around lesbian sex, you like women, you understand innately attraction to women. Attraction to men, is scary for more than that reason though. If a woman is attracted to a man, then she could be attracted to any man the way a man can be attracted to any woman: this vision of the situation can induce pre-emptive jealousy and defensiveness.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old girl calling herself so_damn_unpretty offers a blunter response – and one that might do the questioner as much good as the longer, more thoughtful responses:
I love men… and cock.. and sex… so i really cant relate.
In the end, that’s probably the most important takeaway here, as they like to say in the business world. Women – most women, anyway – genuinely like and enjoy sex as much as men. Sometimes more. When a guy “scores” with a woman — she is also “scoring” with him. Rigid gender roles that define man as the sexual pursuer and women as the sexual prize may make it hard to see this, but it’s true. Not only that, but women – heterosexual women, anyway – actually like and enjoy the male body.
Guys, know this: while you are watching sports, or playing video games, or playing with yourself, or knitting (or whatever your favorite hobby is), there are thousands of women writing, sharing, and reading slash fic about dudes (from various TV shows and movies and books) getting it on with each other. There are no women in these stories, at least not in the dirty parts. Just dudes, and their dude bodies, having dude sex with each other. Freud once asked: what do women want? And to that we have a partial answer: stories about Sam and Dean from Supernatural penetrating one another’s deepest mysteries.
@Amnesia
Keep in mind, society deemed it unacceptable for me to be angry at her – regardless of the fact that she could have beaten me up with ease given her size and mine, and my pacifism. I was supposed to suck it up, shut up, and do nothing. It’s not like I could avoid a classmate in classes.
It’s also deemed unacceptable to retaliate in self-defense against a girl or woman. Even in front of deadly force or a weapon or death threats.
Not that I even retaliated against boys, I tried to scratch and bite when in elementary, when attacked, but abandoned that later in favor of curling up in a ball waiting for it to end.
So Schala, I’m wondering what your personal stake is here. Are you concerned that society will continue to regard you as male, despite how you present yourself?
“society deemed”
Ahhhhhhh! Sorry, pet peeve. Hearing those words from an MRA is like fingernails on a chalkboard. What you really mean is “In my individual experience, my classmates (and possibly my teachers) made me feel like…”
“Society” didn’t “deem” nothing.
@Bee
1) I’m not a MRA, do not identify as one either, and do not visit Spearhead or the likes, the same way I usually don’t visit I Blame the Patriarchy.
2) I’ll say “society deems” when it’s pretty much a consensus. There might be dissension, but when said dissension makes you a pariah…
It was in a corridor, it was about 200 people I didn’t know (we were 2500 students, walking between classes).
And for sure, when I say something, it’s my opinion. I can’t dictate reality.
“So Schala, I’m wondering what your personal stake is here. Are you concerned that society will continue to regard you as male, despite how you present yourself?”
I have a strong sense of justice and hate people who are left out on the pavement because it’s not popular to defend them.
This does include trans women, who yes, are often seen as men (regardless of how they individually look), and often become pariah within their own family for transitioning. Thank god I had 0 friend pre-transition. I didn’t lose any. My family was more accepting than the average US family seems to be. My parents don’t deny being my parents, and my brothers are fine with me. I was also single and childless, so no problems there.
Who told you not to be angry with her? They were wrong. You had every right to be angry with her. The people who told you to suck it up, to ignore it, you have every right to be angry at them, too.
But guess what? Feminism didn’t cause this. It’s a patriarchal idea that men have to be strong protectors while women are delicate flowers to be protected. Feminism has been trying to combat this for years.
Hmm. You didn’t really answer my question, Schala. And why not visit the Spearhead or IBTP? I do. Even though I may not like what I read on those sites, it’s always valuable to learn how people who are different from me think.
Feminism didn’t cause this, that’s true.
But let’s not pretend that anti-rape and anti-DV initiatives are not taking advantage of this chivalric notion of “let’s protect the women”. Something men wouldn’t be able to take advantage of, however patriarchal it or they be.
Claims of “women did theirs, [men] do yours if you want DV/rape services” completely ignore this.
@mediumdave
“Hmm. You didn’t really answer my question, Schala. And why not visit the Spearhead or IBTP? I do. Even though I may not like what I read on those sites, it’s always valuable to learn how people who are different from me think.”
My personal stake is not tolerating injustice. And it strikes a cord to me that even infants are treated differently based on sex assigned at birth. Each having their joys or pains, but only if you fit the mold (and despite claims of such, not all men aspire to be the most powerful/rich/muscled/dominant person in their country – hence they don’t fit the male mold). Heck, not all men are born with [what people/doctors identify as long enough to qualify as] penises. So generalizations that happen can really go out the window.
I want people to have the choice to be, without having a metric ton of things imposed on them for no better reason than comfortability factor of parents, then peers (of both the child and parents). The country which prides itself with liberty, still brainwashes their kids to view pink and blue as ultimate markers of worthyness, depending on private bits no one sees.
And that makes me think it’s really hopeless, or that the country lies about liberty.
I also don’t want men forgotten in this, and they so often are.
I’m not sure who mentioned that all men had to worry about was whine-worthy, not important stuff, but it was a feminist post (not comment) somewhere I often read (not radical). Gender roles that force you to wear drab clothes and heck – that equate anything non-drab with feminity, need to go. It hurts both sexes, since it makes women seem uniformly vain because they don’t want to look like robots, and it makes men look boring, because they DO look like robots. Suit and ties galore…all the same penguin suit, because the alternative is reputation suicide in many places. Certainly not because they ALL happen to prefer boring same-old same-old stuff.
Heck even I’m not a fashionista (I despise fashion) and I like wearing more than 3 colors in more than 2 fabrics. I like wearing skirts sometimes, especially when it’s 100 F outside. A boy would stared at (at a minimum) if he did.
And I don’t go read Spearhead and IBTP because I can’t even post on one (IBTP has very very weird filters) and both are the kind of places I couldn’t dialog, ever.
Here we can have a semi-respectful conversation, with assumptions made sometimes, but no outright demolition…over there you need thick skin to even just READ the thread, let alone have people reply to you. I remember that intense feeling of dread when I posted over at MWMF forums – knowing I would be insulted to death for saying something reasonable.
Still not answering… yep. Frankly, Schala, I think you’re blowing smoke here. I think you’re actually afraid of letting go of male privilege, because for all of the disadvantages that come with being male in this society, you’re allowed much more agency as a man than you would be as a woman.
List male privileges me, as a high school graduate, working poor class trans woman, who has no friends, benefit from?
Being seen as a cis woman because I looked androgyne before transition? Is that a male privilege? I can pee standing up if I want, I guess, since I didn’t have surgery yet.
LOL, yes, exactly. You’re dodging this question because you either haven’t looked at this issue, or you don’t want to be honest.
Also, I benefit from certain female privileges, even if not all (it kind of requires the birth equipment to benefit fully).
Like more cordial service from retail workers. Less assumptions about my tendency to be violent, aggressive or someone likely to commit rape if left alone in the same bed as someone assigned female (to actually sleep). Less tendency to assume my penis can make me do heavy lifting (I’m physically not strong at all, and never was – but was still given warehouse jobs…that I got fired for, for underperforming – Retail and office entry-level jobs wanted more women).
I’m also not invisible anymore (as in worthless to look at, very good on my self-esteem before…), though that’s a mixed blessing considering my social anxiety.
You’re the one dodging now.
I told you the stake I have in this: I am against all kinds of injustice.
You don’t accept my answer, well it’s on you, because it’s my sincere honest answer. Aspies sometimes have obsessions right? Well I obsess over double standards being abolished.
Actually, no, I don’t think you are sincere. I have yet to meet an MRA (despite your protestations, you sound exactly like one) who was sincere about that.
And I think that you know perfectly well that the only movement capable of addressing these gender issues is the feminist movement. The MRM is too small and fringe-y to have much impact, and the “feminist critics” sphere is tinier still. The trans people advocacy movement does do good work, but it’s also small in numbers.
So I’ll ask one more time: If you are no longer presenting yourself as a male, why the deep concern with mens’ alleged disadvantage when it comes to DV?
“So I’ll ask one more time: If you are no longer presenting yourself as a male, why the deep concern with mens’ alleged disadvantage when it comes to DV?”
The same reason I’ll be concerned over trans women concerns for DV.
While feminists at large are generally more progressive than VRR’s radfem anti-trans screed, those who have shelters tend to be more mainstream and less feminist about it (in short, they’re uninformed, and possibly bigoted).
The same reason that denies trans women denies men. Simply because what motivates hatred of trans women is not misogyny – it’s hatred of male-assigned people who don’t follow their sex role – which includes not being a victim except posthumously (you’ll be a victim once you die, if you die for your country).
“Actually, no, I don’t think you are sincere. I have yet to meet an MRA (despite your protestations, you sound exactly like one) who was sincere about that.”
If you don’t toe the party line of the forum, you’ll sound defensive, regardless. So for sure, MRAs who argue with you will sound defensive.
I’m not pro-feminist or pro-MRA, I want a movement for equality for all, and it’s not either of those, even if parts of both of them are salvageable.
And feminism has an impact and more than MRAs, yes, but they don’t generally care if they can make things move, either. Have you seen NOW campaigning against the hate screed of Not in my Bathroom’s hate campaign aimed at trans women? Have you seen NOW campaigning for presumption of shared parenting (and this doesn’t touch me, since I won’t ever be a parent)? Have you seen NOW campaigning to have companies not require pants for men all year long (while allowing knee-length skirts for women)?
No one cares about it, so tiny voices will have to do – it’s the only voices.
Ah, the old “if NOW isn’t doing it, then no feminists are doing it” fallacy. Try harder.
To be fair on whether or not feminism can be the solution for all gender ills, I don’t think it can. I also don’t think it has to. I am black and a woman. Feminism cannot advocate for me in all the spaces I am discriminated against in. The civil rights movement for blacks did not address sexism black women suffer from black men.
What this means to me is both movements should exist because it is hard for everyone to see where they have privilege they want to uphold(consciously or unconsciously).I can advocate for change in instances where I suffer discrimination without alienating white people that could be receptive to the discourse. When I am doing that, I don’t take offense when they let me know. Where MRA’s fall off is exactly this place.
One instance is things like shared parenting. They don’t give a damn that women have the short end of the stick if the couple is together and she is the one giving up earning potential to take the lion’s share of child rearing. They only look at whether or not there is shared parenting if the couple splits.
Another thing, I have been bullied and attacked by boy’s and men in my lifetime and no one rushed in to protect me and no one was arrested. This MRA world where women and girls are soooo safe and protected would be nice to live in. Where can I sign up.?
One wonders in what capacity, since here in Quebec province, the only service for male victims of DV is anger management and the likes, for perpetrators – nothing for victims. Though you can be sure there are hundreds of women’s shelters.
You’re not the only one who lives in Canada -_-;; OR is trans…
Also unless Ontario is RIDIC DIFFERENT than Quebec (and my Quebec friends say the opposite actually, and that you’re wrong… ) that’s ttlly untrue. I know, since I ACTUALLY WORK WITH THESE SERVICES. There are a lot of male shelters. -_-;; (the big problem with male shelters is that they don’t want to accept FTMs, another thing we’re working w/ them on, and women’s shelters have to take them in… : ) All sorts of trauma programs here, including the trauma therapy program at Women’s College Hospital, accepts men. There are many services for men and not just “anger management”. Unless this is ideological based for you, you should be happy to know that reality is much better than you think 🙂 What you knew is incomplete, and there’s more to the puzzle so therefore conclusions derived from what you “knew” should change 🙂
I DID lose friends. All my friends. But this isn’t some sort of hatred against men (I’m not a man after all…. and it wasn’t that society saw me as one that is the basis of the transphobia) 😐 Transphobia expresses itself pretty evenly amongst all groups even if they are completely ideologically opposed (Christian groups, family groups, conservatives, liberals, feminists, MRAs, even LGB ppl)
“But they’re really men” is a narrative that’s across the board for a lot of transphobes too, regardless of ideology. : I’ve seen it in MRA ideology as well (it’s interesting how equally they match up too, that read like something M Andrea would write, w/ a couple changes regarding who is being the gender traitor to gain privilege xD, but stuff like in terms of acceptance of Blanchard’s theories, reasons why trans ppl transition, etc.. you’d think it’d be opposite for the way they see FTMs vs MTFs given the opposing ideologies, but it’s pretty much on par… trans women are more “viscerally” unappealing in society, and they both react to it as such… same with about surgeries… and the obsession with GRS for trans women more than nething else… ) Transphobia is more complex than either misogyny or misandry or even homophobia… and it crosses ideologies, and doesn’t’ change much across them either. Everybody tries to clothe it in ideology but it’s rly just a post facto clothing of their initial gut reaction, and trying to justify that :
So unless MRAs now hate men too…
I get your anger… I was bullied and beaten up every day in school as a child… it definitely was cuz I wasn’t fitting societal definitions of what it means to be “male” as well as other issues. I definitely DID benefit from male privilege later as well… I was never stalked being perceived as a male, I was never assaulted on the street… harassed… licked while jogging… i never had my computer knowledge questioned, or had my sporting accomplishments ridiculed… etc etc. :
But you are RIGHT that there are all sorts of problems w/ the way society treats men, and to try to have them fit into gender boxes and toughen up. I’ve written a LOT about this (all of my sporting violence posts for one)… the need to have young boys bodycheck and not give them a choice, while women at the olympic level can’t even.. it’s the huge problem w/ this crap, and sexism and the idea of women as weak and boys as strong by being defined as “not women” so we won’t let women check, but we force little boys to even if they dun want to so they can be a man : We see bullying as an outgrowth of “boys will be boys”. This isn’t feminism, this is what feminism FIGHTS, and it’s what *I* fight.. as a feminist, a trans woman, as somebody who even went thru that. This is stuff I fight, b/c ppl not suffering is important to me, that ppl not be forced into gender roles, or beaten up (and ppl growing up as girls aren’t immune to this either) and that violence against ANYBODY is wrong. >:| And that’s why I’m fighting against this stuff, working WITH these agencies, and speaking up about this, and it’s causes, and fighting this s- and the patriarchical ideas and gender roles that can be extremely harmful to all sorts of ppl.
But to do that, you have to actually fight what’s REAL, and what’s happening in reality, and the dynamics that are actually at play in society (which are often complex and not just like that letter I saw in the newspaper where somebody claimed that headshots in hockey was an effort by women and feminists to make men get hurti n sports… -_- most of the ppl pushing for violence against men in that context is other men.. as I said.. complex 🙁 and awful : ) and the society and cultural issues that inform those dynamics and the privilege and everything else (including cis privilege). You can’t change things if you’re shooting 30 feet wide of the target :
On a lighter note, I dunno how you feel about it, but I hope Quebec City gets their hockey team back! 😀
Feminism cannot advocate for me in all the spaces I am discriminated against in. The civil rights movement for blacks did not address sexism black women suffer from black men.
What this means to me is both movements should exist because it is hard for everyone to see where they have privilege they want to uphold(consciously or unconsciously).
Yus THANK YOU! Intersectionality is SO important 🙂 It’s something that is a big focus in my work (and in my beliefs and my blogging) :]
Another thing, I have been bullied and attacked by boy’s and men in my lifetime and no one rushed in to protect me and no one was arrested. This MRA world where women and girls are soooo safe and protected would be nice to live in. Where can I sign up.?
*offers safe hugs* 🙁 I ttlly empathize with you on that too … it happens to me so much as well :
And ppl thinking trans women are rapists is not based upon that they think we’re men, but that we’re “psychopathic” and “unstable” as well as just gut visceral distaste. -_-;; Ther’es a whole heaping of ablism in there too -_-;; I never felt like, nor was ever seen as or even suggested that, I simply perceived as being a man, was probably a rapist before, but I am NOW. I wasn’t at danger of ppl attacking me b/c they thought I might rape their kids (incl sons)… but I am now if I happen not to pass, this happened a LOT esp before (I pass now, and I know I’m lucky) -_-;; Cops that stopped me for routine RIDE checks didn’t treat me like a criminal before, they do now. >:|
Honestly, I had a better easier life in terms of work, respect, having accomplishments noted, having ppl respect my ability to defend myself, etc etc when I was perceived as male than now, and I was hardly an intimidating male -_-;; And I’m a 5’8″ size 0 part time model now xD And you’d thnk my life would be strawberries by this whole female privilege, esp pretty female privilege thing right? XD
You have your anecdata, I have mine :3
“I definitely DID benefit from male privilege later as well… I was never stalked being perceived as a male, I was never assaulted on the street… harassed… licked while jogging… i never had my computer knowledge questioned, or had my sporting accomplishments ridiculed… etc etc. : ”
I transitioned 5 years ago (about 24) and never have had those criticized since.
But well, I had no sporting accomplishments, no computer knowledge since I had no computer until I was adult. Certainly no computer-based achievement. I was beaten for being perceived as male (certainly not for the opposite). And have been assaulted on the street, in the recess court at school, in class, in the school building, and even at work.
Since transition, I’ve had nothing bad happen to me except almost being refused a job for being trans “for my own good” and problems about legal name and pronouns, with the government and it’s officials. Believe me, they find it weird when Sara is legally male at the hospital. No stalking, sexual harassment, or being beaten up since. And no one questions my credentials as a gamer.
I’m 5’6″ and have been 110 lbs for most my adult life. Still expected to do heavy lifting, even if I had no interest in manual labor (and never demonstrated an interest in doing it).
I didn’t have credentials, interest or skills in anything perceived as masculine, besides videogames, and shonen manga/anime (I also like shojo). So it’s not like I got a big social loss.
I was unable to defend myself, physically anyway. Not more now, but people hesitate a lot more to attack. In fact, they didn’t do anything since transition. No punch in my gut and no death threat while holding me in a stranglehold since I was 22. This was at work.
If you want to continue this btw (and I’m honestly not interested in a fight, esp not a public one xD was just trying to add my own perspective, life experiences and point of view, also knowledge of the social services and agency sector, both first hand, and thru working witht hem now, to the mix :3 ) you can drop me a line on my blog with your email and we can discuss this privately :] It sounds like we’ve had some similar exps growing up, as well as some different ones, and I always like making new friends and having somebody to discuss these issues on is always fun :] It sounds like you’re pretty passionate about this stuff, and I enjoy meeting passionate awesome trans ppl :3 But if you want to keep discussing this, you can always drop me a line (: