Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the most odious misogynist bullshit I have seen thus far on the topic of the Slutwalks: a post on The Third Edge of the Sword, a blog that seems to go out of its way to be offensive and “edgy,” that takes victim blaming to a whole new level. Here’s the basic, er, argument of the post, which the author has put in giant pink letters so we won’t miss it:
Every woman marching in the Edmonton Slut Walk is publicly declaring herself a slut. This means every woman there desires sex with any and all partners. Any sexual activity you initiate with them comes with implied consent. They cannot say no, and if they do understand all their ‘no’s mean yes. They are all asking for it. They want it bad. Now. From you. Go get ’em!
Some other highlights:
[I]f you … dress slutty, men are going to stare at you. We’re going to catcall. We are going to tell you all sorts of sexual things we want to do to your body. And if you dress slutty and wave your ass in our face, we will do them. The organizers of this event are not oblivious to this point: what they want is a fake sexual revolution. They want to be able to impersonate sluts without actually being sluts, and that’s unacceptable. If you don’t want to be treated as a piece of meat, don’t marinate and grill yourself and sit perched on a piece of garlic toast. You dress slutty, you show off the goods, you try to get a reaction, you will get one. Hint: it’s not always going to be the one you want. …
The “reaction” he has in mind is rape. By calling rape a “reaction” instead of what it is — a criminal assault on someone, an act of sexual violence, a violation — he of course is attempting to switch the blame to the victim. He spells out his “logic” in more detail:
[W]hen you impersonate a slut we don’t fine you, and we don’t throw you in jail. There’s really only one punishment for dressing like a streetwalker when you aren’t one: you do have to endure the occasional rape. You should really suffer it in silence. Accept the character flaw within you that caused this, and move on. Police and court resources are already busy enough with real criminals: like actual rapists who do nasty things to their niece or the homeless native chick passed out under the bridge, or a conservatively dressed urban professional walking to her car, or a girl out jogging in a track suit. To equate the act of actually violating and raping one of these people with having sex with a girl who’s every square millimetre of public persona screams anybody who wants to can screw me right now is ridiculous.
Once again, this brand of misogyny leads to some conclusions that are pretty misandrist – namely, the notion that men are at heart rapists who can’t control their violent urges:
If you go out on the street in an outfit that would make Britney Spears feel uncomfortable, you do so knowing that your ultimate aim is to make men want you. Well, they want you now. Congrats. Oh, wait, you mean you didn’t understand what that implied? That in the great Bell curve of sexual congress you’ve just pushed everybody on the right-hand side of the -2 std devs line past that imaginary barrier that says “there is no power in the universe powerful enough to stop me from sliding my finger inside your panties”? I call bullshit. You do know. But you want to be a virginal slut, to dress in ways that makes men helpless to their urges but still leaves you fully in restrictive control.
The blogger concludes by arguing that the Slutwalkers are all “lying bitches” because they dress like they wasn’t to be raped, but do not actually want to be raped. Then he makes this lovely suggestion:
If your wife is one of them, I’m very very sorry. Maybe a good rape might make her a little more manageable around the house.
Now this post is an atmittedly extreme example of a misogynistic response to the Slutwalks. But the basic “logic” of this blogger’s would-be argument is essentially identical to that of many MRA and other “manosphere” pieces I’ve seen on the subject, the main difference between them being that this guy embraces the logical conclusion of his argument — that Slutwalkers deserve to be raped — while the MRAs who make essentially the same argument (and fling the same sorts of insults at the Slutwalkers) make a show of saying that they don’t really think the Slutwalkers “deserve” it. And maybe they’ve convinced themselves that this caveat means something . But in that case the extreme reaction that manosphere misogynists have had to the Slutwalks – the insults thrown at the Slutwalkers, the “jokey” references to rape, the prurient sneering – makes little sense. If you argue that women are “asking for it” when they dress like “sluts,” you’re essentially saying they deserve it. You’re making the same argument this guy is making, but pretending you aren’t.
NOTE: The graphic above is taken from the official web site for the Edmonton SlutWalk 2011, which took place a week ago. Here are some pictures of the march.
Is it safe to come out now? Are you sure he’s gone?
Spear, thanks for the videos! They’re awesome and hilarious and cute and other adjectives as well…and injected some much-needed levity into this thread to counter balance Slavey.
@Ami and Snow Pickle, we all know perfect princesses are secretly just sluts:
“When Lancelot saw the queen leaning upon the window ledge behind the thick iron bars, he greeted her softly. She returned his greeting promptly, since she had great desire for him, as did he for her. They did not waste their time speaking of base or tiresome matters. They drew near to one another and held each other’s hands….He came next to that of the queen; Lancelot bowed low and adored her, for in no holy relic did he place such faith. The queen stretched out her arms towards him, embraced him, clasped him to her breast, and drew him into the bed beside her, showing him all the love she could, inspired by her heartfelt love….Now Lancelot had his every wish: the queen willingly sought his company and affection, as he held her in his arms and she held him in hers. Her love-play seemed.so gentle and-good to him, both her kisses and caresses, that in truth the two of them felt a joy and wonder the equal of which has never been heard or known. ”
Lancelot (aka Knight of the Cart) by Chretian de Troyes c. 1170 translation by William W. Kibler
Or maybe I am misreading it and Lancelot is the slut, after all, women just throw themselves at him:
“‘Sir,’ she then said, ‘my lodging nearby is set to welcome you if you will take my advice and accept my hospitality. But you may lodge there only if you agree to sleep with me -I make my offer on this condition.’ Many would have thanked her five hundred times for such all offer, but he became quite downcast and answered her very differently: ‘my lady, I thank you most sincerely for your kind offer of hospitality; but if you please, I would prefer not to sleep with you.’ ‘By my eyes: said the girl, ‘on no other condition will I lodge you.'”
id (don’t worry, she stops trying to put him under duress and relents when his reluctance is made clear, so Lancelot is spared the “punishment” of sluts, also, so is she because Lancelot totally kills the guys who try to rape her, Guinevere’s would be rapist also gets killed)
It’s really freaking sad that these fellows could get a lesson on progressive attitudes about rape from romances of the 1170s.
Perhaps someone should advertise for new trolls on Kiijjii?
Here’s what I don’t get:Exactly how difficult is it to leave your home and go about your day without raping someone? Seriously, how does the way a person is dressed make it more likely that your dick will run off and force itself on them?
Why would a heterosexual man not want women to dress in an attractive and even sexy manner?
I’ve been wondering that myself throughout this and many similar threads. Why do women need to suffer “consequences” for wearing sexy clothes? What is even the thought process here? When I see a hot guy, I think, “Wow, what a hot guy! Now I have a lady boner!” I don’t think, “Wow, what a hot guy! I hope he gets horribly tortured in some way!”
Straight dudes, please note: guys like NWO are working hard to make women afraid to look hot, talk to men, go out on dates, and have sex. So thanks a lot, NWO, for ruining everyone’s fun. (MRAL, if you’re reading this thread: Maybe that girl in the elevator didn’t say “hi” cheerfully enough because the last strange guy she smiled at responded by saying, “Nice tits. Wanna fuck?”)
NWO didn’t answer my questions from way back at the beginning of the thread, but I didn’t expect him to.
It’s pretty easy not to rape people. I’ve been not raping people all my life. I’m a natural at it.
@AbominableSnowPickle yup… The Justice League of Spear, Zombie, Kave, Kirby and a little cameo by Ami (sry if I missed nebody) handled the crisis XD
And the vids are great :3
Oh yeah, the Mavs won!!!!!!!!!!11 :DDDD
GO MAVS! xD
I just realized that the team is basically a bunch of my NBA heroes growing up (now much older) on one team, defeating the evil 3 of Miami xD
Also realizing suddenly Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, Dirk nowitzki and shawn marion all got an NBA championship ring XD that is pretty darn cool 😀 (oh and Tyson Chandler, but I never much cared for him)
Ami, the Manboobz Justice League is awesome! Slavey made me so angry and sad, I don’t think I could have posted very coherently or without filling the hypothetical posts with expletives most foul. I kinda needed to take a step back…so I just read along^.^ I’m amazed, always, at the level of intelligence and wit that the posters here display. It’s such a nice change from the total stupidity of other sites (yes, I occaisionally read YouTube comments >.<). All of you posters (well, except for the obvious exceptions) are great and if I could hug you all, I totally would. Okay, I'm done fangirling now^.^ I'll get back on topic^.^
That’s because the same people who make that comparison do see it as being the same — that a woman’s worth is determined by how depends on her not having sex (or not having more than the amount of sex they (the idiot making the false equivalency) find acceptable), e.g, “spending it all.”
Well shit, I think I cut out a line there.
The option “don’t give advice at all ‘cuz I don’t know enough about what I’m talking about and it’s doing far more harm than good” didn’t even occur to him, did it? Us manginas and wimminfolk just can’t get by without NWOSub’s wisdom.
@AbominableSnowPickle:
Aww, shucks m’arm, ‘t weren’t nothin… *blushes and kicks floor*
You guys are really cool folks, and it makes me sad that I live in bufu Wyoming and therefore cannot attend any of the meet ups that are being planned.
@Seraph:
It was the “I may be wrong, or I may be right, but you should be grateful for my advice” that really confuses me. I mean, lets say you’re advising someone on how best to make a hike up a mountain, and you tell them to forget all that rot about compasses, maps, first aid, and so forth, and to just trust their instinct. Then you say “Well, I may be wrong or I may be right, but you should be grateful for my advice.” What, your advice that’s going to get me lost or killed?
For someone who says he cares so dang much, its astounding how little he cares about giving actual helpful advice. Its basically as you said, whether he’s wrong or right, we feminists just can’t get by without hearing NWO’s eternal wisdom.
Exactly how difficult is it to leave your home and go about your day without raping someone? Seriously, how does the way a person is dressed make it more likely that your dick will run off and force itself on them?
Serious pants time.
It’s part of the same thing the rape apologists and MRAs want, where they keep conflating rape with sex, while almost all of the serious data indicates otherwise; likewise, (as I understand it) most rapes are not happenstance, spur of the moment things, but are planned out.
So most rapists do not go out on their day, raping hither and yon whenever they see a sluttily dressed woman, but have a target in mind, plan it out, and take the opportunity when it is presented, because they are looking for that opportunity.
But if the assholes ever admit that it’s not about sex, then they have to admit that how the victim is dressed doesn’t matter, and THEN they have to admit that the victim can’t be blamed and slut-shamed, and THEN were would they be?
And yes, as spearhafoc says, most men spend their entire lives not-raping people, even when those people are guilty of wearing revealing clothing while possessing vaginas.
Heck, Imma zombie and while I might NOM your brains (in a VERY friendly manner), it’s never a rapey NOM.
Shaenon Just reminded me and I’m sure all of us about nwosub’s earlier comments on the same subject.
When I said “Hay dude, I like it when women dress sexy” he said he agreed with me.
Earlier on didn’t he say he actually enjoys insulting women who dress sexy? I guess we like women who dress sexy for very different reasons.
If you had a Nitpicker’s Guide of NWO’s comments (like the Nitpicker’s Guide to Star Trek), the section on “Continuity Errors” would be 1000 pages long xD
*big hugs to AbominableSnowPickle* awww 🙁 I wish we all lived closer : If you want to IM or Facebook or nething w/ me anytime tho, just drop me a line on my blog (the comments are filtered, so nobody will see it) and we can keep in touch 🙂
Ami, I think Slavey is one big continuity error!
*big Amihugs* I may just do that, since I’m always looking for new and interesting people to talk to^.^
All this “I’ve been not-raping people all my life!” talk gave me a fun idea.
If a Slutwalk ever happens near me (I live near San Francisco [hiya, Capt. Bathrobe!], and I think there’s one in the works for August-ish), I’m going to make a bunch of T-shirts that say something like “[blank; fill in name]: Not Raping Since [blank; fill in birth year]!” Maybe with something espousing how not-hard it is on the back. Needs some polishing, but it’d make me oh so happy to contribute something like that along with my slutty self.
Oh, signs would probably be better. Could just hand ’em out to whoever wanted one without having to cover any fun getups.
@Feyline now I have ideas for other T-shirts! xD “I Believe In Men” (like I said earlier) and “Thanks for the advice, but I’m out of tinfoil” xD
@Feyline or headbands! 😀