Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed more than 90 people in attacks on Friday, was motivated by a toxic mélange of far-right ideology largely revolving around his intense hatred of Islam. The 1500 page “manifesto” he posted to the internet – what appears to be a grab-bag of his own writing and material cut and pasted from assorted right-wing sites and even the Unabomber’s manifesto – crackles with denunciations of Muslims, “Marxists” and the assorted other bogeymen that haunt right-wing dreams.
And it’s also filled with denunciations of feminism that could easily have come from the posts and comments of Men’s Rights and misogynist “manosphere” blogs like The Spearhead, In Mala Fide, and, well, quite a few other sites I write about regularly on this blog. (Not to mention a few of this blog’s misogynist trolls.) In passage after passage, the ideology is the same, the language is the same, even the specific obsessions are the same – from no-fault divorce to the evils of “Sex and the City.” (Download the entire thing from the links here.)
I haven’t had time to go through the manifesto in great detail yet, but I wanted to share with you some selections from it that I think will strike most readers of this blog as strangely familiar.
The following selections, denouncing, among other things, the “’Sex and the City’ lifestyle,”appear to have been written by Breivik himself:
It’s the destructive and suicidal “Sex and the City” lifestyle (modern feminism, sexual revolution) which we are taught to revere as the truth. In that setting, men are not men anymore, but metro sexual and emotional beings that are there to serve the purpose as a never-criticising soul mate to the new age feminist woman goddess. The perfect matriarchy has now been fulfilled and complete equality has finally been achieved. The fact that mankind will seize to exist within three generations with this type of regime is irrelevant. Long live cultural Marxism! …
Isolated, “sex and the city lifestyle” is relatively harmless, but if you glorify it and ram it down the throat of mainstream society like we see today it becomes a lethal and destructive societal force as we are witnessing which eventually leads to a complete breakdown of moral/ethics, the nuclear family model and a sustainable fertility rate which again is leading us to the extinction of Europeans.
Breivik goes on to rant about STDs and no-fault divorce, before moving on to another favorite obsession of manosphere misogynists, the supposed sexual “capital” of manipulative women:
Females have a significantly higher proportion of erotic capital than males due to biological differences (men have significantly more prevalent sexual urges than females and are thus easily manipulated). The female manipulation of males has been institutionalised during the last decades and is a partial cause of the feminisation of men in Europe. This highly underestimated factor has contributed to the creation and rise of the matriarchal systems which are now dominating Western European countries. …
He also blames women for the spread of what he considers evil “cultural Marxism” and multiculturalism:
Fact: 60-70% of all cultural Marxists/multiculturalists are women. This partly explains why the gradual feminist revolution is directly linked to the implementation of multiculturalist doctrines. These feminist cultural Marxists do not only want more benefits and rights for themselves. They want it all, and have more or less been awarded with everything they could ever dream of achieving. They now have complete matriarchal supremacy domestically and exercise substantial influence in politics. …
Obsessed with the purported danger that Islam will outbreed the West, Breivik offers an assortment of creepy solutions to increase the fertility of Western whites. (It’s not altogether clear to me if these are all his own views, but they certainly are consistent with what he says elsewhere in the manifesto.) After suggesting limiting contraception and banning abortion, Breivik offers this “solution”:
Discourage women in general to strive for full time careers. This will involve certain sexist and discriminating policies but should increase the fertility rate by up to 0,1-0,2 points.
Women should not be encouraged by society/media to take anything above a bachelor’s degree but should not be prevented from taking a master or PhD. Males on the other hand should obviously continue to be encouraged to take higher education – bachelor, master and PhD. …
And then he’s back on his “Sex and the City” hobbyhorse:
Discourage women in general to strive for “sex and the city/Madonna” lifestyles. The mass media are currently actively glorifying/encouraging “sex and the city/Madonna” lifestyles which involves the glorification of casual sex, multiple sex partners and generally an extremely liberal individualistic lifestyle hostile to the traditional nuclear family values. As such, the non-restrictions of the mass media is the main cause for our unsustainable fertility rate of 1,5.
The indirect media/government glorification campaigns through individual artists, various series, movies and media coverage in general should reflect this new shift (no more glorification of “sex and the city lifestyles” or equivalent portrayals. No longer should women be pressured to have equal success regarding their career as males.
Womens “new role” should be actively illustrated and glorified through series, movies and commercials. This will involve significant restrictions in media freedoms and rights. These restrictions and reforms will result in an increased fertility rate of approximately 0,2-0,3 points.
The end result for implementing the above reforms would be an increase in the fertility rate up from 1,5 to approximately 2,1-2,4 which would be sustainable.
However, this will also involve significant restrictions in women’s rights and media rights.
And, like many in the manosphere, he also holds out hope for “artificial wombs,” which would of course reduce the inconvenience of relying on women to cooperate with his plans.
Large chunks of the manifesto consist of cut-and-pasted blog posts from an anonymous far-right Norwegian blogger known as Fjordman, whose now defunct blog can be found here. (According to Andrew Brown in the Guardian article linked to above, Breivik and Fjordman are not the same person.)
Here are some selections from the Fjordman posts that Breivik includes in his manifesto. Again, much of this will seem very familiar to many of you, I am sure.
For all the talk about “girl power” and “women kicking ass” which you see on movies these days, if the men of your “tribe” are too weak or demoralised to protect you, you will be enslaved and crushed by the men from other “tribes” before you can say “Vagina Monologues”. Which means that if you break down men’s masculinity, their willingness and ability to defend themselves and their families, you destroy the country. That’s exactly what Western women have done for the last forty years. ….
The male protective instinct doesn’t take action because Scandinavian women have worked tirelessly to eradicate it, together with everything else that smacks of traditional masculinity. Because of this, feminism has greatly weakened Scandinavia, and perhaps Western civilisation as whole. …
Didn’t feminists always claim that the world would be a better place with women in the driver’s seat, because they wouldn’t sacrifice their own children? Well, isn’t that exactly what they are doing now? Smiling and voting for parties that keep the doors open to Muslim immigration, the same Muslims who will be attacking their children tomorrow? …
Misandry, the hatred of men, isn’t necessarily less prevalent than misogyny, the hatred of women. The difference is that the former is much more socially acceptable.
If all oppression comes from Western men, it becomes logical to try weakening them as much as possible. If you do, a paradise of peace and equality awaits us at the other side of the rainbow. Well congratulations to Western European women. You’ve succeeded in harassing and ridiculing your own sons into suppressing many of their masculine instincts. To your surprise, you didn’t enter a feminist Nirvana, but paved the way for an unfolding Islamic hell. ….
Feminists claim that the reason why women haven’t been as numerous in politics and science as men is due to male oppression of women. Some of this is true. But it is not the whole story. Being male means having to prove something, to achieve something, in a greater way than it does for women. In addition to this, the responsibility for child rearing will always fall more heavily on women than on men. ….
it was in fact the women who started this whole “single is best” culture that now permeates much of the West. Since women initiate most divorces and a divorce can potentially mean financial ruin for a man, it shouldn’t really be too surprising that many men hesitate to get involved at all. … At the same time, women during the past few decades have made it a lot easier to have a girlfriend without getting married. So women make it riskier to get married and easier to stay unmarried, and then they wonder why men “won’t commit?” Maybe too many women didn’t think all this feminism stuff quite through before jumping on the bandwagon? …..
The elaborate welfare state model in Western Europe is frequently labelled as “the nanny state,” but perhaps it could also be named “the husband state.” Why? Well, in a traditional society, the role of men and husbands is to physically protect and financially provide for their women. In our modern society, part of this task has simply been “outsourced” to the state, which helps explain why women in general give a disproportionate support to high taxation and pro-welfare state parties. The state has simply become a substitute husband, upheld by taxation of their ex-husbands. ….
Radical feminism has bred suspicion and hostility, not cooperation. And what’s more, it has no in any way eradicated the basic sexual attraction between feminine women and masculine men. If people do not find this in their own country, they travel to another country or culture to find it, which in our age of globalisation is easier than ever. A striking number of Scandinavian men find their wives in East Asia, Latin America or other nations with a more traditional view of femininity, and a number of women find partners from more conservative countries. …
radical feminism has been one of the most important causes of the current weakness of Western civilisation, both culturally and demographically. Feminists, often with a Marxist world view, have been a crucial component in establishing the suffocating public censorship of Political Correctness in Western nations. They have also severely weakened the Western family structure, and contributed to making the West too soft and self-loathing to deal with aggression from Muslims. …
Well, after two generations of Second Wave Feminism, Ms. Willis and Ms. Beauvoir have had their way: The West has skyrocketing divorce rates and plummeting birth rates, leading to a cultural and demographic vacuum that makes us vulnerable to a take-over by… Islam. And feminists still aren’t satisfied. ….
Feminists claim that women have been victims of men, that men have oppressed women for centuries and that the sexes are equal. Denying this will result in the smears “misogynist” and “male chauvinist pig”. But equalising the sexes has led to a crippling feminisation of Western society … portraying women as oppressed victims and the equals of males is one example of how the pursuit of equality is being used to destroy our society and undermine – and therefore be in conflict with – Mother nature. ….
I’ll continue going through the manifesto to see what else I can find. If any of you decide to do the same thing, and find other selections in it that you find telling, please post them in the comments below.
I would also like to find specific writings on manosphere blogs – posts or comments – that directly parallel these selections from Breivik’s manifesto. If any of you are willing to help, again, please post your findings in the comments below, along with URLs to the sources of the manosphere quotes.
Ideas have consequences. Vile, hateful ideas have vile, hateful consequences.
For more on Breivik’s misogyny, see this post on Red Light Politics.
PZ Myers has more on Breivik’s noxious ideology, including his hatred of atheists, here.
It actually sounds like he’s the defensive one xD
(also coming to Manboobz to “learn”? xD why not read actual feminist sites, not snark sites? xD )
@YOHAMI:
Am I a man or a woman?
It’s a trick question, yohami. Kirby is actually a secret government AI.
Wouldn’t the easiest way to actually learn be to observe and read (and read non snark sites xD ) and listen than to show up and refuse to discuss nething while saying stuff about how this site makes you ill after 3 days, and strawmanning Holly and Kirby and poking at everybody? xD
“Women are more emotional, men are less emotional. Women read the gestalt men go to the data. men get lost in the logical side, women in the emotional side, etc. But we already know that from real life.”
No, we know that is what our culture imposes on the genders. We do not know that it is biological. But when you said it is “natural”, that is what you are saying. Where do you get this information about nature?
And no, we don’t “know this from real life”, Because I have craploads of anecdata to cross your anecdata. Who’s anectdata is right? Because one of us is making a statement of fact here.
YOHAMI – “So I dont have a position here. Im just learning. I have a bunch of ideas. I know a bunch of things I will say will be “perceived” as enemy talk. Im testing how many of you guys are open to dialog and check new / different ideas, and how many are just defender ants ready to kill anything that smells strange.”
You realise this means you aren’t engaging honestly and respectfully with us? You won’t actually take a position and defend it, instead you will just share (unfounded) ideas in order to test to see how open we are to dialogue…with a bunch of ideas from someone who says they don’t really know much.
You construct yourself here as an unbiased person who is learning about stuff…but, seriously, since when is calling someone (or all women) irrational a compliment? It is not saying men and women are neutrally different – believe it or not feminists are aware of this and agitate for changes that incorporate women’s difference into our social structure instead of marginalising women’s differences (see, for example: women have babies but it’s very difficult to get maternity leave). It’s saying that women are incapable of rational thought in some situations…in those same situations men are capable of rational thought. This is sexist and has no basis in fact.
Yeah.. the natural thing… xD
I’m still waiting for what’s “natural” for me? xD
kirby, I think you are a man
You are stablishing a logic combat with me, and trying to prove me wrong. not just pointing to how wrong I am (and putting stupid shit on my mouth that I didnt see), but you are trying to DEFEAT me OPENLY, not just screaming out loud how bad I am.
So what you are doing is still male mechanics, even with all the strawman thing on top of it.
See, Lyn, who is (cleary) a woman, gets offended and goes to the misogyny accusation immediately. What really worries her is that Im one of these bad personas.
You, instead, jump on top of the thing, leaving the tent, try to make some holes, call me names, kick, whatever. You are in the fight, Lyn is keeping her safe
If you are a woman, Id be surprised
But I swear you, the whole strawman thing plus the naming and adhominem and crap, really keeps me thinking, wtf is going on.
Women don’t use dialogue to resolve conflicts? I thought the most accepted argument among gender essentialists is that women want to talk through conflicts, ad nauseum.
Whatever.
I gotta say, Yohami, for someone arguing that women are inherently emotional and men are inherently logical… you aren’t providing much of an example. The vast majority of your post on why you feel that the MRM isn’t taken seriously was extremely fuzzy and, dare I say it, touchy feely. I referred to it as nebulous for the sake of the conversation. But that shit was full of feelings and short on logic.
Just catching up here. Woah.
I’m glad NWO has wandered off. He’s going on moderation, at least for a little while. I find myself getting really tired of his cut-and-paste derailing rants, and seeing his standard shit in this particular topic, well, straw that broke the camel’s back.
@Lyn
http://yohami.com/blog/2011/06/11/ozy-i-take-the-liberty-to-pick-this-which-was-addressed-to-trollking/
This is so obvious, the bias is so mean, so apparent, and hiding on plain sight. The only explanation of why feminists swallow this is they are just demonizing a whole gender and playing the victim role to the bottom. Its like they are enthranced by a religious spell.
Honey, men are capable of love, justice, hard work, invention, humor, warm feelings, fatherhood, brotherhood, loverhood, etc.
Every time I see a movement like Feminism finding injustices I go “YES”, but then when they come up with theories and dogmas and implementations, I go “WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY THINKING”
Its so evil, it has to be on purpose. That, or people is really, really stupid.
Unfortunately he’s not quite that unbiased nor a blank (or at least squishy) slate xD
Also, “Sensible Centrist” is a pejorative term to describe someone who affects a pose of being an objective outside observer who is above all irrational passions. Jay Rosen refers to it less pejoratively as the view from nowhere. So, yes, you are by your own description a Sensible Centrist.
I like how he sees what he wants to see xD (also I mentioned Kirby was a man earlier xD)
Nobinayamu,
“I gotta say, Yohami, for someone arguing that women are inherently emotional and men are inherently logical… you aren’t providing much of an example.”
I didnt try to bring that stuff here. Someone else did, trying to prove Im some kind of snake.
Most men are more logical than most women, most women are most emotional than most men, be it by default, biology or culture or all of them. And there are huge variations. I for example, am not the male logic brain extreme. Im feminine / sensitive / artistic while still heterosexual. I have met women more logical and mechanical than most men I know, but these are rare cases. Etc.
“Unfortunately he’s not quite that unbiased nor a blank (or at least squishy) slate xD”
Yeah, it seems almost as if he already has a view on feminism, and just doesn’t want to say it. Strange, that.
Fact Finder, saying that women are irrational and men are rational isn’t, necessarily, misogyny. It’s bull shit, reductive, gender essentialism but it isn’t necessarily misogyny.
It’s a sexist generalization. It’s a specious claim. But it only rises to the level of misogyny when it’s applied to individuals, or given as a reason that women should not be treated as fully adult and fully human.
And that’s what we call confirmation bias.
Anecdotes: they prove everything!
Nobinamayu,
“It’s a sexist generalization. It’s a specious claim. But it only rises to the level of misogyny when it’s applied to individuals, or given as a reason that women should not be treated as fully adult and fully human.”
You are right. Its a generalization, its sexist (differentiates between genders), its a reduction… But by the same spoon one could say a man isnt a fully adult nor fully human because he´s not emotional aware enough.
Im not bringing up stuff to put anyone´s down. Im trying to find what we are and wtf is going on. I was taught we are all the same. Well, we are not.
“Im not bringing up stuff to put anyone´s down. Im trying to find what we are and wtf is going on. I was taught we are all the same. Well, we are not.”
I thought you were trying to put Holly down?
This reminds me of when I was MUDDING a long time ago, I had a male char but of course I had a sekrit female char too xD And a huge kerfuffle about if homophobia should be allowed broke out after somebody was using homophobic slurs, and ppl were saying it was “realistic” cuz it was a medieval setting etc (of course history also had dragons right? xD ) and I protested and talked about how that was irrelevant cuz the playerbase and the ppl playing the game are living in the here and now (and also y’know this is a world w/ dragons and ninjas in the same place as knights and trolls and zombies) and it’s about how to treat the playerbase and everybody was like you’re emotional! You’re irrational!
So I switched to my male char and made basically the same argument… and suddenly it was “wow that was logical, well laid out” etc etc xD And bam, the rules were changed and homophobic slurs were made against the rules by the GMs xD
Yohami, what does that mean? Seriously, what the fuck does “Most men are more logical than most women, most women are most emotional than most men…” even mean? What is the value of such a statement? If it were true, what would it signify?
You can’t even offer yourself as an example of a logical man; you acknowledge that you know women who are very logical. Yet you make this statement as if it were absolute fact. And not just fact, but important.
Why? What does it mean?
“So I switched to my male char and made basically the same argument… and suddenly it was “wow that was logical, well laid out” etc etc xD”
Yep, this happens over and over again.
Yohami, were you really taught that “we’re all the same” or were you taught that we’re all equal? Are you, perhaps, conflating the two concepts? Is that the basis for your confusion?
@ Ami, that just shows that you are ALL THINGS. You are DIVINITY.