Reactionary and “traditionalist” Men’s Rightsers tend to share a lot of the anti-Islam prejudices of the American right in general. When they talk about Islam it’s usually in vaguely apocalyptic terms, and usually with a side of anti-feminist conspiratorialism thrown in for good measure: Feminists are destroying Western Civilization and making the Muslim takeover inevitable!
But I’ve run across a few highly upvoted comments on the Spearhead recently which suggest that the generally less than warm feelings about Islam found in the Manospehre may be tinged with a certain amount of envy and even admiration.
Take this Rapses fellow here:
It is high time papa (patriarchy) take some harsh measures to discipline her little naughty girls (feminists). Papa has yielded too much to their tantrum and whining. Spare the rod and spoil the child. Western papa has to toughen up a bit and tell them that their stupid whims would not be met. These little girls are really not that tough as they show and still need papa to provide and protect them. See how Saudi papa deals with his girls and still his girls are not complaining.
51 upvotes, 10 downvotes, last I checked.
And then there’s Aharon :
I think there are many American women that American men would prefer to burqad up for their obese figures and even more obese whining mouths. Perhaps we can customize the burqad in America to include a dog muzzle. …
Feminism along with its allies has been very effective the past 45+ years in decimating the nuclear family along with traditional American values and ethics, and loyalty to church and synagogue. Most religious institutions are failing men in America. … Men leave liberal places of worship because they can’t relate to the female-value emphasis. …
American men have been living – for generations – in a post Judeo-Christian modern American misandrist society that for the most part sold men out. Islam comes along and teaches Sharia Law will not discriminate against men, and that men are respected in Islam, etc. Bingo. … I can see American men in the future becoming increasingly interested in Islam.
He adds this bit of speculation at the end:
I can also see new pro Men’s religions being created and taking hold. I see them mostly as manly without the provider/protector/chivalry crap, and not mangina metro-sexual in their beliefs and values.
30 upvotes, 1 downvote.
Apparently any religion is okey dokey with this crowd – even one made up on the spot – so long as it’s butch enough.
@darksidecat, the Arab Spring in the MRA mind is probably a whole source of amazing riches that brave souls should try to mine. You missed New World Order slave and his insistence that the women marching in egypt wanted men to die for them while they took their clothes off, on that note.
The Shit Girls Say videos are crap. Shit White Girls Say…To Black Girls is way superior.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIPUzxplBe0
@Holly
Wow. I remember when I went to services at my temple (Hindu) when I was younger, we would all be praying in the same area but it’d be men on the left and women on the right. I very rarely go to the temple nowadays, Mom usually gets me to come like once a year or two, but in Toronto it seems to be mixed, though I haven’t been to a service out here.
@Joanna
LOL. Not sure if you meant that self conscious men jump on religion as an excuse to put women in “their place”, or if you meant that religion was made as an excuse for men to put women in “their place”. I’m in full agreement with the former. Though I’m not religious, I do have a kinder opinion of religion than the latter
Shadow – Definitely not every Jewish synagogue is like that (Reform ones just about never are), but some Orthodox and Chabad synagogues are hideously sexist. It depends a lot where you are.
Holly: I love the balcony set-up, though. You can totally spend all your time doing cross-word puzzles, chatting with other ladies, whatever, while the guys do their thing downstairs.
I got stuck on the user name “Rapses” in this post. I have no idea if that’s an actual word/name, but it sounds like Gollum trying to say rapes.
Viscaria: Clearly patriarchy is a butch domme woman who intends to cane the SHIT of her naughty little girls…
Eurgh. Now I’ve got a mental image of NWO as Gollum. “They say it’s us what rapses them, my precious – but it’s them what rapses us, yes it is…”
Obese Whining Mouth would be a good name for an indie band.
There’s also “Shite Irish girls say” which is slightly more amusing, but you probably wouldn’t get it if ye weren’t Irish.
Also, I find it hard to believe that dudes are laughing at girls because of the things we say… Easily amused much?
kiki: Okay, that’s just terrifying. And… kind of apt.
@kiki
That’s hilarious!! “They wants their rightses, yes they do. But they’s my rights, gollum, mine, and they’s can’t take them from me!!!”
OH. My. GOD.
Our secret plans have been exposed.
How exactly can a mouth be “obese”? Do they just mean a really big mouth, so for example Liv Tyler has an obese mouth? Or are we just playing MRA attempted insult word salad again?
LOL about them wanting to explore Islam. I predict that that will last about as long as it takes for them to realize that Islam would impose religious obligations on them too. You mean I have to pray? But I’m a man! You want me to GIVE MONEY AWAY? Fuck this shit, I’m making up my own religion.
-Muhammad, totally killing the MRAs’ buzz
“Fuck this shit, I’m making up my own religion.”
Can the main teaching of this religion be “If you hate someone that’s different to you, then you will go to hell”?
I’d love to see what MRAs would make of the whole virgins-waiting-in-heaven-for-martyrs thing.
“Wait, I converted, so where are my virgins? I was promised virgins, lots of them.
What do you mean, I don’t get those until I die, and even then only if I’m a martyr? You clearly promised virgins. I was expecting them. This is a bait and switch! I want my virgins now! This religion’s customer service is terrible!
I have now concluded that Islam is misandrist, in that it wants men to die before they get to have sex with the virgins.”
I’m heading out to make “Shit my cat says” video.
Don’t forget, no booze and no bacon, either.
Among everything else, it is endlessly amusing to me that they accuse American women of WHINING when they are endlessly whining about how badly they are treated.
“Among everything else, it is endlessly amusing to me that they accuse American women of WHINING when they are endlessly whining about how badly they are treated.”
It’s almost guaranteed that, whatever an MRA whines about, there are a multitide of examples where said MRA has done worse, advocated worse or supported others in doing/ advocating worse.
They bitch about American women whining. They’ve set up forums, websites, conventions and rock bands to whine about women, the government, the police, and anything else they don’t like.
They complain that American women are selfish. They state that they refuse to pay taxes and child support, because it benefits someone other than them. Their ideal relationship is one where a woman does everything they ask for, while requiring no financial, emotional or social support.
They whine that American women are lazy. Yet, they view it as a huge imposition to hold the door for someone else. Or to even have to do their own household chores.
They kvetch that women are liars. But, there are easily findable articles advocating perjury.
They bellyache that women want to restrict freedoms. Their message boards, websites and blogs advocate striping women of their right to work, their right to choose, and their right to vote. Some go so far as to advocate placing women in state run whorehouses.
They complain that women are violent. Many of their websites and forums applaud men who commit acts of violence, advocate physical abuse of women and some even display photos and videos of women being abused and think that it’s okay/ good/ funny.
Projection. They does it.
If a woman actually tends to be quiet and not talk much, then she will be called stuck up. There is no right way for a woman to talk or not talk around misogynists.
Aharon should be happy with the fundamentalist church I attended as a child. He would have loved to hear ministers teach third grade girls that sleeveless sundresses make men “stumble”. However, those same churches also expected men to tithe to the church and attend services regularly. They also forbid people from booze, dancing, playing cards, and anything else that might be fun. I don’t think MRA’s would have the willpower for strict fundamentalist Christianity.
@Nova:
They complain that American women are selfish. They state that they refuse to pay taxes and child support, because it benefits someone other than them. Their ideal relationship is one where a woman does everything they ask for, while requiring no financial, emotional or social support.
The neat thing is, you CAN have a relationship with a woman where you don’t have to provide a lot of financial or social support. Thanks to feminism, women are now more welcome in the American workplace than ever before, and depending on how you slice the data, some women are actually out-earning men. While I live in a small, more traditional city, and work in a male-dominated field where there’s still a lot of gender discrimination, when I was working, before I was laid off, I made a solid, upper-middle class salary. My man doesn’t even have to work if he doesn’t want to. We’re squeaking by on my unemployment, but once I get into the workforce again, we won’t have to worry about money. He will once again have the choice to work full-time, part-time, or not at all.
Also, I’m a pretty stoic, lone wolf-type person, so I don’t need my partner to validate my existence, entertain me, or socialize with me if he doesn’t want to. I feel just fine going to places on my own – including bars and clubs. Sometimes, women and men do hit on me, but I’m always polite about not being interested, and if someone wants to buy me a drink, I always reciprocate by buying them a drink in return.
Of course, you can’t have it both ways. If I were to give up my career and devote myself to care of the home, cooking, cleaning, etc., I would need my guy to pay for both of us. Without an income, the basics – shelter, food, electricity, heat, and AC for our brutally hot and humid summers – won’t be paid for. I can’t think of many relationships where the breadwinner would want to date the partner without an income if that person had to live by their wits in an alley. And requiring a relationship completely free of any emotional support whatsoever makes it not a relationship, or at least, not a romantic one. It makes it a business deal – or prostitution.
@Cynickal: I was sort of hoping someone would make a “Shit MRAs say to their cats” video.
Speaking of prostitution, I think legalizing it is vital to women’s and men’s rights. One of my ex-girlfriends was a stripper (she had to lie to her parents and tell them she was a “bartender” – I watched her do it!), and several of my female acquaintance-friends today have a second job as very risque burlesque dancers, BDSM performers, or dommes. Because our city is so restrictive and traditional, none of them have been able to explore their work to the degree they’d have been able to in, say, Las Vegas. And none of them have even fucked for money!
While my POV might not be the politically or economically correct one, I also feel that legalizing prostitution and de-stigmatizing sex work makes working conditions safer for the workers and their clients. And, it definitely helps reduce the shame and sexual frustration of people seeking a sex worker to get their needs met. If more MGTOWs were able to visit prostitutes as a legitimate, safe, and sane alternative to having long-term romantic relationships just for the sex, I think a lot of the anger toward women as a group would dissipate.