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So the other day, the atheist blogger Rebecca Watson, aka Skepchick, had this little conversation on Twitter:
Watson, you may recall, got herself onto the Men’s Rights radar a few months back, after a brief comment she made in a podcast — suggesting that perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea for a guy to hit on woman he’s never spoken to before while the two of them are alone in an elevator at 4 AM – somehow turned into a Big Fucking Thing on the Internet, because how dare she say such a thing, it’s creep-shaming, she must hate men, bla bla bla.
So, anyhoo, one Men’s Rights Reddit noticed this little Twitter exchange, and posted it to the Men’s Rights subreddit. And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. MRAs hating women? How dare she suggest such a thing!
Here are some of the things that assorted Men’s Rights Redditors posted in response, to remind us all that the Men’s Rights movement isn’t all about shitting on women. Let’s start with this lovely rebuttal, boasting nearly 60 net upvotes:
This comment inspired a long and winding discussion of the word “cunt,” and why it’s like totally ok to use it all the time, because in England the UK people call men “cunts” as well.
Some got a little carried away:
This little exchange came with a side order of irony:
Speaking of fantasy, here’s a strange bit of paranoia, which nonetheless drew upvotes from the very same people who are outraged that Watson was a bit creeped out by a dude she didn’t know asking her to come to his hotel room at 4 AM:
And here’s still more evidence that MRAs, despite their many egregious flaws, do at least have vivid imaginations:
Some other comments, all of which got at least a few upvotes from the MR regulars:
Let’s end with this eloquent plea for people to not give a shit if MRAs hate women:
The folks in the Men’s Rights subreddit are currently debating whether or not to change the subreddit’s slogan, which is currently: “Mens’ Rights: Earning Scorn from Bigoted Feminists and White Knights Since 2008.”
So let me humbly suggest:
Mens’ Rights: Like it’s even relevant if mens rights is anti women in regard to if mens rights is a movement about addressing mens issues.
Or the even punchier:
Men’s Rights: i’m tired of not using the term “cunt”.
MRAs, you’re welcome.
The thing that pisses me off the most about Elevatorgate is the fact that Rebecca Watson would be “wrong” as far as these folks are concerned no matter what happened on that elevator. She’s wrong for assuming coffee meant sex. But if her podcast had been about how a stranger assaulted her in an elevator (or in his room), then she’d also be wrong because what did she expect was going to happen at 4AM? That is the clearest illustration that she’s exactly correct when she says that the MRM is about “shitting on women.”
/r/mensrights really does scare you, doesn’t it, David?
Second!!!
Translation: I can’t possibly defend the horribleness on the subreddit, but I have to be obstinate so I’m going suggest that thinking people treating women like shit is awful makes you a coward.
Breaking News: Men on Internet Angry at Woman, Call Her a “Cunt”
It’s funny, and sad, how MRAs seem themselves as some bold revolutionaries challenging the system when the reality is their use of sexism and violent rhetoric is nothing new at all. That’s why Reddit is the perfect place for their little cesspool to fester.
I’ve sort of gotten accustomed to how hateful MRAs can be, but I’m still frequently surprised anew by how staggeringly stupid they can be. How is it possible to have more than two working brain cells and think, “The best way to respond to a woman accusing me of hating women is to call her a dumb cunt; that’ll show her”? How do their skulls keep from imploding due to the vast vacuum within?
see themselves*
“I’m not misogynist, you cunt!”
I’m not a homophobe, you fa**ot!”
“I’m not racist, you n**ger!”
The irony is astounding.
That mras find any kind of mention of their existence such a staggering proof of their success in making feminists shake and scream and cry is always a fascinating glimpse into the fantasy role playing gsmeworld they inhabit….
Men’s Rights: i’m tired of not using the term “cunt”.
Hmm, that one’s not bad, but since they apparently lean on UK usage to justify themselves, they should perhaps note that in most of the UK, the word is applied to *men*
Therefore I would offer this correction: i’m tired of not being a “cunt”.
That last MRA’s username is really “COCKPUNCHER”? I’m not even sure what to think about that.
I love the spermjacking fantasy, though. It’s definitely mensrights.txt. It reminded me of the Birch Barlow character from the Simpsons:
Birch Barlow: Mayor Quimby, you are well known for your lenient stance on crime, but suppose for a second that your house was ransacked by thugs, your family was tied up in the basement with socks in their mouths, you try to open the door but there’s too much blood on the knob….
Mayor Quimby: What is your question?
Birch Barlow: My question is about the budget, sir.
I’m the other person in the Twitter exchange that sparked the gnashing of teeth. This is my first time being called a cunt on the Internet. Lovely! I just want to say I stand by my tweets and I stand by Rebecca. As you can see I didn’t even know what MRA was until a few days ago. Great first impression, guys.
Men’s Rights: Doing nothing and liking it since 2008.
@Magnesium
Must be a Steven Seagal fan:
MRA’s do not understand rape fantasies at all.
They also accused Watson of using a Photoshopped picture. That definitely discredits everything she says, because a woman’s looks determine the truthfulness of her statements. For example, if I looked like Greedo from Star Wars and said that lava is hot, that would actually make it false. If I were Megan Fox and said that lava is cold, that would make it true. Logic!
No matter how callous and vitriolic MRAs are toward women, they maintain they are not misogynists. So I have to ask: what would qualify as misogyny in their eyes? How nasty does a person have to be toward women before these dudes will agree that said person hates women just for being female?
Mags didn’t get first, I am disappoint.
I find it amazing that these MRA regulars claim that Rebecca is the worst skeptic ever, then go about perpetuating things like the “consumer spending gap” as a thing. If anything men are more willing and able to spend money when single. And if married, the woman does most of the spending because half the time men like them don’t want to go shopping and thus aren’t the ones buying groceries.
Do they honestly think every marriage out there has the wife set up as the queen bee and the husband as the lowly male doing chores and earning money?
Also the argument that because men are frequently called cunts means it’s not a gendered insult boggles me.
Wow, Rebecca Watson really does scare /r/mensrights, doesn’t she, Magdelyn?
/sarcasm
Oh lordy
(another insightful comment from me).
It’s too bad I can’t really get into Watson’s writing style in general, she does get such ringing endorsements from sexists.
I find it amazing that they go after Rebecca Watson for being a bad skeptic while being so incredibly unskeptical of the way our society views gender too.
I’ve found that trying to think critically about how our society views gender has made me more of a feminist. For me, skepticism and feminism go hand in hand. That these wanna-be -skeptic MRAs to whine about how Rebecca Watson is somehow anti-skeptic because she’s a feminist is simply mind-boggling. So when these MRAs decry feminism as unskeptical, they might as well be saying, “How dare you think critically about the way gender is viewed in our society! How dare you actually examine the evidence that shows that people are treated unfairly because of their gender! How dare you point out that the facts don’t actually support our preconceived notions! Critical thinking, examining the evidence, and questioning our unsupported preconceived notions makes you a bad skeptic!”
Just when I thought I got the blockquotes down…
And that makes them no better than bogus authorities who insist on your compliance and obedience.
Question (or just talk to) an MRA, and an acid hailstorm rains on your head. What better way to promote critical thinking! MRAs are such rebels, fighting for truth and justice everywhere!
Also the argument that because men are frequently called cunts means it’s not a gendered insult boggles me.
There was a great (by which I mean ‘terrible’) comment posts on SRS last week, wherein an MRA explained that there was nothing sexist at all about calling a man a “bitch”.
Oops, that first part was meant to be a blockquote from Timid Atheist.