When you spend as much time as we do here at Man Boobz scrutinizing the Men’s Rights movement, it’s easy to forget what a fringe phenomenon it is. So here are some charts from Google Trends – charting the frequency of certain search terms from 2004 until today — that help to put it all in perspective. (Thanks to Katz, Cloudiah and Cthulhu’s Intern in the comments for inspiring this post.)
That “rapidly growing” Men’s Rights movement that MRAs like to talk about? It may actually be stagnant or even shrinking, if searches for “men’s rights” are any indication. Despite a recent comeback, they’re still less than half of what they were at their height in 2004.
Now let’s put that in perspective.
No, there’s nothing wrong with that graph; it’s just that My Little Pony is so much more popular than Men’s Rights that the latter simply vanishes into the X axis.
But this graph is my favorite:
Well, nothing will top that, but here’s a graph showing that people are a lot more concerned about misogyny than misandry — and, I would add, for good reason.
Let’s see what other trends we can find!
(Oh, and sorry about the low quality pics; WordPress won’t let me embed the charts.)
In other breaking news, water is wet.
Argh, my houseguest is playing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Seriously regretting showing her how to plug her Ipod into our receiver.
You guys, the awesome Mr. HK didn’t even roll his eyes at me when I said I wanted to get this:
Hark, a pink tree!
I understand humour better than you, if that was your idea of a joke.
@Diogenes:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13760559
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” should be retitled “The Holiday Suicide Song”. Or maybe that’s just the effect it has on me.
Diogenes is pretty much the embodiment of mansplaining right now.
Dude, let me break this down for you into tiny pieces so your brain can handle it: That this one teacher got a full sentence is utterly unremarkable to the people here. It does not prove anyone here wrong on anything since none of us think the case should’ve gone differently, nor does it offer any proof of “the direction of all of society” since it’s a single case and not a trend.
OK this is pretty much how I feel after catching up on D*bag’s convoluted goalpost shifting:
http://fyeahenglishbulldogs.tumblr.com/post/37614569284
Jaysus, Grumbles, what’s your problem? LBT says car alarms = Western evil, then karaoke’s suggested, and you have trouble with me throwing in amplified music? You want to be the joke police, how about going off at people who make rape jokes?
Car alarms are something people reasonably find annoying. So it makes sense, even as comedic hyperbole, to call them the worst invention of Western culture. Complaining about amplified music makes you sound like some old fogey.
drst – this line from that article describes Diogenes the Bore perfectly: “with that smug look I know so well in a man holding forth, eyes fixed on the fuzzy far horizon of his own authority.”
Diogenes is very like Otto.
@hellkell
That is pretty awesome. Mr. HK is obviously a cool guy with good taste.
A friend of mine does lovely hand painted ornaments, if you need something to go on it. http://www.etsy.com/shop/LoveMeOrnamentals?section_id=5870340 She’ll even do custom ones. I’m sure she’d love to do something manboobz related.
Noise that intrudes on other people (and amplified music is a large part of this) has serious health repercussions, Grumbles, so learn what the fuck you’re talking about before you start mansplaining.
drst
You use that phrase. I don’t think it means what you think it means.jpg
Now playing “Sleigh Ride.” I feel like I’m at Nordstrom’s.
@Sgt Grumbles… the way they make ads on tv play louder than the show its in the middle of. That’s WAY worse than a car alarm.
And is there something wrong with being old now?
Diogenes’ posts all look like accidental copypasta.
No, I type as I go along. I don’t do copypasta.
Kim: your friend’s ornaments are beautiful.
Katz: I feel your pain. I can’t stand Christmas music.
Diogenes: does being so literal hurt? ‘Cause it should.
Kim – did you see the thing in the paper the other day (The Age website, I think) that the stations are finally admitting that the ads are louder? Something to do with the measurement they use, I think. Though on the vanishingly rare occasions I watch commercial television, I’ll still be ready with the mute button even if they do fix things!
Anyone wanna talk about old movies?
OK, if you’re going to prattle on about what a genius you are, you have to at least keep your claims within the realm of believability. “I’m a MENSA member” is one thing, and I was even willing to buy “I figured out algebra on my own”, but “I cracked the Voynich Manuscript after half an hour of doodling” strains credibility just a wee bit.
I didn’t crack it. I’m just in the early stages now.