I ran across this remarkable painting, titled “The Irritating Gentleman,” on Sheltered and Safe From Sorrow, a blog devoted to Victorian mourning rituals and other creepiness from that period. The gentleman in question seems to be a Victorian era Pickup Artist in action. He’s even peacocking, Mystery style, with that bow tie and stupid hat and even a non-ironic handlebar moustache. Probably the only thing keeping him from wearing aviator goggles is the fact that airplanes haven’t yet been invented.
What makes it all the worse is that the PUA’s target is clearly in mourning. As the blogger behind rawr I’m a tumblr notes:
She’s wearing all black in 1874. Black gloves, hat, cloak, and dress. In public. The whole nine yards. That’s not a fashion choice or a gothic thing. Back then when people wore all black like that, they were in mourning for someone who died. No one did mourning like the Victorians, that shit was an art form to them.
Someone in her family has died—she could even be a young widow. No one’s accompanying her either. With the carpet bag? She’s traveling alone while still in deep mourning. Look at the closeup. She’s got tears in her eyes. She is upset, devastated in a way that one is only when someone has died. And the guy’s still bothering her, like her problems are flippant bullshit and she needs to just smile or pay attention to him because ladies are supposed to be pleasing for men no matter what shit they’re going through. That’s not a look of “what an ass.” That’s a look of devastation that even in her pain, she’s expected to give people like him focus. She’s not mad. She’s hurt. And to add insult to injury? Everyone would be able to tell. It was a clear sign and still is in ways that someone is mourning, to dress in black crepe like that. He would know why she’s wearing all black, and he’s still demanding her attention.
What an insufferable dick.
Yep.
I thank you for that link on the bodypillow…
Daily Dose of Lulz:
My anti-virus informed me that I had a PUA on my computer, and being the awesome anti-virus that it was the PUA was promptly removed to quarantine until it was convenient for me to remove it.
(PUA is anti-virus-ese for ‘Potentially Unwanted Adware’, but I still laughed pretty hard.)
” After all, this lot think India is some sort of feminist paradise”
Really?! Link?
Why do they think India is a “feminist paradise”?
@lumi
I’m sorry to hear about your friend, it can’t be easy going through that. Hugs.
Read their reactions to the Delhi rape and murder on AVfM. They’re all on about how badly poor men are treated in India. Whining about how men are “treated like beasts” by such dreadful misandric practices as sometimes making a railway carriage women-only (because giving women a chance to avoid sexual assaul for a little while is such a harsh and horrible thing to do to men).
JustACheeto | January 12, 2013 at 10:12 pm
“At my grandpa’s funeral last year, some family friend thought it was the perfect time to flirt with me (and not exactly appropriately either). My aunt once told a story about something similar happening at her mother-in-law’s funeral. Are mourning women special PUA targets? Perhaps they are already sufficiently negged by their grief. I must consult the pick up artist forums!”
— One thing though. I have noticed in a lot of American films, on TV or in theatres, it depicts women grieving over the very recent, like few days, death of a relative/friend, having sex with with the man that consoles them. Like he’ll be holding her and comforting her and all of a sudden she goes in for a kiss and its on from there. I always think, “this is totally unrealistic and I wonder why its in movies so much”.
“Yes yes yes yes yes. I hate it when men on the street tell me to “smile.” I have a resting face. I see no reason why it has to appeal to your boner.”
Yep. I mean, are these men walking around with beaming smiles in public all day long? If so, how “unmanly”.
“Read their reactions to the Delhi rape and murder on AVfM. They’re all on about how badly poor men are treated in India. Whining about how men are “treated like beasts” by such dreadful misandric practices as sometimes making a railway carriage women-only (because giving women a chance to avoid sexual assaul for a little while is such a harsh and horrible thing to do to men).”
Reading it all now and my blood is boiling. Being an avid traveller I have to say India was one of the worst, if not the worst, countries as far as street and transportation sexual harassement goes. If they are making “women only trains” I’ll definitely use them next time I go there.
From Anil’s article at AVfM;
“The justification? The same as it is in the west. Girls attract crowds. Girls will attract men and men will pay. Okay, so sexism is a business decision. But many discotheques don’t even allow men unless they have women with them. Recently, I saw a man trying to go alone inside a discotheque. He was denied entry.”
But Anil conveniently avoids addressing the root issue as to WHY these policies are in place. Its because men, either lone or in groups, not accompanied by females are sexually harassing the females in these venues. The female patrons then complain and stop patronizing these establishments. Its the same on India’s beaches. Masses of men unaccompanied by females harassing all the female beach goers.
I ask: do these men not have girlfriends, wives, sisters, aunts, moms, or female friends or neighbors that they can get to accompany them? Did it ever occur to them that the women in their lives might like a day at the beach or a night on the town also?
Re: woman only train carriages in India and AVFM poster’s fake indignation
I agree with the above posters, when I saw this painting + the defence lawyer’s statement in the Delhi rape case of “she was asking for it”, I immediately thought of the AVFM post and how they thought it was MISANDRY to have female only carriages.
Having never been to India, you only need to watch an episode of something as innocuous as The Amazing Race to see female contestants being groped on Indian trains.
“Having never been to India, you only need to watch an episode of something as innocuous as The Amazing Race to see female contestants being groped on Indian trains.”
Its so bad there and everyone knows it. That’s why I can’t fathom Anil being against women only trains. Every Indian man I’ve ever met does not want any of the females in their families travelling by train or bus alone for this very reason.
I suspect Anil is an NRI (non-resident Indian) or 2nd/3rd generation immigrant who travels to India every few years for a few weeks to visit family and wants to meet girls in the night clubs (he’s on MRA blogs after all so PUA is not far behind), and feels affronted that India’s clubs won’t let him in as a lone male. So why not take a female cousin with you then?
Oh that’s right, he doesn’t want his female family members at the clubs.
Given his charming personality I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of his female cousins wanting nothing to do with him.
And it’s similar when they travel to Japan, another place where there are female only carriages. It’s because, again wutnessed in a show like the amazing race, where men commonly grope woman in public. That is why there is a NEED for woman only carriages.
A commenter named Mongo on AVfM remarks;
“Imagine, for example, if Feminism took hold in Saudi Arabia. The men would lose all male advantage, while the women would lose absolutely none of their culturally elevated position. It would probably become the worst misandric country in the world (and that is saying a lot).”
OK so what “elevated position” do women in Saudi Arabia hold?
I tell you, these “first world” or “developed world” spoiled brat mama’s boys have no idea what the world is like outside of their comfortable little chock-full-o-video-games-and-tortilla-chips mom’s basements.
(Attempts to think like an MRA)
But there’s no good reason to punish all men by having one carriage that only runs during peak hours that they can’t ride in just because some of their fellow men are gropey! Being excluded from a train carriage is far more damaging to a person’s self-esteem than being groped (which totally is not sexual assault and how dare you insinuate that it is). If women were just more accommodating then they wouldn’t get groped anyway – you ladies drove them to this.
Harm reduction strategies are misandry! Also not being allowed in the women’s carriage makes men just like Rosa Parks.
@Lumi: that sounds terrible. I’m sorry. The friends I’ve lost have all been gone with no warning–in some ways it’s better, in some ways it’s worse. But either way it sucks.
” if Feminism took hold in Saudi Arabia. The men would lose all male advantage, while the women would lose absolutely none of their culturally elevated position.”
Holy crap! Are they really this uninformed (what am I saying? these are MRAs we’re talking about, of course they are…)?
“Yes yes yes yes yes. I hate it when men on the street tell me to “smile.” I have a resting face. I see no reason why it has to appeal to your boner.”
Creepy as hell.
“But there’s no good reason to punish all men by having one carriage that only runs during peak hours that they can’t ride in just because some of their fellow men are gropey! Being excluded from a train carriage is far more damaging to a person’s self-esteem than being groped (which totally is not sexual assault and how dare you insinuate that it is). If women were just more accommodating then they wouldn’t get groped anyway – you ladies drove them to this.
Harm reduction strategies are misandry! Also not being allowed in the women’s carriage makes men just like Rosa Parks.”
The all ladies carriages are very few and far between and they were ALWAYS PACKED when I saw them. Even I was never able to get a seat on them. India is an overpopulated country of 1 billion plus. Only someone who’s never been to India would believe Anil’s drivel about “empty seats” on trains or buses. Shit. Its so crowded that people are riding on the ROOFS of trains and buses.
@CassandraSays
More like:
“Why must they discriminate against us for the configuration of our genitals! We didn’t ask to be born this way, having the same type of genitalia as our gropey brethren! Groping is just part of the train ride for women (They probably like it anyway. Why else would they dress like that?).
If we are pricked do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? Are we not human beings like you wimmenz?
We should be let into any train car we want because MISANDRY! “
Is Mongo from AVfM actually Tom Martin, or is the idea that women in Saudi Arabia are privileged a widespread one with these nincompoops?
I am home sick today, hoping it’s not the flu. On the plus side, it gave me some time to do a quick post documenting Man Boobz’ continuing adventures with sockpuppets. My cat, Buster, is so happy I’m home today that she is alternating between drooling on me and drooling on (and unplugging!) my laptop. I blame her and my stuffed up head for any errors. 🙂
No taxation without penis representation in every carriage!
Oops, didn’t close link tabs. But amazingly, it works anyway.
There’s an ABNOY moment up there.
“I thank you for that link on the bodypillow…”
I present this gem without comment as I’m eating and thus busy.
Mentioned the hatred of female only trains to my mother. Or rather, mentioned that we’re discussing female only trains and discrimination, she gets that “well that makes sense” face…then I explain the reality of the discussion and she gets all “then stop groping people!”
So much more logical than my father’s thoughts on Obama’s speech regarding gun control >.<
wordsp1nner: I think the issue with mitochondria is that they are actually symbiotic bacteria, and so can’t do the mieosis trick, so they have to be brought along entire.
@ Argenti
I kind of want to give your mom a hug. Imagine being a reasonable person married to a wingnut…
Tommy-Boy explained why Saudi Arabia is the feminist mecca (sorry, it just came out).
Women refuse to let the men give them, “rights” so that they get free seats on buses and men are forced to drive them everywhere.