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.
“If we are pricked do we not bleed?”
Are we not bleedin’ little pricks?
FTFY
On the “be smiley” notion – I alternate between expressions when I’m out an about. If I’m in a hurry I’ve got my unsmiling “get out of the damn way, dawdlers, it’s peak hour ferchissakes” look when moving through crowds. If I’m not in a hurry and can pick up on something Mr K says, or get a glimpse of him, I’m just as likely to be smiling to myself (okay, probably it’s a smirk) or laughing under my breath.
Oddly enough, men almost entirely leave me alone. 😉
I certainly can’t speak for India, but when it came to Japan it seemed that every time I read an article on groping or upskirt photos on Japantoday (news site) , the resident MRA-esque trolls would always point out that, “if she didn’t want to have that happen to her she would have ridden in the women’s car.”
As if they run all day on every line, with cars in a central location* and which are not full.
Of course, there was always a lot of “wearing a short skirt” stuff too. As if schoolgirls get to choose their uniforms and won’t get made fun of by their peers for wearing it regulation length. :/ No way to win.
*In my experience it was always the last last last car on the train, meaning if a train was coming NOW there was no way I would get all the way down there and get on that car.
“I kind of want to give your mom a hug. Imagine being a reasonable person married to a wingnut…”
While I get your point, and do have similar moments, she absolutely refuses to consider divorce because they were married with that “under god” shit. I get bitter about being stuck with him because of her religion >.<
The only thing I have against women-only carriage is that the justification for groping becomes “if she didn’t want to be groped she’d be on the woman train”, but at some point things are bad enough that the decision becomes either woman-segregated trains or women not being able to travel at all. So really, I can’t fault these decisions, on the short to medium term.
It brings to mind that comment attributed to Golda Meir, doesn’t it – her ministers suggesting a curfew for women in response to a spate of rapes, and her saying since it was men committing the crimes, it should be men who were curfewed.
Okay, everyone, let’s accept that Abnoy is a troll in the “make shit up” variety. He likes sex pillows and the Liefeldian 90s of comics. I refuse to believe this is an actual person.
RE; BlackBloc
Enh, by that point, I think if someone’s going to grope someone, they’re going to justify it no matter WHAT measures have been taken. It’s on them, not the no-grope car.
As for Chobits, I tried to get through that series, I really did. But the perving drove me off. A shame, since “non-human searches for innate worth” themes are one of my favorites.
“non-human searches for innate worth” themes – as in, AI, or other forms of organic life? I can understand something made by humans having that problem, but the idea of not-human living beings doubting their worth because they’re not human has me doing a real side-eye.
RE: Kittehs
Enh, I’m mostly familiar with robots, cyborgs, golems, homunculi… generally created beings who are often incorporated into cultures of their owners.
That makes sense, then! 🙂
Say, did you ever read The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee (I think she wrote it)?
RE: Kittehs
Funny you should mention that! I was talking about it with folks just last week. And I tried, I really tried, but I think I caved somewhere around the halfway point; that book gave me the screaming meemies. I didn’t connect with the main character, and the whole robot > humanity thing just skeeved me like whoa.
(I read all these sort of as allegories regarding multiplicity, so take all my opinions with salt.)
I never knew Dr. Demento was such an asshole.
LBT – I read it years ago, probably when I was in my late teens or early twenties. I would guess I identified enough with the “plain Jane” idea or just the sex part (I was falling for Mr K at the time) to like it, and certainly hadn’t the wherewithall to look at it critically. I doubt I’d read it now, I’m not wild about Lee’s stuff.
PS I get about reading things as allegories, I get rather “Don’t fucking tell me the life to come is some sort of delusion!” with a lot of books.
Say, that’s another one: ever read the Indigo series? Can’t remember the author but that was one of those “love the series, then read the plot twist in the last book and throw the whole lot in the dumpster” efforts for me.
I don’t know the Inigo series at all. What’s it about?
Oddly, my first exposure to Tanith Lee was her YA lit! I had no idea she was known for dark adult fantasy for the longest time!
I never knew Dr. Demento was such an asshole.
“Sequitur needed on Aisle “.
LBT – It was a series by Louise Cooper. Indigo is the colour of mourning in the country where it’s set, and is the name taken by the hero (or anti-hero, since she’s a cussed sort of character), a princess who manages to unleash demons that kill her family and kidnap her lover. She is made immortal until such time as she has undone the curses, and spends the rest of the books doing that (accompanied by a telepathic/speaking wolf – I forget which) and trying to rescue her lover.
Huh. That sounds interesting, though you mentioning a maddening eleventh hour twist sounds dubious.
I found it so dubious it undid the whole premise of the story, not to mention making a pretty wretched and illogical ending.
“And I just don’t even know wtf you’re on about with adult agency? Are you seriously arguing against the concept of legal majority!?”
Oh god, is that what that meant? What. Thee. Fuck. Is wrong with these people??
“I’m truly curious wtf pity sex has to do with anything though!”
“If you think I’m pitiful you owe me sex!”??? >.<
It was a guess, that’s the best I can ever do with ABNOY — guess. (Another guess though is that he isn’t much above the age of legal majority himself, so idk how much that’s skeevy and how much it’s the typical “I am too mature enough!” complaints)
As for what’s wrong with ABNOY, plenty is wrong. LBT might be right that he just makes shit up to get a rise out of us.
Well, that *is* the raison d’etre for being a troll : P
He’s definitely trying to get a rise out of us, but he also reads to me as a person who isn’t self-aware enough to realize how ridiculous some of the stuff he says sounds to other people.
“He likes sex pillows and the Liefeldian 90s of comics.€’
I am a heterosexual human male of the non-mangina variety.
“I refuse to believe this is an actual person.”
Enough guys in Japan and elsewhere love dakimakura enough that it’s become a thriving industry in it’s own right with hundreds, even thousands, of bodypillow designs based on Japanese fictional characters, both male and female (go to any image repository — Danbooru and Gelbooru, for example– and search for dakimakura) And the “Liefeldian” ’90’s in American superhero comics were nothing if not full of the sexy 2-D ladies that are the essence of dakimakura. Is that so difficult to comprehend? Tch tch.
“Another guess though is that he isn’t much above the age of legal majority himself”
And it’s been a baker’s dozen of years since I reached what is now the international standard age of majority.
“Oh god, is that what that meant? What. Thee. Fuck. Is wrong with these people??”
Liberals tend to infantilize adolescents out of overprotectiveness. They’re growing up faster than ever before in human history both in mind and body, especially in the First World, thanks to all the hormones, chemicals, radiation, and knowledge in the environment, yet they’re ironically they’re underestimated more than ever before in human history as well.
“I’m truly curious wtf pity sex has to do with anything though!”
As someone upthread noticed, in the American mass-media, it’s a common trope in fiction that grieving gals usually become horny and have sex with the nearest conveniently available guy in order to comfort themselves. This explains why there are men who still try to hit on the ladies even when they’re in mourning.
“He’s definitely trying to get a rise out of us,”
How hypocritical of you to complain, since this very site was created to get a rise out of men everywhere…
“but he also reads to me as a person who isn’t self-aware enough to realize how ridiculous some of the stuff he says sounds to other people.”
Are you telling me that you people actually do care that much about what complete and total random strangers on the internet think of you?
“I am a heterosexual human male of the non-mangina variety.”
Considering there’s no such thing as a “mangina” that’s hardly an accomplishment.
“And it’s been a baker’s dozen of years since I reached what is now the international standard age of majority.”
All the more contemptible that you haven’t matured past your adolescent paranoia and objectification of women (among other issues you have).
“How hypocritical of you to complain, since this very site was created to get a rise out of men everywhere…”
No, it mocks misogynists. They aren’t “men everywhere” if by that you mean “all men”. Misogyny isn’t limited to men, anyway; all too many women have internalised it (cf GWW, judgybitch and so on). Being male doesn’t make one a misogynist. Not being a misogynist doesn’t make a man a “mangina”.
You, however, are a fail on pretty well every topic so far, not least human decency.