Ok, class project!
As regular readers of this blog know all too well, the manosphere has a rather distorted version of feminism. Indeed, MRAs, MGTOWers and other misogynists spend a lot of their timedoing battle against feminists of their own imagining, whose alleged beliefs only have a tangential relationship with anything you or I know as feminism. It’s not always clear if MRAs know they’re battling straw feminists or not, and I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to figure that out.
In the meantime, I’m trying to assemble a little guide to this straw feminism.
I’m wondering what you all think are its central tenets?
(Specific examples and links, to posts and/or discussion on this blog or elsewhere, would be great if you can provide them.)
Take a look at Kate Beaton’s amazing “Straw Feminist” cartoon if you need inspiration!
Ironically, the gang over on the Men’s Rights subreddit had a whack at the “straw feminist” question the other day. They didn’t do too well, with the OP basing his “refutation” of accusations that MRAs spend much of their time attacking straw feminists … on a list that incorporated some not-actually-real feminist quotes. (I factchecked a similar list of EVIL FEMINIST QUOTES here.)
Straw feminists support women walking onto streets, crying at the top of their lungs until someone gives them lots and lots of money.
Straw feminists are ugly hags because they don’t shave their bodies and burn bras and don’t wear make-up and this is misandry because women should be pleasing to the eyes of the penis!
Straw feminists wear makeup to deceive men and wear pretty clothes and don’t have sex and this is misandry because this is teasing to the cock-eyes.
…aaaaaand this is a mental image that I could have done without! 😀
Straw feminists are only capable of simple, short-sighted thinking, like very young children. Also, they are the silent power behind the media, government, and all HR departments.
Straw feminists want all women to become fat, cut their hair short and stop shaving and using make-up. (they do this either to punish all men or to lower the general level of attractiveness so those ugly hairy feminists will finally get laid)
Straw feminists also care so much about their appearance that they want to keep the practice of male infant circumcision so they can put the foreskins in their anti-aging creams.
Straw feminists secretly wanna be dominated by strong men. They also wanna ruin women’s sexuality by fighting rape because every woman has rape fantasies and that’s totally the same as wanting to be raped.
(by the way, been lurking for some time here and only de-lurking a few times, never said hi though so: Hi everyone, I enjoy the comments here a lot. They give me much entertainment when im on my way to uni)
All strawfeminists do make-work while taking jobs away from men, and they do it while wearing silky drawers.
I think someone already said how straw feminists and American women poisoned by feminists want to destroy (or have destroyed) the family structure. By leaving the home to work, they are now neglecting their husbands and children.
Straw feminists caused American women to get fat and ugly because they taught women to no longer care about men.
Also, it’s straw feminists’ fault that MRAs can’t get tail. Because now sexy time can only commence “when the woman wants it!” The need for consent now makes it so much harder.
Straw feminists despise logic.
And hello, Juu.
@freitag
My boyfriend recently introduced my housemate to the infamous FATAL review and the line “cock-eye of truth”… it’s kind of become a running joke amongst my friends now.
Straw feminists are all ugly, fat, and mean. Straw feminists cry rape after heterosexual sex because they hate men and penises (Straw feminists are all secretly butch lesbians). Straw feminists take jobs they are not qualified for just to keep men down (and for the lulz).
Finally, feminists are all, in the end, still just women. So eventually despite being lesbians, they’ll crave dick enough to cave in and collapse. Their reign will end and make room for the new era where MRAs shall rise. And eventually “true [privileged] equality” will prevail!
@CWS, I just googled that, and attracted the attention of everyone else who is keeping their office hours today by my sudden, and not-at-all quiet, explosion of laughter. This is the funniest game review evah.
Straw feminism is a form of feminism that is entirely focused around men. Everything that straw feminists supposedly do is solely to humiliate, belittle, or insult men….. or (sometimes simultaneously) to rope men into impregnating them so they can live off the vast fortune the government hands out in child allowance.
This springs naturally from the MRA mindset- they appear to genuinely believe that women have never actually suffered oppression, so of course feminists couldn’t be legit when they say they want equal rights- they already have those! So the *real* goal of feminism must be something else. Add in a dose of self-centred narcissism and you’ve got straw feminism.
Oh yes, another one: Straw feminists ignore the men’s problems like testicular cancer, only selfishly focusing on their own health problems like breast cancer (which men can also get.) Testicular cancer (which women can obviously never get) remains untouched, therefore straw feminists are against helping men.
Straw feminists actively prevent men from organizing for their own health, like the Komen Foundation. Men cannot do this because feminism.
Hi Juu!
Oh and another, Straw feminists all have NPD and are incapable of loving anyone in any capacity, especially their husbands or children.
The key to the MRA concept of feminism is simple. To them, “men’s rights” means “anything that could conceivably hurt a woman, or, failing that, help a man, although sticking it to women is the first priority.” They assume feminism is exactly the same, just with the sexes reversed.
@Shaenon, that’s effin’ brilliant.
Although sometimes “feminism” has the alternate meaning of “just anything about women I don’t like.” Which is how feminists are responsible for shoe shopping, “princess culture,” and any individual MRA’s inability to get laid.
And this is why I like reading Man Boobz. It’s where the smart people are.
Straw feminists love to laugh at the suffering of men. If that suffering involved cutting off a man’s penis, well, SO MUCH LAUGHAGE.
Corollary: Straw feminists control daytime television, therefore everything you see a woman say or do on daytime television has been endorsed by feminism, and is in fact incorporated into its official platform, which is updated daily by Oprah and Ellen.
Corollary #2: Every radfem with a blog is an official mouthpiece for straw feminism.
Most importantly, straw feminists are the only ones who can create movements or organize for change. Therefore, if something bad is happening to men, men are powerless to do anything to address it. Prostate cancer? Ending/reducing male genital mutilation (i.e. circumcision)? It is up to straw feminists to build movements to make things better for men.
I’m sure I was ninja’d because I forgot to refresh.
And hi Juu!
Delurking here– found this blog a little while ago and I think I’m beginning to understand the pretzel-shaped thought patterns of your standard MRA.
Besides what’s already been mentioned, I’m pretty sure straw feminists are the only reason prostitution is illegal and unacceptable, including child prostitution.
Also, straw feminists are relentless hunters of male genitalia, like poachers after ivory or rhino horns. Upon acquisition, straw feminists mount the stolen junk upon their blood-streaked Wall of Manguish, after which they rear their heads back and bellow “MUAHAHAHAHA!” as a thunderclap rips through the gruesome scene. No wait, that’s just the boogeyman feminist in every MRA’s head that spawns the straw ones- like flimsy, ignorant, flammable, mortal knockoffs of Zeus’ Athena.
@Shaenon
Feminism is indirectly responsible for MRAs not getting laid. Now that women can make a (reasonable) living, no-one has to sleep with such odious beings unless they want to.
(SPOILER ALERT: No-one wants to.)