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Someone posted this picture in the Men’s Rights subreddit yesterday with the title “Equality.”
[Trigger Warning: Depiction of violence against women.]
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Yep, that’s right, equality is all about hitting women. (Click the image for a larger version.)
The punchy superhero in question, Booster Gold, is from the future, and “in the future he is from there is actual equality, or at least enough of it for the “you wouldn’t hit a girl” thing to not be any kind of issue,” as one Men’s Rightser explained in the comments,
Yep, in MRA-land, men hitting women – sorry, girls — is considered “progress.”
And a critical men’s rights issue. Responding to a Redditor who thought the picture was “fantastic” but wondered if it should be in the Men’s Rights subreddit, BlueOak offered this explanation:
Making it socially acceptable for men to hit women, evidently a key plank on the Men’s Rights platform.
Wouldn’t it make a little more sense to work towards a world in which, you know, neither men nor women were getting punched on a regular basis?
At least he isn’t an Avenger. They probably hold the track record in being awful to each other.
You are far too nice Carlyblue. 😉 I agree that the basic premise “don’t hit girls” is flawed – rather, don’t hit someone smaller/weaker/less able to defend themselves than you is more accurate. But most of the time women are smaller than men, so in practice it’s not a big difference.
Basically *I* don’t like “don’t hit girls” because (a) it has the side effect of erasing female violence, particularly domestic violence (b) it frames women as intrinsically incapable of being a worthy opponent.
BUT practically speaking, misogyny is still deeply ingrained in western cultures and there is a power differential between men and women in many situations that makes violence perpetrated by men upon women just *different*. I’d rather do away with the construct, but so long as we’re so invested in gender roles, it’ll do.
Oh yeah. ThAT matt forney. The dude whose advertisement for a girlfriend I pissed myself laughing over.
@Melody: that’s the most horrifying thing I’ve read in ages. I’m a daily reader of this blog too, so that’s really saying something. I actually felt cold all over when I read it… the hairs are still standing up on my arms. And what really makes me shudder is that this Matt Forney character probably looks totally normal, and for all I know I might have sat next to him on the bus this morning.
Why can’t people like this look like slavering hell-monsters, instead of normal people? It’d make life so much easier… and safer. 🙁
Yoyo, I just threw up in my mouth a little. WTF? I mean, I know voxday is reprehensible but sometimes it’s just a little bit…well, I don’t have the words.
Right now, I’m of half a mind to write an answering reply to his girlfriend wanted post that will set him on his ass. I mean really, this guy is over the top.
What I really wish is that his lovely posts follow him to a new employer who realizes that not hiring the dude is A VERY GOOD THING. Or that if there is a sexual harassment/ rape allegation, the appropriate authorities and his employers find his posts and deal with him.
There is something really wrong with a dude who can write “rape the bitch and kill her” as an entire post. There is something really really wrong with a dude that realizes women he knows have in fact been raped, and he then sits down to correct the the problem of why those women are still breathing.
@hrovitnir: “Pick on someone your own size” is a probably apt. But still… don’t hit people, that’s bold.
So, why is Booster Gold punching someone who doesn’t look like they pose any threat to him?
Divorced from its context like this, it just looks like more of that macho anti-feminist “guess what, equality means I get to hit you, and if you don’t like that you should stay in your place” type stuff that, here in the real world, has nothing to do with egalitarianism.
Tulgey, let’s not forget that according to this asshat, staying in her proper place still means getting hit and verbally abused. What’s better, he outlines what will instigate him abusing you, but then goes on to say that if you can’t speak up for what you want he has no sympathy and won’t give a shit. And what will get you abused? Disagreeing with him. Doing things in ways he doesn’t like…
Was anyone doing the over/under on when cloudiah would go off topic? Here I go!
There’s a hilarious tumblr called “Sims Gone Wrong” that you should check out.
Oh, and here is the exact opposite of people hitting each other if anyone needs brain bleach — “no sloths” edition, since apparently some people don’t like slots around here! XD
Is that dog for real? Cuz I ded of cute!
Also, this superhero was a janitor in his own time frame but came here to be a superhero?
Methinks the MRM chose the right superguy as their mascot then!
That how to rape a girl fails as both satire and advice. If you rape someone you already know, you are statistically likely to be home free. Acquaintance rapes aren’t exactly a guaranteed ticket to prison. But if you kill her, the cops will probably feel a need to do something about that, and “disposing a body” is like hiring a hitman- if you think it’s an easy task and you are not actually in a mob, then you are an idiot and please enjoy getting caught.
That tumbler is hilarious Cloudiah.
And how can anyone not love sloths…they are so squee!
Cutest. Puppeh. Evah.
On not loving sloths… I adore lethargic animals, but I respect the fact that people can have different reactions — just want to be clear that I wasn’t trying to poke fun at that person here, whoever it was. SLOTH ALERT: But those of use who adore the little critters should watch this video.
I’m not wild about sloths … they look like the mammalian equivalent of big hairy spiders to me. Not scared of ’em or squicked out or anything, I just don’t find them appealing.
Speaking of The Sims, this isn’t exactly brain bleach but is nonetheless worth going through:
http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/
TW for discussing violence:
On the OP, it’s pretty clear to me that the whole “men should be allowed to hit women” line from the MRM is because they’re assuming that men can inflict far more damage to a woman than vice versa (true, very broadly speaking) and this is precisely what they want. Proportionate response to these guys is a woman who speaks angrily or slaps a man’s face getting her jaw or ribs broken.
/Captain Obvious
pillow in hell: got a link to this shitstain’s personal ad?
What freaked me out about the Matt Forney “satire” is that he lives near my home town–he mentions my suburb in the place. I might have been in public with him. So might my sister. *Shudder*
Hellkell, we’ve talked about this guy before. Cloudiahs link, if you follow it, the bottom features a link to that post.
Hang on, I’ll see if I can find it.
Hellkell, its not an ad like an internet dating site. This is what he posted on his blog. I’m pretty sure this post was covered before, so here’s the refresher.
http://mattforney.com/2012/06/25/a-letter-to-my-future-wif-er-girlfrie-er-fuckbuddy/
http://mattforney.com/2012/06/04/young-white-female-needed-for-companionship-and-sexytime/ hellkell though I have probably been ninja’d.
No way any of that is satire.
Yup, ninja’d.