In an apparent attempt to prove that they’re not misogynists, the folks at A Voice for Men have decided to take a temporary break from their practice of vilifying individual female activists to vilify a male activist – University of Toronto Student Union VP for University Affairs Munib Sajjad.
As far as I can tell, the folks at A Voice for Men decided to target Sajjad, perversely, because he told Toronto’s CityNews that he was afraid he was “going to be targeted” after announcing publicly that he thought a campus Men’s Rights group should be banned. The A Voice for Men post about Sajjad is a typically long-winded, and largely content-free, rant from the excitable John Hembling (“John The Other”).
But what’s more disturbing than Hembling’s empty bloviating on Sajjad is the way A Voice for Men has framed the attack. “Munib Sajjad, it’s your turn in the barrel,” the headline declares, and Hembling repeats the phrase “your turn in the barrel” in the post itself.
I wasn’t familiar with this phrase, so I looked it up, and found that it derives from a rape joke. Here’s the definition of the term, from Urban Dictionary:
To say someone is “in the barrel” or “taking a turn in the barrel” means it’s their turn to do an unpleasant task or to suffer an unpleasant experience.
Click on the “definition” link above to see the gang rape joke it’s derived from.
Rape jokes aimed at men — even men you don’t like — are certainly a, well, counterintuitive way of showing “compassion for boys and men,” as the A Voice for Men slogan has it.
EDITED TO ADD: Looking again at Hembling’s piece, I realize I hadn’t noticed his, er, argument that the term “mansplaining” — which I find useful from time to time — is somehow equivalent to the incredibly offensive term “[racial slur redacted]splaining,” which Hembling has just made up. (The slur in question starts with an “n.” You can figure it out.) This is ridiculous on its face, not to mention that it’s frankly racist not only to compare the alleged oppressions of men — who are not systematically oppressed — with those of black people — who are — but also to use a racial slur in doing so. Of course this isn’t the first time that A Voice for Men has used the n-word in an attempt to suggest that men, collectively, have it as bad as a historically disadvantaged and still systematically oppressed group.
Rape jokes and racial slurs: A Voice for Men has it all!
@Kittehserf Do you hold the yarn in your left hand (continental) or right hand (English)?
Yeah, a party! I want to bring buffalo wings, potato skins, and little smokies in BBQ sauce. I also want to bring some Smirnoff Ice, to add some 90’s retro fun to the whole thing.
For mine and other Manboobzers’ kids, I can bring Capri Sun, cheese pizza, and my bubble machine.
If this is outdoors, we still need patio lights, a firepit with wood, and Cintronella candles. Do mosquito repellent candles count as misandric scented fucking candles?
RE: Kielbasa
I know. That’s the joke. An altar is what you sacrifice virgins on. An alter is the old psych term for a member of a multiple system–i.e., me. Since I am male, I am indeed an ‘alter boy.’
That said, don’t call me that. It’s in-jokey, but not something I would actually want anyone to call me, especially a singlet.
@LBT – my (dumb, cis) mind went to trans* when you said alter boy. so yeah i could see that getting all kinds of confusing.
@sarah rose – my brain bleeds trying to follow that whole illogical sequence.
Ah, no wonder I didn’t get it; I have actually never heard of multiple systems (is that correct terminology?) before. I will make note not to call anybody that.
Do you think it would blow ol’ Prester John’s mind if i told him I used to be Christian until I got the distinct impression that Jesus was rejecting me?
Katz: I thought the pointless argument around here was about the plural of octopus.
I’ll bring beer and wines, and a nice anejo for Freemage and I.
RE: bahumbi
Yeah, considering ‘alter’ also has connotations of sexual surgery, it can definitely be a very bitter, touchy joke to make. I for instance have a thing with the subtitle ‘an alter boy zine,’ and though it was more popular than I expected, I’m not a big fan of the name I chose.
RE: Kielbasa
Yeah, no worries. We’re around. If you’re curious to learn, you can check out healthymultiplicity.com and have fun. (We’re one of the co-founders, Loony-Brain.)
Karalora: you sure you weren’t just negged by Jesus?
Kendra sounds like she throws the best parties ever, although admittedly I’m easily swayed by barbecue sauce.
I was passing Lucky Baldwin’s the other day and they had a sign out front with an arrow pointing towards their door that said “Newcastle” and an arrow pointing the opposite direction that said “no Newcastle”. A persuasive argument.
Don’t forget Eastern European knitting.
I think it’s like spelling, us Brits do it differently, and some would say more correctly than others 😉
@LBT
Thanks! I’ll try to get some time and take a look. Also, is it gauche to say that I would kind of like to redesign the website so it’s a little easier to read/navigate? Also also, do y’all have preferred pronouns?
I have the patio lights, firepit, and citronella tiki torches. Guess the party’s in Texas, y’all.
I shall bring penguin-shaped olive appetizers and homemade ginger ale.
RE: Kielbasa
We’re not the only group in charge of the site, so some aspects are slapdash. Also, none of us are web-designers, which make it worse. We try to just make it as accessible as possible; the site I gave you is really just the main list. If you like, healthmultiplicity.com/loonybrain is us, with our comics.
As for pronouns, I (Rogan) am the only one who talks here, so ‘he’ is fine. As a system, we go by ‘they.’
Also, OMFG, I have left the index way too long. So many dead links! And apparently there are two index pages, and I have no idea which one is more updated, so I have to go through both and delete the spare? Ugh.
Times like this, I wish I was better with computers…
@hellkell
Although I appreciate the attempt at humor, it was damn traumatic at the time. I was 17, and everyone at church I told about this just told me I must not be praying right or believing hard enough ot something.
Johnny-Spam (It’s a pressed meat): God Hates Shrimp
If yer gonna go all fundy, you need to go all the way (and if you try to say Acts oviates kashrut, then you have to tell me why it doesn’t change the rest of Deut. as well).
Thanks, katz. Yeah, I’m a big fan of BBQ sauce, and unlike ranch dressing, it doesn’t go bad in the heat. I think I’ll use the Silver Dollar City sauce, rather than have to choose between Kansas City, Memphis, or Texas style sauces. (Speaking of online arguments, that topic there can cause some huge flame wars.)
Perfect, sounds like a plan.
Also, this thread is teaching me a lot about food and drinks. I’ve had to google a lot of the things people are bringing, and it all sounds really tasty. Yeah for learning and trying new food!
Well, I hope continental is more thjust what hand you use to hold yarn in, because otherwise every left handed person on the planet is a continental knitter.
Also, Prester, I personally believe that God has a great deal of apologizing to humanity to do, considering that we’ve shown more empathy and morality than He ever has.
Must there be a rivalry between different styles of barbecue? Can we not simply accept that each style encapsulates its own unique type of deliciousness?
Karalora: I apologize.
Memphis sauce all the way! Born and raised on that shit.
hellkell, Texas? Texas? Not even if I flapped my arms really hard!
Well fine, I’ll have my mushy peas and mint sauce here, in Nottingham forest with the Green Man. Hmmmm perhaps I’ll take the swing ball.
skeptifem: I really wish I had some mormon missionaries to unleash on john. Maybe then he would understand how stupid and annoying it is to witness to people.
It might be less annoying if he were actually giving meaningful witness. A story of how God in his life made the world a better place.
All he’s doing is saying, “God will let you rape people; if yer a dude. If yer a gurl God says raping you is totes cool, so get with the program.”
That’s piss poor testimony.
Johnny-Spam There is only one God, and God is certainly not a she.
Hrmn… Elohim (one of the Hebrew terms for God) is both plural, and feminine. So it’s debatable; at least if one is going back to the Ur-text. If you are happy with the fallible works of a translating committee being treated as the Pure Form, well God have mercy on your soul.
That biblical passage does not condone rape.
Yes, it does, explicitly:
It “accepts and allows” the act of rape to continue. Pay a forfiet and you even get to keep raping her; and it’s sanctioned because the offender obeyed that passage.
That’s about as purely as one can condone anything.