It’s Question Time again. I’ve been reading through Susan Faludi’s Backlash and her more recent book on men, Stiffed, as well as some of the discussion surrounding Hanna Rosin’s The End of Men and Kay Hymowitz’ Manning Up. Faludi, writing in 1991, obviously saw the 80s as a time of antifeminist backlash.
My question is how you would characterize the years since she wrote her book. A continuation of that backlash? A time of feminist resurgence, from the Riot Grrls up to Rosin’s predicted End of Men? A mixed period of progress and regression?
I’m wondering both what your general assessment of the situation is, and also what specific evidence you have — either hard data or personal experience — that underlies your overall view. This could be anything from data on employment segregation or the prevalence of rape to your sense of how media representations of women and men have or haven’t changed, or even how people you know have changed the ways they talk about gender. What do you think are the significant data points to look at?
The question isn’t just what has changed for women but what has changed for men as well — with my underlying question being: what if anything in the real world has changed that might be making the angry men we talk about here so angry? I think we can agree that most of their own explanations are bullshit, but could there be a grain of truth to any of them? Or something that they don’t see that’s far more compelling?
In the interest of spurring discussion and providing some data to work with, here are a bunch of articles responding to (or at least vaguely related to the issues raised in) Rosin’s End of Men, including a link to her original Atlantic article. In addition, here are some posts by sociologist Philip Cohen challenging many of Rosin’s claims, as well as more general posts of his on gender inequality. (Feel free to completely ignore any or all of these; I just found them useful resources.)
Joey, you’re not even cool enough to be a 2nd rate villain in one of those pirated fake Bond knockoffs you can buy on the street in parts of LA.
Now go away, you liar. 😀
In case you’re curious, the article joe posted is just using the dictionary as an example of why misandry exists.
Then they say that misandry is a thing because men’s nurturing abilities are mocked. I agree it’s bad to insinuate men aren’t good dad’s or child carer’s based on their gender. But men are often lauded for “babysitting” their own kids and going above and beyond when they actually just do normal parent work, so I don’t know what planet writer is living on.
Then he whines about feminists diminished male victims by saying misandry isn’t a thing. No, the patriarchy can have negative effects on men, and that still wouldn’t make misandry real.
It was kind of just a pointless, random article on some guy whining about feminists not saying misandry is a thing.
Figured that Joe’s friends would be as awful as he is. Who else would hang out with him?
Shame that Raid doesn’t work on assholes.
If I was a misandrist, would I have made a “First Joe” tag on my blog? Would I? This guy is comedy GOLD, I tell you.
You find him entertaining? I feel like I’m stuck at a table with a bore and he’s never, ever going to stop talking.
Joe: you sure think about me more than I think about you. Oh, no! A total sack of shit lying conspiracy wanker doesn’t think I’m sexy! WHATEVER SHALL I DO?
P.S.: misandry is not a thing, you lying shitstain.
Well I always determine fuckability via internet persona, don’t you? Brains in jars, we are, with no physical preferences at all.
He’s not so much comedy gold as comedy pyrite.
I don’t find Joe entertaining, but I do find mocking him entertaining. It’s a fine distinction…
Also, I am a Feminist with a capital F, and a dude who is a very good friend recently offered to take me to and from the airport and I turned him down because I didn’t want to inconvenience him. So that cancels out Joe’s friend, especially since I am not imaginary.
You know the fake turds they sometimes sell in novelty shops? Those are funnier.
Or that fake puke, or one of the fake spilled coffee cups. All funnier than Joe.
I’m an Ultra Mega Evil Feminist and I’m the friend you can call at 4 am if there’s an emergency, so by the law of dumbass internet logic Joe now needs at least 2 more anecdotes to win.
I’m SuperUltraMega Evil with Evil sauce, and I’m also available for any and all emergencies.
Joe can almost, unintentionally, be as funny as one of those things you sit on that sounds like a fart.
No, I’m wrong. It’s still just the people mocking Joe who are funny, not Joe himself. Like hellkell’s “comedy pyrite” comment, that was hilarious. Joe’s trying to take an attack on a trans* woman and make it all about how badly men suffer, that is just pathetic. (See other thread.)
I once quite literally saved a friend’s life (she likes telling people this). Joe…well, he tells feminists off on the internet. That helps other people out, right?
You know when someone makes a joke that’s actually funny, and then someone else jumps in with an attempt to riff on the first joke except it’s not funny at all and everyone just sort of sits there looking awkward? Joe’s the second guy.
This wasn’t an emergency, just me not thinking, but a few weeks ago, my bestie texted to ask if I wanted to go to temple, only she or autocorrect had capitalized it, so I thought she meant Temple, TX, and said sure (it’s about an hour or so north of here). When I asked what time, she said 7 or 8, which I thought was kind of late, but maybe she had to pick something up for work or whatever. When I said that, she about busted a gut. She meant TEMPLE as in she’s Jewish and wanted to go to services.
Whoops.
Point is, I was there either way, no questions asked.
He tells us off, but it kind of rolls off like water off of a duck, so I’m not sure who it helps. Maybe it makes him feel better though.
No, it doesn’t really seem to make him feel better. He seems, if anything, even angrier than when he first began pooping in the comments here.
Haven’t we been the ones refuting the notion men are incapable of nurturing forever?
Misandry isn’t a thing. 100% not a thing.
So basically Joe’s crowning achievement is getting himself increasingly angry and frustrated. Activism sure is strange these days.
The First “I’m making a complete ass of myself for the benefit of any lurkers who might be reading, not because I’m desperate for attention” Joe is lame and boring.
He isn’t even a good troll.
He’s like an aspiring, wannabe troll. Keep it up Joe. One day, if you try really hard, you might achieve being a third-rate, lackluster troll. Which is something, I guess.
The First Joe – Failed politician, failed troll, failed decent human being.
Hey, has anyone posted this little example of misandry* yet?
*By misandry, I mean misogyny, which is an actual problem in the real world, wherein for example a man tries to have his ex-wife murdered and a bunch of people think she was probably a bitch who deserved to be murdered.
My mother has a litter box with pellet litter and a pee pad underneath. I tell you this because I can honestly say that changing the cat’s piss pad is more entertaining than Joe (actually, having a cat watch you with that “and just what are you doing?” face is always more entertaining)
Fuck, my sneezing fit is more entertaining. Or at least less painful.
Listening to my cat snore? Way more entertaining. Granted that’s being a bit unfair, since my cat is adorable, but I vacuumed earlier and that was also far more interesting than Joe.