I was a little saddened to read recently that A Voice for Men — the self-proclaimed “Men’s Human Rights” site that has posted an open call to firebomb government buildings in its “activism” section — will no longer be writing about little old me.
Yes, it’s true. In a recent post announcing that he would no longer be writing or caring about journalist Arthur Goldwag, who famously took on the misogyny of the Men’s Rights movement in a piece for the Southern Poverty Law Center, AVFM’s head douchebag Paul Elam also noted that he would no longer be writing or caring about me either.
“In the early days of this site, we used to write a fair amount about David Futrelle,” Elam wrote. “He was a nice, soft target; pudgy actually.”
But now, apparently, AVFM has gotten much too important to bother with soft, pudgy nobodies like me or Goldwag or the SPLC.
We don’t mention David anymore except as a passing joke. He is just another low-end blogger with a small audience of neurotic women who talk more about cats in his comments than what he writes. It is as close to physical intimacy as the guy will ever get.
It’s a little strange how much time Elam, a fiftysomething straight man, spends thinking about my sex life, but I suppose it will be a bit of a relief not to have to read so many of these fantasies of his in the pages of AVFM. Not to mention Elam’s bizarre conspiracy theories about me — like this one. (I wonder why Elam never came forward with the proof of those allegations like he promised he would? Hmm.)
So I was a little surprised when, only one day after Elam bid me that not-very-fond farewell, AVFM’s “managing editor” Dean Esmay decided to set forth yet another conspiracy theory about me and my alleged army of evil minions.
In the midst of a long, weird, barely coherent tirade directed at a writer for Vice magazine who’d approached AVFM with some questions for its stable of female MRAs, Esmay accused my evil minions (in advance) of writing to the Viceman pretending to be female MRAs in an attempt to make female MRAs look bad:
[M]aybe … one of David Futrelle’s minions will show up in your inbox and say “yeah I’m a female MRA and I support taking rights away from women and I hate women too because we women suck, put women who have abortions in prison praise jesus blargh!” and so on and so forth, because that’s just what a whole lot of people who oppose compassion and fundamental human rights for boys and men do: pretend to be MRAs or to be quoting MRAs just to make us look bad. We’ve seen it in action more than once. At least one asshole we know of pretty much does it as a full-time gig.
Dude, I hate to break it to you, but none of my “minions” needs to pretend to be a female MRA in order to make female MRAs look bad. Female MRAs like JudgyBitch and GirlWritesWhat and TyphonBlue are already doing an exemplary job of that already. I mean, seriously, did you read JudgyBitch’s thing about pedophilia the other day? I mean, wow.
Of course male MRAs are also doing a fantastic job making themselves look terrible as well, from Warren Farrell on down to that dude who thinks “friend zoning” should be punishable by law (and the dozens of Men’s Rights Redditors who upvoted him).
But, really, no single website has done more to make the Men’s Rights movement look terrible than A Voice for Men.
Seriously, fellas (and FeMRAs), take a bow. We here at Man Boobz couldn’t do it without you. I couldn’t make up the shit you spew if I tried. (And, for the record, I don’t try.)
ATTENTION-WAY AN-MAY OOBZ-BAY INIONS-MAY: I-way am-way alling-cay off-way our-way evious-day an-play o-tay impersonate-way emale-fay As-mRAY. Ean-day Esmay-way as-hay igured-fay it-way out-way. Ease-play eturn-ray o-tay alsely-fay accusing-way apless-hay etas-bay until-way urther-fay otice-nay. And-way on’t-day orget-fay o-tay eed-fay e-thay ats-cay.
I’m too lazy to try to make MRAs look bad. Besides, why bother when they’re doing such a good job themselves?
The issue with the MHRM, as I’ve mentioned at AVfM many times, is that we’re fighting against a current of dozens of years of political correctness spearheaded by Second Wave feminists- people hear the name and assume we’re antagonistic to feminism. Now yes, we butt heads with modern “feminists”, but we’re natural allies with true femininism/equity feminism/First Wave style rights for all. We need to emphasize that, for PR purposes if nothing else.
The whole thing reminds me of the US Republican party “rebranding”. Still totally anti-woman, still totally anti-science, anti-reason, anti-education, anti-modernity, but now with better graphics and a twitter feed! Wooty fucking tooty.
It’s a human rights movement when you promote real human progress and eschew violence and terror tactics. Until then, it’s just the same old crap in a shiny new can.
And Tommy reminds me of that kid on the playground who totally hated everyone and always followed them around so that he could make sure tell them repeatedly how happy he was that he didn’t have to play with any of them.
Ah, I see, feminism would be great if we’d just let a bunch of men define what it is.
Please do go on.
Adherents sounds right, It sounds like we’re on the same page. I’m more of a physics lover myself, with very little psychology knowledge, but it’s interesting so don’t worry about boring me. That said, it’s almost 6am, and I want to see the sun later today, so I actually am going to sleep now. Seriously, someone throw something at me if I post again. :
(Still, continuing to comment when you’re planning on sleep is a sign of good conversation, right? 🙂 )
“we’re fighting against a current of dozens of years of political correctness spearheaded by Second Wave feminists”
Dude, you’re spelling it wrong. Repeat after me: Factual Correctness.
Fact-u-al
*gets a couple of pillows ready for athywren to post again, giggling*
……*throws pillows, belatedly* Muahahahahahahahahhaa. SLEEP MINION (notreallyaminionbutit’sfunny)
Anyone who wants to fight against “political correctness” is just straight up saying, WAAAAAAAAAH WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH WHY WON’T YOU LET ME BE AN ASSHOLE WITH IMPUNITY ANY LONGER WAAAAAAAAAAH WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
But what do I know, with my silly lady brain? I shouldn’t be trusted with anything more important than ironing.
Is the first wave thing because MRAs look at these texts, a lot of which are written in the 1950s, if I get the wave thing right (1st wave is Beauvoir etc., right? For some reason Wollstonecraft et al. are not counted?), and they visibly bear the traces of that time, and MRAs look at them, scratch their neckbeards and think: 1950s? Hey, that’s an era that we can wrap our minds around!
Or, sleep deprivation and depression = stop posting, me.
Does anyone else smell that socky smell or is it just that they all sound exactly the same because they’re all reading from the same playbook?
You think Berger is a sock? Maybe, but I think they just all spout the same bullshit.
Back on topic, I think I could pretend to be a feMRA. I used to pretend to be an anti-abortion xtian to go undercover during my clinic defense days. Got really good at faking it in prayer circles.
But I’m actually kind of busy these days, helping out some friends who are going through hard times. (Fuck cancer!) David, I hope you can find some better minions. Or if you can’t find good minions, just try frying up some scallions — also enjoyable.
They’re all starting to blend together so I can’t tell if we have one super persistent troll or 500 that all sound exactly the same.
Look who’s being discussed over at jezebel and huffpost
http://jezebel.com/incel-misogynist-wants-government-to-pay-women-to-dat-508518581
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/17/socially-anxiety-dating-government-should-pay-women-date-men_n_3293626.html
I can’t believe this is still going on.
I think it’s more like 27 that all sound exactly the same. Maybe 47, tops.
@shigekuni, First wave feminism is actually earlier, like 1800s and very early 20th century, mostly focusing on suffrage. Simone de Beauvoir is kind of between first and second wave feminism. I think. I’m coasting on a nice white burgundy so you know, take anything I say with a
grain of saltglass of wine.Does anyone remember which of the trolls was the one who is so obsessed with mining? I was reading this in the Australian Media/Culture journal and found it interesting…
http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/viewArticle/627
@athywren Go. The fuck. To. Sleep! (heeheee!)
@shigekuni No, the ‘first wave’ feminists were the 19th century ones, before we got into the really ‘fringy’ ideas, like the suggestion that we should be able to have control over our sexuality and access to the workplace, instead of just being granted permission to vote and own property. Definitely think Wollstonecraft and the Suffragists.
Then, of course, it all went to hell when we started with the ideas about bringing about an end to rape culture and domestic violence, enabling women to exercise control over their fertility and other, similarly wacky, notions!
I’ve thought long and hard about this one, and I really think they are all just reading from the same, dog eared and smeary script with the same tired talking points.
@cloudiah: so Wollstonecraft and Fuller are first wave? Those are the only books from that era on my shelves. Any (primary) recommendations from that time? I LOVE Wollstonecraft.
@shigekuni, I think Wollstonecraft & Fuller are first wave. I wish Historophilia were here; she might be able to recommend some primary resources. My era is more 2nd wave and onwards, but I’m a bit rusty even there. @gillyrosebee, do you have any recommendations?
Oh wow. Spoken like someone who has no familiarity whatsoever with the misogyny and other forms of kyriarchal prejudice that pervade both movement atheism and almost everywhere else. But then again you’re an MRA (no, not an MHRA you dipshit), so I should expect you to have absurd views.
You do know that second-wave feminists are a very small minority of feminists now, right?
Also, I find it amusing that you’re okay with first-wave feminism despite its various flaws. I’m starting to believe that you don’t even have a fucking clue about what defines third-wave feminism.
Your claims about your support for quality are either wholly untenable assertions or blatant lies. Shoo.
“It’s a little strange how much time Elam, a fiftysomething straight man, spends thinking about my sex life”
This is a joke based on homophobia.
Can I steal this from you? Because that’s perhaps the best reply to the charge of political correctness ever.
So, on HuffPo there’s this guy who knows GGG from a while back and is calling him out for being too extreme and therefore damaging to the incel “movement”. What’s funny is, the guy doing that is the same guy who wrote this.
Alexius is GGG, apparently.
First wave feminism was definitely 19th century. What about Christine de Pizan who wrote “City of Ladies” in the 1400s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_de_Pizan)? Or perhaps the MRM supports Lucrazia Marinella, who wrote “The Nobility and Excellence of Women, and the Defects and Vices of Men” in the 1600s? http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lucrezia-marinella/
[For the record, I disagree with Marinella, but since Tom Berger showed us his appreciation of early feminism, I thought I’d make him happy]
(OT, but not about kitties! I am a little obsessed with Eurovision, SO MUCH BAD MUSIC)
I want to be proud of my people, but this song is just terrible:
At least the Azerbaijani guy had amazing eyebrows: