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Yet more proof that Men’s Rights activists live in an imaginary misandrist dystopia of their own making: this post on Reddit, which has the Men’s Righsters there in a tizzy:
Yeah, fellas, assuming that this even happened, I’m pretty sure what we’re dealing with is what the rest of us human beings call a “joke.” A dumb joke, but a joke nonetheless. This young lady, I feel confident in saying, does not actually intend to spermjack some innocent lad so she can spend the next 18-plus years of her life raising a child herself while trying to squeeze child support out of someone who hates her.
But don’t tell that to the Men’s Rightsers, who assume the worst about this young woman — and then some.
Indeed, some of the regulars there are so angry about it they literally want to get the young woman fired or at the very least admonished for making such a terrible, terrible comment in front of young, impressionable students who, I guess, have never heard a joke before.
Another commenter wonders how it is possible for a chubby woman to also be cute. Because fat women are hambeasts AMIRITE FELLAS HIGH FIVE!!!1!
If you scroll down far enough in the comments you will find some Men’s Rights Redditors wondering if maybe, perhaps, possibly, the woman might be making a joke. But these aren’t the comments getting the upvotes. In the Men’s Rights subreddit, anti-woman hysteria trumps rational skepticism pretty much all day, every day.
Q: How many Men’s Rights Activists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: MISANDRY! SPERMJACKING! MALE DISPOSABILITY! THAT’S NOT FUNNY!
Who was that woman in Harry Potter? Played by Imelda Staunton in the movies.
Sam-I-Was?, love your furkid!
neuroticbeagle, alas, I don’t think my sister’s a feminist – I don’t know if she even thinks about it.
Love the dog-and-vac pics. 😀
@Sam, so cute!
@Scott and @Unimaginative basically it is signalling he’s an arse, although it’s not meant that way. Besides being passive aggressive, it could mean:
– I’ve been horrid and I’m happy about it
– I’m not being serious with what I said (probably doesn’t mean this, in the context with kit)
– I’ve said my piece and don’t care what you think
– if you take what I’ve said to heart, you’re being too sensitive
But really, it could just be a complete inability to use smilies appropriately. 😉
Dolores Umbridge. Yeah, turns out that google things works pretty well…
@ kittehs
oh well. Here is the other corgi site I know: http://otisthecorgi.com/
@Unimaginative
I think I read somewhere* that Dolores Umbridge is more hated than Voldermort.
*Or I am pulling this out of my ass. Not sure which, so you probably shouldn’t quote me on this.
@Mez
You seem to have a lot preconceived notions about people requesting a “break” from a relationship. I thought Catgirl meant she wanted some space to consider their relationship and her bf was unfairly characterizing that as an “unhealthy” desire to isolate herself. The bf is also trying to turn her request for space as something hurtful to him, by referencing a painful past breakup.
Like others, I’m uncomfortable with what seems like manipulative behavior by her bf and think that this is something she needs to hash out with her therapist and other confidants.
I’m quoting your statements about “taking breaks” because I disagree that it’s inherently dishonest or negative. I’ve known people in relationships who took a break, ones that included dating other people, and then got back together. It does happens, and so does people getting back together after breaking up. Relationship dynamics can change, especially when people are unable to focus 100% of their energy on the relationship for a variety of reasons. I think honest, mutually agreed upon “breaks” are possible.
@neuroticbeagle
I think part of the explanation I saw for that was that Umbridge is the kind of petty evil most people have more experience with. Like more people have experience with people abusing their power than they do with the kind of evil voldemort is. Though YMMV, seeing as how, Snape for example still abuses his power a lot in ways (iirc/imo) are somewhat similar to Umbridge, so it’s probably also a sexism thing.
“I think I read somewhere* that Dolores Umbridge is more hated than Voldermort.”
I’m the sort of person who tends to root for the bad guys and THIS is true for me. I’ve read fanfiction about Voldermort that made me thin “awww, he’s not SO bad… sort of” But I can’t even get to that place with Umbridge, and I don’t know why. She reminds me of an aunt I don’t like maybe?
*think, not thin
K, why you run away!?
Umbridge is more hands-on with her evil, and she has no hidden depths to speak of. She’s just easier to hate. Now to think of it, the other prominent female villain, Bellatrix, also fits the same pattern…
I dunno, I kinda like Bellatrix 😉 Am I strange? -_-
I believe that. Umbridge has no story. She’s just completely flat and completely horrible. We have no idea why she’s like this, she just is.
Also unlike Voldemort, who is, pardon the expression, larger than life, I think a lot of people know an Umbridge, someone who thinks they are righteous and good and who is in reality a fascist and unbelievably cruel, who tries to disguise that awfulness with a veneer of the opposite. Umbridge’s evil isn’t that she’s into dark magic, it’s that she’s a tiny minded xenophobic supremacist follower.
Bellatrix is a sexy badass. Umbridge is just…CLOYING. Like a syrupy troll. Maybe that’s why she’s so despised.
I always assumed that Umbridge was a(n exaggerated) portrait of an actual person or people Rowling knew. Maybe a hated teacher. In fact, the reason I dislike her so much is that she reminds me viscerally of a handful of people I’ve had the misfortune of trying to work with.
THIS. Exactly this.
“Bellatrix is a sexy badass.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oohy5s8JWUc&w=560&h=315]
@Fromafar
idk, but I liked Bellatrix, too, so you’re not alone. :3
Please tell me this was intentional!
And Snape is not only less hated than Voldemort, he’s beloved and his obsession with Lily is read as a tragic love story by large swathes of the fandom. So yeah, probably (internalized) sexism. Has anyone got any good theories as to why women fans tend to woobiefy this kind of character?
“Please tell me this was intentional!”
:DDDDD
Yes.
I didn’t follow the books or the films to the point of the Snape/Lily story emerging, but I liked Snape in the first couple of books and because, well, Alan Rickman.
@Emilygoddess
I’m not sure, but I’ll speculate wildly, since (*cringe* embarrassing confession time) I used to be one of those fans.
It’s been a while since I read the books, so this is all from memory, but I think a lot of it’s got to do with nice guy tm stuff, and when I was younger I bought into a lot of that shit. And …dang I know I used to be a lot more sympathetic to Snape but I’m having a hard time remembering my logic. But short, easy answer is nice guy tm stuff.
@kittehs
Basically, IIRC, Snape and Lily used to be friends. Snape got bullied some by James, and at some point Snape ends up calling Lily a mudblood. (I think that was the word?) and generally being a dick about her not having witches/wizards as parents. James meanwhile learns to not be an ass, later he and Lily get married. Snape joins the Deatheaters, but his only actual objection is to that they’re going to end up killing Lily, so pretty much he’s just pissed that they’re planning on killing the person he had a crush on, and not any of the other things they did.
“Has anyone got any good theories as to why women fans tend to woobiefy this kind of character?”
Alas, I do not. And I’m guilty of it myself, though less with Snape and more with characters from Naruto, my drug *ahem*, I mean fandom, of choice.
Marie – I knew the broad outline, I hadn’t read the later books (quit after Order of the Phoenix) and I think I only saw the first two films, which I thought weren’t up to much (they RUINED the best joke in the second book, idiots). Hmm, so he was only not-keen-on-the-Deatheaters because of Lily? That’s a very different matter, isn’t it.
Interesting that Rickman was the only one in the films who seems to have sussed where Rowling was going with Snape.
The whole “the love a good woman can save him/change him” thing, maybe? There’s this whole narrative going through our culture that a woman can (and should) save a misunderstood “bad boy” and turn him into a kind and loving man who sees the error of his ways. Particularly, it seems with characters like Snape, there’s a backstory to “explain” why they’re evil, or why they behave the way they do. It makes the character more sympathetic. And you have women raised to believe that they need to be loving and compassionate and that saving men like these is their job. And that whole dynamic is romanticized in our culture (think of all the love stories and rom-coms that have this plot).
And plus, obsession is romanticized, too. Snape’s obsession with Lily seems romantic, not creepy (as it really is!).
I hope some of that rambling made sense.
@sparky
made sense to me :3