You may remember the embarrassing spectacle a couple of months back when Warren Farrell asked the readers of A Voice for Men to help him pick out a cover picture for a new ebook version of The Myth of Male Power, the 21-year-old crackpot bestseller that more or less provided the, er, intellectual foundation for today’s Men’s Rights movement.
It wasn’t just embarrassing because AVFM is a noxious hate site that regularly calls women c*nts and whores and helps to organize informal campaigns of harassment directed at individual women. It was also embarrassing because all three of the pictures were sexualized images focusing on specific female body parts. You can guess which three, and you’d be right: tits, ass, and vagina (the latter tastefully covered in a merkin made of moss).
Well, Farrell ended up rejecting all of these images in favor of … a different picture of a woman’s butt. Yep, the screenshot above features the actual cover of the recently released ebook version of The Myth of Male Power. (You can see it in its full sized-glory over on Amazon.)
The implicit message of the cover couldn’t be clearer: men may seem to run the world, but women can control and exploit them through the power of their sexuality. Male power is undercut by … butt power.
Am I reading too much into a cover image? Farrell doesn’t really believe this nonsense, does he?
Well, in the introduction to the ebook, Farrell writes:
In case you’re wondering, “genetic celebrity” is Farrell’s term of art for any attractive woman.
But golly, you say, the fact that a dude feels “powerless” because he can’t have sex with every woman with a nice butt that happens to wander across his field of vision doesn’t actually mean that men are powerless or that male power is a myth. Well, Farrell has an answer to this as well. And by “answer” I mean, well, whatever this is:
Got that? I’m not sure there’s anything there to get; it’s nothing more than hand-waving to distract attention from the nonsensical nature of his previous statements. In case any Men’s Rights activist ever brings Warren Farrell up as an example of a respectable, “academic” MRA, you may wish to point out that almost nothing Farrell writes ever actually makes any fucking sense.
In the book itself, Farrell repeatedly suggested that male power can be undone almost completely by the sexual power of women. In one oft-quoted passage, he wrote about the effect that a “secretary’s miniskirt power, cleavage power and flirtation power” allegedly has on their male bosses. (Myth of Male Power, p. 21)
While that statement has earned a certain notoriety for its sheer ridiculousness, Farrell went further elsewhere in the book, essentially arguing that men are as addicted to female “beauty” as drug addicts are to the drug of their choice — and as helpless.
“Sexually, of course, the sexes aren’t equal,” Farrell wrote. “[M]any men feel ‘under the influence the moment they see a beautiful woman.” (p. 320, emphasis in original.)
This sort of temporary “intoxication,” Farrell argued, leads men into shackling themselves to these temporarily sexy tyrants for the rest of their lives — thus agreeing to support them (he suggested implicitly) even after they get old and ugly. (p. 85.)
In Farrell’s original book, this “argument,” such as it is, was merely one of many that he thought undercut the alleged “myth of male power.” Now, with the butt on the cover, he’s put it front and center. Or, more precisely, rear and center.
Warren Farrell, you’re an ass, man.
Oh, awkward segue here, I just wanted to show off the cover to the new edition of my classic book, The Myth of Human Power.
It will soon be available for one million dollars in cash in unmarked bills, upon delivery of which I will sit down and write it for you. It will probably be pretty short and not very convincing.
Budmin taking over a sex worker? Douchebag levels are rising exponentially.
“I’ve been talking about validation from the beginning of this article. Not sex, validation.”
I thought the article was mocking the idea that men are helpless when it comes to a great ass and other various body parts?
Do you mean the man in this scenario, despite being hypnotized by a “genetic olympian,” still gets something out of it — namely, validation from his peers because he’s seen with her in public?
budmin: Validation in what form?
And do you even understand what Farrell, the guy your defending, is saying? ‘Cause Farrell definitely is talking about sex.
If you aren’t talking about sex, then what the hell did you mean when you said this:
So, if a man doesn’t receive the validation he believes he deserves from a woman, then that’s the woman’s fault? And that not receiving validation hurts a man so deeply that man is justified in physically hurting a woman?
No one likes a concern troll. Shut your cakehole, you judgmental prick.
Oh, and buddy, it’s “heroin” not heroine. Jesus.
TW: Murder, rape
Budmin, you completely missed the point. I’m aware that sex workers are at greater risk of being the victim of violent crime. I’ve studied criminal psychology. Psychopathic murderers tend to go after sex workers because they make easy targets and are not likely to be missed by an upper class family that the media would care about. These killers tend to be missing empathy and they tend to be misogynistic. If a murderer has a strong desire to kill, he will do so. This would be true if prostitution were completely eradicated.
The point is, you are judging prostitutes harshly and claiming murder is just a natural consequence of prostitution as if the murderer is just passive in the whole situation. You are not harshly judging murderers or rapists. You are in effect, implying that violence is something that must happen to women who don’t behave in the correct (according to you) way.
The vast majority of murderers and rapists can and should just make the choice to not commit the murder or rape.
budmin:
And here’s the thing: No one asked you for your “recommendations.” It is not your place to tell anyone what they should or should not do.
The fact that you came in here thinking that you have an absolute right to tell complete strangers what they should or should not do and to proclaim value judgements about their life just goes to show what a privileged, arrogant asshole you really are.
If troll is convinced he can only be validated as a man if a pretty woman beds him for free, then he is a sad and strange little man.
Healthy validation is not bequeathed by random pretty strangers.
Bonus: Men are totally not helpless in the face of normal women’s physical attributes. That’d be anglerfish. Or antechinus.
Asshole troll is an asshole.
Here are some kitties:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AYaOWlP4D2M/SwMPH8dpd1I/AAAAAAAABM4/QdgQBHDpLY4/s1600/super_cute_kittens.jpg
@Nitram well don’t quote me on this but for the most part, gay men patronize male sex workers more then women do. Then there’s the dichotomy between who’s the receiver and who’s the…well you know what I’m saying. I’m out of my element with this.
However I do feel strongly that women would sooner finance a handsome gigolo so that they could hold on to a semblance of companionship. I don’t think women want the hard transactions of male escorts. Also let’s not forget how much strength and confidence plays in a man’s overall attractiveness.
I am going to quote you because you’re so fucking stupid. Citation sorely needed, dipshit.
You’re out of your element entirely here. Shut the fuck up, Donny.
Budmin,
If validation is not sex, then why is sex one pays for “false validation” and how do you know that sex workers and their customers hate each other? They may or may not like or respect one another, just like in any other business transaction or casual sexual encounter. Again, you are projecting and you aren’t doing a very good job of making yourself clear.
I’d like to reiterate that you are an awful human being if you think murder victims cause their own murders. Then, you’ve gone well out of your way to make it clear that men are never responsible for their actions. You don’t think very highly of men. Misogynists never do.
Well, trolly-bud is more than a bit of an asshole, but he gets surprisingly close to a point here
I personally wholeheartedly support the idea that men and women both should resist all forms of social conditioning that suggests we should conform to rigid gender stereotypes and treat people with more or less compassion and decency in keeping with the degree to which they conform to anachronistic gender-based roles. But hey, that’s what makes me a feminist!
Buddy-boo, no one says that there aren’t pretty people out there, but dude, you are totally responsible for how you act, not them. If you spent a little more time developing a sense of self worth based on your own actions and accomplishments, you might feel less need to get affirmation from random pretty people on the street. As a side benefit, while you’re out and about doing all that going your own way, you might meet people who aren’t emotionally stunted and filled with rage, and form friendships and even relationships based on those mutual interests and activities. You know, the way most human beings tend to do.
Or you could totally stay holed up in your basement, whinging about your fear of being manipulated by people who expect you to treat them with common courtesy and decency. It’s totally your choice, but if you are miserable, don’t blame it on feminists or pretty people. You made that bed, bucko, you go lie in it.
Budmin,
Here’s a little fact that seems to have completely escaped you: Women are just as likely to desire and enjoy sex as men. The reasons that women are less likely to pay for sex include social stigma, fear of rape and murder, and knowing that you may take those risks and still not get off. It isn’t because we crave companionship more than men or sex less. See men are human beings with feelings too and they also want companionship. The thing you are missing here is that companionship and sex do not need to come from the same people.
…and if you think that women don’t pay sex workers, you’ve never gone to a strip club with a group of lesbians or seen a woman pay a male stripper to pick her up, turn her upside down and grind his sweaty crotch in her face. I admit that the site of men and women lining up to pay for that maneuver surprised me too. But it was a popular move. Now, I’m no expert, but I don’t think those women were seeking companionship. I think they were seeking some ball sweat on their faces.
If this piece of shit bud actually worked as the guard for a woman’s shelter then I’m all kinds of depressed.
You’re a worthless sack of shit wrapped in a tshirt, budmin. The oxygen you waste by breathing would be better put to use manufacturing plastic vomit.
@Shiraz I totally agree she is being used as an ornament to that man’s stature amoung his buddies. But if she knows this already then she’s probably dealing with him for his financial wealth. The very same weath he earned by being more business savvy and diligent then other men she passed over to be with him. That’s what WF is saying right? Our achievements allows us access yo commercially attractive women.
@Sparky: yes broken men belive that women are tyranical gate keepers of our self confidence. When we realize that we’ll never get that validation, that acceptance, that social approval, then we do all the dumb shit you see on the news. (Street harassment, up skirts and other creepy stuff)
And yes I am a mansplsining semi-literaturate asshole who uses his own personal experiences as the bases of all human behaviour ..but I’m not a troll and if I’m wrong ill own up to it.
Well you got the first half of your last sentence correct at least (that’s the most you’ve been right about on this thread)
Shorter budmin: “Listen to men or else they will sexually victimize women!”
When are you guys going to realize that no one here is going to take that seriously?
Then you should apologize for existing on this thread. Your wrong is fractal, like Farrell’s.
Budmin,
OK. I think you’re making progress. You’ve added “broken” as a qualifier to “men”. I disagree that that is why men harass and abuse women, but at least we have made some progress.
Bud, the idea that bullies are just sad people who need a hug has been demonstrated to be false. Bullies bully because they feel their targets deserve abuse and because they know they can get away with bullying. In this scenario the bully is not the victim. The victim is still the victim. You are arguing from a pace of privilege so high up that you cannot see the world the rest of us live in. “We can’t get your attention or see you as fully human so we kill you” is not argument for female power. While I agree that society sends fucked up messages to men about what masculinity is, that does not mean that patriarchy isn’t a very real thing.
Well, look, I’m pretty sure, all that “dumb shit” you see on the news — you meant violent crimes, right? Well, not feeling validated by women isn’t an arguement that will hold up in court — it should be obvious why. Most people who don’t recieve external validation and need to don’t generally turn to crime as a way to feel satisfaction. The fact that you’re making this sound like normative behavior is weird. You’re oversimplying really complicated social issues here. Also, you seem to think women are responsible for keeping murderers from murdering or whatever else you meant by “dumb shit” featured on the news. Is that what you think?
The business about pretty women benefitting from a rich dude (who is in turn using her to make his friends jealous or whatever), well, errrr, OK. All pretty women don’t date rich dudes, in fact, I’m sure there aren’t that many rich dudes to go around. Also, if you feel it’s still an unfair transaction, then can we count on your support whenever we ask for fair wage pay and will you encourage women to enter the workforce and stand up for their right to make as much money as their male peers?
Also, pretty people hold jobs all the time. When you see a pretty woman do you naturally conclude she’s not earning a living and doesn’t want to? And even if she says she does, you don’t take her seriously? That may explain why I have been passed over for a raise before, despite excellent work reviews.
Blame it on the females, MRA troll style.
This is actually the point WF and sad little budmin wish to erase from the surface of the plante: the idea that men CHOOSE to do things to women.
The fact that a lot of men CHOOSE NO TO engage in what they like to pretend is their “natural behavior”, is proof enough of how much bullshit they need to thow at the simplest of facts.
Bud still hasn’t admitted he was wrong about the commenters here accusing him of wanting to get in their pants. So, it’s clear that he does not admit when he’s wrong.
@ Leatapp:
1) feminism has elevated the price of female companionship past what a large segment of the male population is capable or willing to pay.
2) When I say validation I mean everything to include touch, warmth, affection, intimacy and understanding. More and more men are going to be brought up into a world without these interactions so to consolidate our experiences under a banner makes perfect sense. #MGTOW
@Binjabreel I’ve broken up more domestic violence incidents then I could count. They were lucky to have me.
@weirwoodtreehugger: The young lady met her client at a club he took her back to his place where they did the transaction. When she couldn’t find her cell phone she pulled out a knife and chased him to his car. The man watched as she cut up his car threatening him to come out. He pulled a gun out of his glove compartment and shop at the window.
It wasn’t a mystery it was just violent and tragic.