Yesterday, A Voice for Men published an article so extreme, so hateful, so beyond the pale, that even Paul Elam, the site’s founder, was taken aback by it. Elam, who said he hadn’t read the article before other editors on the site posted it, claimed in a comment that when he finally did read it, it made him literally sick to his stomach.
Today, he took the extraordinary step – for AVFM – of taking down the article and offering an apology for publishing a piece so “counter to every aspect of our mission and values.” (It’s still up, for the time being, in Google cache; the original can also be found here.)
So what did this terrible, terrible article say? Brace yourself.
It said that Emma Watson’s recent United Nations speech on feminism … made some good points.
While the author of the piece, a tech dude turned “dating expert” named Jeb Kinnison, took the standard MRA swipes at the alleged evils of third-wave feminism, he argued that Watson’s version of feminism represented a kind of “equity feminism which is equally concerned with men’s rights.”
Then he described Watson as “very, very smart, and wise beyond her years … .”
I know, I know. Horrifying.
But that wasn’t even the worst part of Kinnison’s piece. In his conclusion, he actually suggested that
The smart and civilized aren’t spending their time nursing grievances based on sex, gender, race, or religion. If only the most intelligent voices were as amplified as the voices of ignorance and hate promoted by the grievance-mongering misandrists of third-wave feminism as well as insecure male misogynists.
Yes, that’s right: An article in AVFM actually acknowledged that some of those in the Men’s Rights ranks might actually be – gasp! – misogynists.
Naturally, such heresy could not stand. In the comments, a fight broke out between those who hated the article, and those who also hated it but felt that criticizing AVFM about anything was terrible and counterproductive and, hey, remember to donate to AVFM during the Fall Fundraiser!
In the former camp, the most outspoken critic was Nick Reading of Men’s Rights Edmonton, posting under the alias Eric Tiberius Duckman, who bluntly warned that
This article is disgraceful. If uncle Jeb here imparts any more of his mangina wisdom on AVFM, I’ll be seriously considering pulling my support and encouraging others to do likewise.
Elam was having none of this – very poor taste, especially during AVFM’s Fall Fundraiser! He responded to Reading’s threats to take his ball and go home with an indignant comment defending the editors who ran Kinnison’s piece and tearing into prodigal Nick:
[O]ur editors did their job and I am 100% supportive of that.
To be even more frank, even less appealing to me than this article is tantrums and ultimatums from readers attempting to exert editorial control by threatening to leave if they see content they don’t like.
Then apparently Elam decided that he didn’t support the editors 100% after all. In another comment, he declared that
This is the most overly generous, myopic interpretation of Watson’s speech I have seen, including feminist websites. It is literally embarrassing in its reductionist dismissal of issues unique to men and boys. …
I could write an entire article on what is wrong with this piece, but I am just too busy right now.
Throwing up.
Once he finished up with this, he took the piece down.
And AVFM’s Fall Fundraiser was saved!
D’yall want that comment removed?
That shibe is so cute and funny.
OT, I just googled “armful of kittens” and found this gorgeous pic from Deviantart.
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/142/2/f/where_s_the_logic_in_an_armful_of_kittens__by_torispencer-d7jax91.png
That picture may be the best thing ever.
@brooked – yeah, I followed three of the links in there about the gender pay gap, and every one of them had qualifications (e.g. only younger women in metropolitan areas, or the 16 female CEOs – whose pay is public, which could make it embarrassing to underpay them) and they all also mentioned that overall there is still considered to be a pay gap, particularly as women get older.
So it seems possible that a lot of those links are only there based on their headlines, or the gamble that no-one is actually going to follow them through even for a cursory check.
And I agree with others that the Shiba Inu clips were fantastic, many thanks for them 🙂
Pretty damn close, at the very least.
kittehserf, I’m going to vote aye. It’s the ‘I like short-haired women’ comment preceding that pic which gives me the skeevies.
Oh Spock, there you go acting all Vulcan, and yet still the furrinati got you in the end.
ROFLMAO!
Right, I’ll pop that comment into the pending list until David says otherwise.
Sorry about the Emma Watson picture and comment.
To make it all up here is a compilation video of babies dancing.
Bwahahahahahaaaaaaa!
Too…funny!
*gasps*
*dies*
Trying to prove that women are more evil than men by compiling a list of horrible female criminals is like trying to prove that black people earn more money than whites by making a list of Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Beyonce etc. (Come to think of it, wouldn’t surprise me if some racist MRA asshole did just that).
It is.
Yeah, Emma Watson’s speech definitely wasn’t the game changer that some people (likely living under rocks for their entire lives) seem to think it is. Still, if other women want to take the time to coddle ignorant people who are afraid of the f-word, all the power to them. Someone has to do it. I’m just happy when that someone isn’t me, because I’m one of many who have gotten tired of yanking out the lesson plans whenever some lazy-ass ignorant person has to be schooled.
Public schools really need to have mandatory classes on gender studies. Pretending that gender makes no difference at all is not helpful, but that’s been my experience. In high school human anatomy we had to memorize all of the bones and muscles in the human body. We even got to relearn all the cellular stuff we had learned multiple times over in biology and other natural sciences classes, but we weren’t even taught what differences hormones like estrogen and testosterone have on the human body at different levels. I have known men who think women tend to be physically weaker because they don’t do jobs like construction, for dog’s sake! It’s unreal! Ignoring the differences for the most part (except for the shoddy sex ed classes that only cover genitals and condoms) is just making the sexism problem worse.
Hmmm, now there’s a thought. I suffer from thigh-chafing in summer, too; it’s what keeps me out of skirts more often than I’d like (not to mention short-shorts). Any particular recommendations?
At first I was, “Hooboy! What abominations have the MPMs topped themselves with now?” the was relieved when I realized that a guy on AVFM actually wrote something good and sensible….and Elam &Co. can’t have THAT!
MPM is my name for so-called “MRAs”. It stands for “Male Privilege Meatheads”, which IMHO is a far better name for them. I refuse to give a bunch of doofy male supremacists the dignity of being called the name, “Men’s Rights Activist”. They don’t want “rights”, they want “privileges”. There needs to be two different terms for two different types of “Men’s Movements”. Sane ones like The Good Men Project, which is pro-feminism as well & deals with real male issues, are true MRAs whereas goofballs like A Voice For Men, The Spearhead, Chateau Heartiste, etc. are MPMs.
I think David should adopt this. What do you think, guys?
@spukikitty
You have my vote!
Oh wow, so many problems with this comment.
What is it with MRAs and their obsession with HR? Have they been “oppressed” by being accused of sexual harassment, or is it just anger that there are women who have the ability to hire and fire them?
What the fuck is up with “authoress”?
The same thing that makes men think statements like “I prefer women without makeup” are helpful or necessary: they’re used to having their boners centered and think that expanding the list of things that please their boners is liberating to women.
Also, sorry y’all, I checked the mod queue before I read the thread and temporarily let the Emma Watson pic back through. I’ve removed it again. I’ll be sure to check the mods’ email first in the future!
@ emilygoddess
It’s HR that usually runs the “how not to get fired for harassment” trainings. I’m imagining these guys as being the ones who try to argue with the presenter during those.
@ Bina, any zinc oxide-based barrier cream will do whether it’s sold for diabetic ulcer or nappy rash prevention. They’re all the same. You’re creating a slime barrier between your thighs though so while you won’t hurt at all your thighs will have a thick, slippery film on them. That’s what reduces friction and prevents the skin from touching. It’s not glamorous but it means I can wear short shorts and skirts.
It wouldn’t surprise me. In the US, there’s a lot of “racism isn’t real anymore because we have a black president” sentiment.