A Voice for Men’s ongoing campaign to convince the world that “Men’s Human Rights Activists” are a bunch of petty, malicious, sexually insecure douchenozzles continues apace.
I mean, that must be what they’re really up to, right? Because no one who actually had any real interest in human rights of any kind would produce “memes” like the one above and all the rest below, delivered to your eyes straight from AVFM’s Fcebook page.
At their best, AVFM’s memes are merely baffling …
… or ridiculous.
AVFM also loves appropriating the images of famous people, and pretending that these people are somehow on their side. But their choices of imaginary celebrity endorsers can be a bit, well, ironic. A couple of days ago in one of my posts on the iconography of the “Cultural Marxism” conspiracy theorists, I posted a neo-Nazi meme showing a crudely photoshopped picture of Star Trek’s Kirk and Spock endorsing Adolph Hitler — a rather odd conceit, given that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are both Jewish, and that the original Star Trek series promoted tolerance and a very 60s-liberal sort of multiculturalism.
Well, here’s AVFM’s attempt to make Spock an MRA:
Dudes, hate to break it to you, but Nimoy is actually a … feminist. Really. In the 60s he demanded that Star Trek’s producers pay actress Nichele Nichols the same as her male counterparts on the show. And as a photographer today, Nimoy acknowleges that he is heavily influenced by feminism, partiularly the writings of Jewish feminist Letty Cottin Pogrebin, one of the founders of Ms. magazine.
So that’s not really his “listening to feminism face” at all.
An astonishing number of AVFM’s memes are so sexualized that they are more or less soft-core porn. Even their anti-male-rape memes, ostensibly attempts to raise consciousness about the rape of men by women, feature seductive, scantily clad women, undermining whatever message they are supposed to be getting across.
But the most, er, revealing memes are the ones that hint at deep sexual insecurities on the part of the meme makers and those who “like” them on Facebook. (The images that follow are mildly NSFW.)
This meme, for example, actually features the dreaded vagina dentata:
[slightly risque meme removed]
And this one attempts to shame male feminists by suggesting they enjoy being penetrated, an act that’s really only “shameful” if you have some rather fucked-up notions of what is and what isn’t appropriate male sexuality. And a certain degress of hatred and fear of female sexual agency.
[slightly risque meme removed]
AVFM meme-maker John Galt also continues to be weirdly obsessed by me.
And then there’s this lovely meme, intended as a joke at the expense of a feminist activist who’s been on AVFM’s enemies list ever since she told some AVFM dudes to shut up at a demonstration several years ago. (I’ve crossed out her face, because no one really deserves to be made into an AVFM meme.)
[slightly risque meme removed]
The joke is obviously supposed to be at her expense, suggesting that she is so unattractive that she makes penises wilt. But you don’t have to be Sigmund Freud to realize that this isn’t the real story here. This is a woman demonized by AVFM and other antifeminists because once, several years ago, she shouted down some dudes. It’s not her appearance that frightens their penises; it’s the fact that she wouldn’t put up with their bullshit.
Guys, you’re not fooling anyone, except yourselves.
@ proxieme
Isn’t she just. She’s called Sassy. Love her. Well, man’s best friend and all that. Mind you never ONCE has she paid for dinner; it’s always me. Bloomin’ misandry, grumble, grumble…..
Cheers for the Imgur tip. I am quite stupid when it comes to this social media lark [But please don’t throw rocks at me; I know you lot spend all your time inciting each other to do that!]
>_<
http://imgur.com/d0CsDBJ
Alan – Is she some sort of collie?
If so, you could always have her go round up something for dinner.
http://imgur.com/OnsLHY6
I grew up with a Border Collie. She’d habitually nose any standing children into the center of the room and then bring over any and all small toys that she could reach. Also, several of my parents’ pre-kid parties (she predated me) ended with everyone who was standing bunched tightly into one corner, guided there by her continuous gentle nudging.
Oh, and as a Brit you might alike this:
Her name was Clementine.
Our other dog was an English Spaniel named Winston.
Winston and Clementine.
Eh?
Eeehhhh?
Because they want to bring women ‘down’ to what they feel is their level. Poor, poor ickle men with all of their privilege and utter lack of awareness.
I’ve just worked out who they (MRAs) remind me of. Dick Dastardly. He could easily win the race, but he’d rather stop everyone else, so he loses.
She’s allegedly a Belgian Shepherd (see link for evidence) and does indeed like rounding us up when we go for walks. She also did that ‘patrolling ahead’ thing but she’s getting on a bit now and will actually walk to heel (Yey, after only 14 years!]
http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/Alan_Robertshaw/media/Saswheal_zpsy6gs3bq1.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
Love the Winny and Clemmy reference. Do like border collies; although they always make it quite clear they think they’re smarter than me [they probably are, but no need to rub it in].
It’s always fun when they talk about the life expectancy thing, because they never talk about it in the context of improving men’s life expectancy, like improving access to and encouraging use of healthcare and preventative screenings, improving job safety, etc. It’s always, “women live longer than men! No faaaaair!” That “men woul live 6.4 years longer than women” bit is a perfect example. Because the important part is who wins the life expectancy contest, not helping men lead healthier and happier lives.
Also, it’s ironic because of the number of times I’ve heard such things as, “Haven’t feminists got more important things to focus on like stopping FGM?”.
I’m still amused by the 1600% less thing. That’s class, that is.
First meme: So they’re basically saying that if a woman is a feminist, she’ll never get a partner, because men (and lesbian women, I guess?) will be so repelled by her support of gender equality. Mmm. Good thing most men don’t think that way.
The anti-male-rape memes: Erk. Who thinks it’s a good idea to use sexualised images when talking about how horrific rape is?
The strap-on: You know, these people really despise men who let themselves be penetrated during sex (either in male/male sex or by pegging). That says *everything* about their views on women, too.
The list promoting female genital mutilation (and also 50 year prison sentences for genital mutilation): Wait what.
This sums up MRAs so well. They don’t really care about the issues. They care about winning, which is something that they arbitrarily define so they can feel successful, like they do in those videos on youtube with titles like “MRA pwns feminist.”
Do they do a male version of those vagina dentata panties, but with the teeth at the back?
Also for all MRA’s rhetoric about how women who reject them will end up miserable and alone in their old age, do you seriously think any MRAs would actually stay with them that long?
@KathleenB
Yes, Stewart did speak of PTSD and how it affected his father, but what touches me the most is when he tells how he lived it as a kid at home, and how difficult it is for a child to eventually become an adult and realize violence is not “normal” nor even acceptable in any way.
While hearing him evidently triggers a lot of bad memories to me, he also gives me hope that things can get better and I can do better myself =)
Hey Alan, that circumcision question? I was just reading a humor site, and, well, #9 — http://news.distractify.com/megan-mccormick/facts-about-penises/
Questionably SFW, almost certainly too phallic for a law office
Their fear of being penetrated for pleasure is so strange. Do they not notice that the people they penetrate are having a great time being penetrated?
They should be having a great time anyway.
Not everyone likes it but many, many people love it. Are they actually warning men that feminists might bring them to orgasm by stimulating their prostates? As feminists are strong proponents of crystal clear consent, a man would have to ask for penetration in order to get it. There is nothing at all wrong with that. It should not be shameful or scary for a man to ask for what makes him happy in bed. Men should be able to explore their sexuality without facing femephobia / homophobia. That doesn’t mean he has to like penetration. To each their own.
“almost certainly too phallic for a law office”
Can you imagine any work environment where you’re more likely to encounter a bunch of dicks?
[Anyway, it’s my company 🙂 ]
Oh the ’70 and alone’ one makes me laugh! Women are OFTEN 70 and alone (in the sense of no ltr) because: they often marry older men, and men live a shorter life – which of course is the misandry of higher levels of testosterone leading to a weaker heart, which can also lead to a weaker heart, a weaker immune system (I guess women need stronger ones to fight of those foetuses), and a tendency to have poorer oral hygiene.
These are 3 factors that I know of, and only one of them can any man do anything about.
70 year old FEMINIST women are less likely to be alone when no man present because feminist women tend to hold their friendships in high regard, and do not baulk at living with another woman (whether lesbian or not) because they do not give a solitary shit if other people think they are lesbians.
My (completely non feminist) grandmother was widowed at 62. It was the BEST THING to happen to her because her husband was a bully and had estranged her from her sons. I have no idea of the stats, but I think quite a few women are quite relieved to be widowed with a few good years left.
On the subject of ‘female circumcision’. Knowing how limited the average MRA’s knowledge of female anatomy clearly they have no idea (and wouldn’t care if they did) that FGM tends to remove the clitoris, which results in an inability to orgasm. Now I do not know much about male circumcision, because I would NEVER do it to my sons ( and this is the general feeling in my culture), but I am pretty sure that it does not result in an inability to orgasm. So NOT ‘equal’ at all! (and I have only mentioned one aspect)
I cocked up the explanations for men living shorter lives then men by cutting and pasting. Higher testosterone and poorer oral hygiene = damage to the heart – obviously men’s testosterone levels and oral hygiene vary, these are just averages.
Weaker immune system due to lacking the capacity for pregnancy.
“but I am pretty sure that it does not result in an inability to orgasm”
Not at anything like the rates of FGM. Is it creating an unneeded wound on a tiny baby whose immune system is basically entirely made of his mother’s antibodies, so it does carry plenty of risks, but no, inability to orgasm isn’t common.
Alan — touché. Though the worst offender where I worked was the office manager from hell. The lawyers were mostly great, though I frequently enough had to ask one why his sentence ended with “and” (toss whether the next sentence used to be part of that one, or if he accidentally a phrase), but hey, his kid was adorable so that made up for him being a scatterbrain. Office manager from hell had exactly 0 redeeming factors.
If nothing else, it’s consistent. Horribly, horribly consistent.
In theory, yes. In practice, with an MRA? NOT ON YER LIFE. Those guys are probably about as much fun in bed as cracker crumbs.
Aaaaaaand out of the park it goes!
I should hope that my kids’ adorableness covers a multitude of sins.
http://i.imgur.com/TSwJDao.jpg
About 70 and older: ditto to what other people said, but more importantly, isn’t it possible to be lonely at any age, whether feminist or not, even if there are other people around? But especially, a woman who isn’t feminist might end up *alone* at 70, which doesn’t equate with *lonely*. Hey MRAs: alone and lonely are too different concepts!
About deadbeat dads: I don’t think that word means what you think it means. I know we’re supposed to be all “ooh, spooky wimminz living off of the menz’ hard-earned money”, but that meme doesn’t make sense.
About the “worth it”: soooooo, if women have toothed vaginas, you still want sex? That’s what I read. Ooh, scary vagina gonna bite my John Thomas off!! Run away! So what is the “one thing” you want?
About that list: so much wrong!! Why the obsession with the draft?
The item about men and college: it’s true that there are fewer men choosing to go to college relative to women (college is around 60% female 40% male). However, if you look at raw numbers, in all groups (except, I want to say, Asian-American males) more people are going to college, that is all groups have increased, including Caucasian males. It’s just the number of women sky-rocketed starting in the ’90s.
Most of the explanations is a pearl-clutching, hand-wringing “what about the menz” moral panic, saying that schools don’t encourage men, men “drop out”. However, if that were the case, the number of men overall going to college should have declined. More men are still choosing college. Some numbers that remain low IIRC are black and latino men. Some of the reasons men might not choose college that people don’t say: they might choose a trade, they might choose the army, for POC it might be our tendency to punish them more harshly for drug and other minor offenses.
Hope this isn’t too teal dear-ish 🙂
The one about women paying for the expense of their sexuality, I’m hoping it just means that they think women should pay for hormonal BC out of pocket instead of having it covered by insurance.
I fear it means that they think women owe men sex if the man pays for dinner.
Per the National Cancer Institute:
Prostate and breast cancer have about equivalent frequency in the population–anticipated cases for 2014 were within one percent of each other. However, breast cancer is markedly more fatal–the anticipated death toll is about 33% higher. Now, that said, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that more is spent, on a per-death basis, on breast cancer, but this has relatively little to do with feminism and a whole lot to do with marketing. Breast cancer advocates have been working for decades to try and get research funding; I’ve only seen similar efforts on behalf of targeting prostate cancer in the last few years, by comparison. There might be some room here for parity, and I’d certainly have no problem with it, but it’d be nice if these asshats were specifically wanting more money raised for prostate cancer, instead of trying to make it a zero-sum game.
Oh, but this is such a lovely, dense and layered bit of misogyny it deserves some explication.
This one line is simultaneously demanding:
1: Women should not have the Pill included in their health plans, especially school-sponsored plans.
2: Women should not have the right to abort a pregnancy without the permission of the father of the child.
3: Men should be allowed the right to a ‘paper abortion’, whereby they get to void their financial obligation if a woman gets pregnant and keeps the baby.
4: There should be no consequences to a man who has sex while knowingly infected with an STD, while not informing his partners of this fact.
Basically, any negative outcome of a sexual encounter falls upon the woman, and the woman alone.
@freemage: pretty much. MRAs want all the fun of sex with none of the responsibility, and no accountability for any unwanted consequences either. Remember boys and girls: whatever it is, it’s a woman’s fault.
What I don’t understand about the “paying for the sexuality” phrasing is that they make it sound like women having sex is a bad thing, when RIGHT FUCKING ABOVE US is a bunch of memes slandering women for NOT having sex.* Consistency fail. As usual.
*with them.