It’s Memeday again!
Anyone who’s seen a lot of antifeminist memes online has surely noticed them: the angry women yelling at men through bullhorns.
Constructed, for the most part, from pilfered stock images accompanied by vaguely histrionic text, these women are supposed to represent the evil feminists of the world with their abusive behavior and their impossible demands.
Naturally, these women bear only the loosest resemblance to any real feminists any of us have ever met.
Here are a few of these bullhorn-wielding women I’ve run across recently.
Ok, now, that’s just a terrible idea for a chant. Seriously, go for something a little more classic, like “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Patriarchy Has to Go,” or “Men’s Rights Reddit, You Can’t Hide. We Charge You With Gendercide.” I just made those up on the spot here; you could probably come up with something better if you worked at it.
Remember: Rhyming is good!
Ok, that doesn’t rhyme either. And I’m having a little trouble understanding exactly what is so terribly outrageous about it.
Fellas, if you feel there is something wrong in the world that no one else is addressing, and you sincerely want to do something about it, here’s a suggestion: get together with some other people who feel the same way and, well, do something about it. That’s literally what every other activist in the world does. Don’t get mad at feminists for not doing your work for you.
I don’t think this one was a meme, per se; I think it was used to illustrate a post on A Voice for Men at some point, (though my Google-fu failed me when I tried to track it down).
Ironically, one of AVFMs favored forms of internet activism is to send its flying monkey squad to pester and harass its enemies on Twitter and to fill up the comment sections of articles they don’t like with invective and accusations and abuse. That’s pretty much the internet equivalent of shouting someone down with a megaphone.
Some women — like this extremely angry straw feminist — apparently don’t need a bullhorn in order to yell louder than one of those cars that go boom.
The angry-woman-with-a-bullhorn trope has proven irresistable to the angry woman-haters of Gamergate as well. The cartoon below serves it up with a side order of anti-Semitism, incorporating a version of that Anita-Sarkeesian-as-the-Happy-Merchant caricature so popular with Gamergaters.
Again, this is a terrible chant. “Privilege, Privilege, Misogyny” not only doesn’t rhyme; it doesn’t make any sense.
Also, why is the giant Sarkeesian monster carrying a wad of cash in her fist? With all that money, she can’t afford a purse?
Meme harder, dudes.
EDIT: It’s been pointed out (thanks, Tessa!) that this isn’t a real Ben Garrison cartoon. The original featured Hillary Clinton; some Sarkeesian-hater pasted that anti-Semitic caricature over Hillary’s head, changed a lot of the wording, etc. Garrison’s cartoons are regularly modified like this, for the lulz, but his cartoons are generally pretty awful/ridiculous to begin with.
Oh, and on a somewhat unrelated note: While poking around looking for bullhorn-wielding women online I ran across … well, this thing. For some unknown reason, someone has taken a bizarre animated gif and turned it into a strange tribute to the “eternal friendship” of Portugal and Brazil by adding captions and the relevant flags.
If anyone can explain the logic here, please let me know. I’m pretty sure there’s no place in either country (or any country) that looks like this. At least in this reality.
Also, I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to put flags in the ocean. Or whatever that is.
Given menzers’ obsession with their own wingwongs, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that leak in there somewhere.
The picture without the megaphone reminds me of the Aphex Twin “Come to Daddy” video. Appropriate, as that involves an overgrown baby-like figure screaming at a woman for ages while saying nothing.
[Not linking to the video. It might embed, and you don’t want that.]
Wait, holding doors open for women is considered misandry now? um, I hate to break it to you MRAs but If you go to every public place ever you’ll see people of BOTH genders open doors for each other. I mean geez why don’t they just come out and say “common decency is misandry!” at this point.
Mr. Futrelle, I just want to thank you for continuing to expose online misogyny (with humor, which makes the experience of reading this stuff a little less vile), despite the effort it involves and the almost certain risk you take in doing so. You make the whole internet seem a bit more sane.
Why is Anita Sarkesian stepping on Tinky Winky?
I don’t think that Anita Sarkeesian cartoon is an actual Ben Garrison cartoon. I was curious about the artist and looked him up and it seems 4chan trolls and co. have been photoshopping his real cartoons and replacing them with racist/anti-semitic/etc ones for years now.
https://thenib.com/the-internet-s-most-trolled-cartoonist-91a92d9b7585#.rj1vnixyz
@Hugbees
I think the reason they don’t say “common decency is misandry” is because, for them, that’s just a given.
Or possibly because they don’t believe it exists.
Either one of these works.
@blanktie
Aw jeez, that poor guy. Shit like that is a big reason why I don’t put my art out in public any more.
I’m curious about the skull-cloud coming out of… Michigan? Are they blaming Anita Sarkeesian for Detroit?
Just one more piece of evidence that gamergate is no more about ethics than the MRM is about human rights.
This is also hypocrisy because they argue that it’s wrong to criticize video games because the developers are entitled to their artistic vision. Never mind that art criticism has always existed and the arts have survived just fine. Never mind that they have no problem stealing and corrupting an artist’s work to make shitty memes.
Sarcastic remark ahead:
Well, I must say men shouldn’t be expected to start their own charities. Feminists should do it. And while we’re at it, those who want more research into lung cancer should be all upset that the brain cancer research people aren’t doing a thing to form charities for lung cancer. I think I’m also going to get all over the Down’s Syndrome people for not starting charities for Fragile X Syndrome. Who do all these charity people think they are; not setting up charities for other people’s causes?
Did any one else read the comments on that Ben Garrison story? I sort wish I hadn’t
The second one is ridiculous. “Feminism is about equality” and “Men start their own charities” do not contradict each other at all. Women have worked their butts of helping women in need for centuries, often with a lot of opposition from men. Men are able to do the same. Also, since it is still very much a mans world, they would be able to do that without a huge backlash from the opposite sex. There should be a meme that says. “The MRM is about equality! Women and feminists should create charities for men and do all our work for us!”
Do MRAs think that by putting their strawman arguments in meme form it gives them any legitimacy?
Oh and the whining over AVFM guest writer Robert Stacy McCain continues. Here’s a write-up on why he’s terrible, as if anyone needed that.
As horrible as Garrison is, no that wasn’t one of his. The real one is of Clinton.
http://www.grrrgra phics.com/images/hillary_clinton_ben_garrison.jpg
(I broke the link because I didn’t want to display the picture)
On topic, can somebody pleeeeeease explain the zero responsibility bit? They say this all the time. What responsibilities do we not want?
I wonder if these horrible things are desensitizing me. The one I’m bothered most by now is the first one. Isn’t ‘sexist’ an adjective, and not a noun? Wouldn’t it be correct to say ‘you’re a sexist bastard’, or whatever?
AS trampling over (among others) Twitter does get me, though, as that is one of the channels that she hardly moderates her comments on. Look at (or react to) any FemFreq tweets and you’re inundated with awful, awful people. I’ve had a civil if childish discussion once with one who said something about shekels in response to a post of hers, and I asked him why he was bullying her.
He said it was fun for him, and that he wasn’t mad at her, and that I shouldn’t be such a partypooper for questioning his hate-following and responding to her every post. Huh.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Really, they brag about the independence of letting the country be governed by the son of the King of Portugal instead of the King himself? Wooowww such freedom, guise, thank you!
This is hilarious. It’s even more funny when you consider how Xenophobic they are with Brazilians. One would think that if they love us so much that they spontaneously freed us they would treat us a tiny bit better, but nah (please don’t take this as a personal attack, I mean Portugal in general, not you, individually).
Kind of reminds me of how princess Isabel is often portrayed as a hero in pop culture / history books for “freeing” the slaves in Brazil. It’s sad and hilarious.
I’d bet money this is about registering for the draft.
Though I wouldn’t be surprised if it also refers to women expecting not to be raped, even if attending parties and drinking with men present, or not to be beaten up, even if they start an altercation with a man.
When anti-feminists speak of women taking responsibility they mean responsibility for men’s behavior.
OT: Avaaz petition to help end honor killings
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/pakistan_end_honour_killing_loc_rb/?bCGwufb&v=73364&cl=9559071744
@Tessa
What sevenofmine said.
Specifically, they often mean that women should take responsibility for being raped by men. I.e. they should accept the consequences of being drunk, wearing certain clothes, going certain places, being near certain people, etc.
sevenofmine and Imaginary Petal
Thanks. That’s kinda what I thought it was, too. Once again they out-misander us members of of the great misandry movement. The consequence women must face for equality is men… Funny, that’s also the consequence of inequality.
Sorry, I meant ‘should start their own charities’. I only noticed it now.
@blanktie — however, that particular artist is the one who made the comic sucking up to Milo. It most certainly is in his portfolio.
Newt, i will eat your soul.
I had been wondering why Anita Sarkeesian was wearing a pantsuit.
Fellas, if you feel there is something wrong in the world that no one else is addressing, and you sincerely want to do something about it, here’s a suggestion: get together with some other people who feel the same way and, well, do something about it.
@Chiomara: I’m still cracking up over “Patos Parados do Pantanal” XD. Thank you for that!
Also, these people never rally interact with real women, do they? Not for long at least, and I guess that if they do they probably don’t pay attention. A simple, honest look at reality should be able to dispel all these myths!
And this is why I am not, nor will I ever be, a free-speech absolutist. Congratulations, 4chan (and all offshoots), you fucked yourself. And you took everyone else down with you, too. You are literally the black hole of the Internets.
(Now, can someone please tell me if Ben Garrison actually idolizes Der Donald, Geert Wilders, and Milo Whatsisfaceopoulos? Because that all would be pretty ironic, too, considering how problematic THEY all are…)
I don’t know who wrote this crap, but…
(a) WTF are “femmies”?
(b) Roosh is objectively pro-rape, and so is his whole “neomasculinity” thing that he’s trying to make happen (and which, like “fetch”, won’t.) It doesn’t matter what the stated objective of his organizational attempts is; the ultimate result is sure to be misogyny. And of course, more male-against-female violence, especially rape. Of course women won’t like that! What do you think we are, daft?
(c) Anyone else struck by the irony of a woman named Janice Fiamengo “organizing” on behalf of men? Can’t they organize themselves? Do they need Mommy picking up their crusty wank-socks after them EVERYWHERE?
Roosh didn’t exactly try and organize to build a men’s shelter. The other one you or someone else is going to have to summarize or you’re going to have to provide a text link to it. I really don’t ever want to click on a YouTube link from a troll. But yeah, “femmies” don’t like rapists and apologists trying to organize.
I can pretty much guarantee no feminists would try to stop men from organizing to build men’s shelters. Or advocate for male rape victims. Or try and destigmatize men seeking help for mental health issues. Even if they did, why would “men’s rights activists” let that stop them? Do you think women’s suffrage activists or civil rights activists or any other group fighting against an injustice didn’t run into opposition? History is littered with people who’ve been imprisoned and/or killed for standing up for what they believe in and fighting for rights and you’re whining because “femmies no likey” fans of a rape advocate meeting up? Cry me a fucking river.
Short answer: yes. Long answer: also yes.
Was in a Facebook discussion about men and condoms and ugh the number of dudebros who were whining “But they don’t feel gooooood why can’t women wear the female version? Waaaah!”
I wanted to type: “If it feels that bad then the condom is probably the wrong fit, just shop around! Women have enough hassle trying to get suitable birth control for themselves, now we have to do it for men too?!”
Rule Numero Uno of birth control: take care of your own because you can not expect someone else to do it for you. Simple as that.
Ive always HATED the gendered door opening crap. Maybe its mostly just gender dysphoria, its never fun for a trans person to be reminded of one’s assigned role. But also, there have been several times when Ive tried to refuse or tried to hold the door for a man when theyve acted rude and insultef about it, and very bossy. I even had a girl I dated be wierd about taking on “the man role”… I dont believe its politeness. It feels more like dominance. I know most ppl dont see it as a big deal and think Im a wierdo for even mentioning it, but thats been my experience.
btw – why is Hillary/Anita destroying America and the judicial system *before* moving on to reddit on her way to stomp…. tumbler? wut?
isnt this both an order of operations fail and an admission that tumbler isnt an evil feminist paradise but an actually useful website that does have tons of conservatives on there…?
I believe that her use of the law to, you know, stop unlawful behavior seems to be the reason for it. But it is a juxtaposition. It should be Reddit then the world, not the other way around.
Lol, the usual. “We meant for it to turn out that way.” There is a good chance he organized those meet-ups specifically to anger people (not feminists, just people who don’t like his awful ideas), mind you, but it’s that sort of infantile nonsense that distinguishes the various “Men’s Rights Movements” from actual activist organizations.
I’ll let sources do my talking for me. Your video is about a men’s group in Ottawa being blocked by the student council. Turns out that the professor you link to is an outspoken anti-feminist who is being promoted and supported by the Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE). Yes, the CAFE that decided to promote Men’s Rights by harassing Jessica Valenti on Twitter, and who lied about its credentials as a charity, amongst other issues.
CAFE supports various university-level Men’s Rights associations, and hosts talks like this. In the past they’ve hosted Warren Farrell, for example, who has said some awful things about incest and date rape in his writing.
Queen’s Journal reports that another professor described Fiamenco’s talk as an “Ideological rally”, and that it was “academic garbage,” and provides some perspective on the actual content of the talk. It was funded by CAFE Edmonton.
Now look at The Men’s Project. They’re trying to actually help men. Support them!
Notice how they don’t talk about men’s Rights. They talk about men’s Problems. You seem clever, I bet you can see the difference there.
I’d clean up the paragraphs above, but I has things to do! I think that’s enough.
EDIT: @WWTH, the video is benign, but it might mess up your YouTube recommends since she’s an anti-feminist professor. A particularly fact-free anti-feminist professor, mind you. I’d skip it, too.
JJ Abrams has said future Star Wars installments will include gay characters.
http://io9.gizmodo.com/j-j-abrams-star-wars-will-include-gay-characters-get-1761676805
Get ready for some more
highly ineffective but entertaining whiningextremely important men’s rights activism for David to write about.@kale
You’re not weird. I’ve mentioned it on here many times. People on here do have a tendency to brush it off as a non-issue with the whole “but everyone should hold the door open for everyone” or “but it’s just polite to say thank you and I’ve never seen anyone upset at a door being held open.” I think those people have never felt like they’re reminded of their “place” in society by this or they’ve never experienced the passive-aggressive acts of rushing ahead of you to open the door or refusing to go through a door you hold open. I’m certainly sick of being told that it’s a strawman argument to say that feminists take issue with door-holding customs or that it’s not a real issue. It’s a micro-aggression and it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. If that were the only way I was treated differently from my male colleagues then sure, no issue. But it’s a daily reminder for me that I’m seen as different and treated differently.
@Kale, kupo:
A microaggression is exactly what it is, in my view. The expectation that it’ll just be brushed off or at least won’t be taken seriously is what gives it away.
@EJ, Kupo
thanks! Aleays good to not feel alone! 🙂
@WWTH
I so badly wanna ship Poe and Finn
@Kale, kupo, EJ
I’ve never experienced or witnessed any door-holding related issues, but I don’t have any problem acknowledging that it’s been a problem for others. The specific examples mentioned by Kale sound infuriating.
@WWTH:
Interesting. The same guy who gave a big middle finger to Indian folks everywhere by casting a white guy as Kahn in Star Trek: Into Darkness is now pushing to diversify the Star Wars universe.
Just…interesting.
Seriously. They think that men’s condoms don’t feel good? Women’s condoms feel even worse, because according to everyone who’s ever tried one, it’s like trying to insert a rustly plastic baggie with a rigid outer ring into one’s wazoo. Hard pass on that!
And if men’s condoms don’t feel good, there’s a simple trick I learned in a workshop on how to make safer sex fun: Put a drop of water-soluble lube (preferably spermicidal, for added protection) in the tip before squeezing the air out of it and unrolling the shaft down the penis. Presto! No more shower-in-a-raincoat discomfort, and no more complainy dude. Just make sure you don’t use more than a nickel-sized amount, or you could end up with slippage problems.
But yeah. We women literally have to think of EVERYFUCKINGTHING.
In the Freezing North where I live, there are usually two sets of doors; they open the first one for me and I cheerily open the second one for them.
DOUBLE MISANDRY.
If a men’s group started working on getting a men’s shelter built I’d go to their fundraisers and pass on any publicity for them on my FB account, actually.
There’s a huge amount of domestic violence and the media gets to hear it on the scanner every single day, throughout the day, and while the majority of victims are women there’s still an awful lot of menfolk in need of help.
Without having any statistics at hand, I believe their rate of pressing charges against the abuser is even lower than ours, because of toxic masculinity. 🙁
I’m gonna say this: at age 31 I’ve only recently started using condoms (TMI?) and it’s f’n difficult to get used to. Having said that, it also isn’t the apocalypse.
Ah Aphex Twin. The man who turns your nightmares into music videos.
Women had to fight hard to open Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis and other feminist based organizations, so saying men should do the same is the definition of equality.
I also heard recently that John Boyega was nominated for a Saturn award as a “Best Supporting Actor” while Harrison Ford was nominated for a “Best Lead Actor”, and that recently got fixed, as he was pretty much the star (Alongside Daisy Ridley, who was nominated for “Best Actress”) of The Force Awakens and the internet raised a huge ruckus about it.
Hello.
I guess it misses the hashtag #freebleeding on the fake Anita cartoon, as it is badly drawn…
I wonder… If a man opens a door to a man, does it make him an homo ? And when it is an automatic door, is this a prelude to the sexbot ? Because, it is pretty clear that the automatic device try to flirt with you. I mean, opening a door carry so much innuendo !
Have a nice day.