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The classic stereotype of the feminist — or at least the one most popular with antifeminists — comes to us straight from the 1970s. This feminist is mannish, unkempt, ugly, and above all fat. She wears baggy men’s clothing — perhaps overalls — or long hippie skirts that offer a glimpse of her defiantly unshaven legs. Think Andrea Dworkin, or some exaggerated version of her.
This stereotype, or at least an updated version of it, remains popular amongst the internet antifeminists who make so much noise — and so many memes. The updated ugly feminist remains fat, but has traded away her hippie accoutrements for leather miniskirts, black lipstick, facial piercings and hair dyed a violent red or blue. She looks like she just returned from a Slut Walk, though she’s one of the protesters that antifeminists like to loudly proclaim they Would Not Bang.
While Andrea Dworkin types — and sometimes Dworkin herself — still make it into antifeminist memes, like the one posted above, you’re much more likely to run across some variations of the feminists below.
Antifeminist meme makers love incorporating unflattering photos of feminists who seem to embody the new stereotype into their memes; given that none of these women have exactly volunteered for the role, so I won’t post any of these memes. They’re easy enough to find, as they show up pretty much anywhere misogynists congregate online. Which is practically the entire internet.
But that’s not the whole story here. It turns out that the fat, ugly feminist stereotype has a sister, and she looks less like Andrea Dworkin than she does the woman used to illustrate the non-feminist woman in that meme above.
This alternate feminist stereotype is what most observers would call conventionally hot. She’s also conventionally conventional, possibly a former cheerleader and sorority girl. She is the very picture of white privilege — and, her detractors claim — female privilege.
Far from rejecting the trappings of conventional female beauty standards, as did so many feminists in the 1970s, she embodies them — unashamedly using her beauty, and her sexual power over men, in order to get what she ways. All while chanting the feminist mantra of equality.
That last one may be far more revealing than its maker intended, suggesting that he quite literally sees feminists as the popular “mean girls” in high school who not only wouldn’t date him, but who wouldn’t even talk to him at parties.
These smug and demanding manipulators are also, these memes tell us, likely to cry “rape” if they retroactively decide that some man they’ve slept with isn’t good enough for them. Or they may cry rape for no reason at all — just because they can.
There’s real hatred lurking behind these memes, and a not-very-well-hidden desire for some kind of retribution. Antifeminist meme-makers transform stock images of attractive women crying into morality tales in which evil feminist women finally see the error of their ways.
The meme-makers also love to imagine that they themselves have brought tears to the eyes of some model-hot feminist by posting harassing or threatening remarks online, or perhaps by setting up an antifeminist Facebook page.
Or by wearing some offensive t-shirt:
In the movie Bowfinger, Eddie Murphy — playing an action-movie star with a tenuous connecting to reality — is weirdly obsessed by the desire to take the Lakers cheerleading squad “down a peg or two” by exposing himself to them.
Sometimes I wonder if a similar desire is the primary driver behind the Men’s Rights movement: the desire among MRAs to tear down — to humiliate, to bring to tears — the women they most desire, but who remain, somehow, tantalizingly out of their reach?
All of them, Katie!
As they keep telling us, if an MRA can’t get laid by the woman(or women) of his choice, he’ll get angry. And nasty. And violent.
I wish they’d spend all this time and energy on perfecting those sexbots they say they want.
It really is just another version of “They hurt me, so I wanna hurt them back”, revenge type mindset.
Even though the hurt on their part, is something entirely made up, in their heads.
I would ask, is this memes? but these are too boring and lazy to bother with.
If the ”Spot the feminist” meme is correct, then feminists are apparently fighting to end mass-production of cloned women.
That “Dear Feminists” one, where they almost come close to some understanding of themselves…
Its so frustrating to see them get SO close to understanding their situation and then miss it by this_ much.
Yes, being coddled by the world has made these men very emotionally fragile.
I like the one that implies that men don’t have control over their own reproduction/fertility. As my mum used to say “men need to protect their seed.” After all, if 50% of the genetic material is yours, then you’re responsible for it. Blaming the woman is cowardly.
I really really feel the need to unpack that one claiming that women having it easy. I’ll take it claim by claim.
1. Longer life expectancy
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-life-expectancy-lo/
There is a pretty good article about why that’s the case. It’s hardly a privilege to have an extra 5 years of old age.
2. More money
Really? Because last time I checked, the wage gap was a thing, more women live in poverty and most of the world’s richest people were men.
3. Control over my property
Umm, yeah. Everyone, male or female, should have control over THEIR OWN freaking property. By definition, it is their property. Are you suggesting we go back to a time when women’s property became their husband’s property? The word property doesn’t make sense any more, I’ve typed it too many times in this paragraph. Property property property.
4. Control over my reproduction
OK, we should have control of this but unfortunately it gets decided by a bunch of rich, white men.
(As a side note, a comedian recently live tweeted her period to an Irish politician who is anti-choice. Other women, including me, did the same. Our uterus is clearly his business so he probably needs regular updates on how it’s doing)
5. Minority of the victims of every type of crime
As long as you don’t consider rape a crime I guess. Or domestic violence, but that doesn’t count because a woman is property, right? Oh or trafficking, doesn’t that count?
I also recently read that corporate crime disproportionately affects women too.
6. Being above the law
Which is why there are no women’s prisons. At all. Other than the fact I know there are 12 in the UK and plenty more all around the world. And they aren’t exactly a holiday camp. Many are full of abuse. I’ve read about menstrual pads being withheld, sexual assaults from prison officers and other abuse.
7. Being able to get whatever I want without lifting a finger
I keep hearing this one from the MRAs and I just don’t get it. I really don’t. Most women I know have jobs or are at home with young children. I worked 6 hours of overtime this week because we are short staffed and I don’t want staffing levels to impact on the client’s recovery from addiction. I work harder than most of those meme making jerks have even dreamed of working and sometimes in dangerous situations and with dangerous people. I really don’t understand where they get this idea that women get free stuff wherever they go. If they are talking about child support, that is for your child. If you genuinely begrudge giving a small amount of money to your ex so your child can have a better life then just please never have children. The £30 a week I get from my son’s dad is hardly a luxury.
Or maybe they are talking about that weird cliche about men paying for all dates. That is not really a thing. This is not the 50s and the women who actually do believe in that system are unlikely to be feminists. I always assume that if I make the invitation, I’ll pay. If he invites me, he’ll pay. And even then I usually offer to put some money towards it if it’s somewhere expensive.
Anyway, sorry for the teal deer but that meme in particular bugged me. Also, this is my first time unpacking their stuff bit by bit. It’s very cathartic.
They didn’t mean to say it, but (if you think about it ) the cat kinda jumped out of the bag there. They all typically lust after one kind of girl…skinny, white, long hair, no tattoos, no glasses, no piercings (except in the ears), submissive, etc. Basically an incarnate, animate Barbie doll.
In the “It was at that moment” cartoon, it seems that even feminist centaurs are bad.
Actually, Richard, the feminist “centaur” is just a woman with a big fat ass and thighs (to go with the rest of her body). I can see why she might look like a centaur though.
Ah, so feminism, like everything else that is brilliant, takes its cue from Bradford in the 1980s.
Re. the one with the fat lady shaming the skinny lady lifting weights:
Whoever made this has clearly never opened a book about feminism, or even read the wiki page. “You should eat a burger” is no more a feminist stance than “men should open doors for me.”
That said, I must point out that this is probably the only MRA meme I’ve seen posted to this blog that contains a grain of truth. I personally loathe those facebook memes about real women having curves, real men liking meat, bones being for dogs, Marilyn Monroe having said something or other that she assuredly never said, and so on.
It’s like, I’m glad you love your curvy body in the face of a society that demands thinness. I too am all about that bass, and I see where you’re coming from. Now let’s talk about how body acceptance means rejecting arbitrary beauty standards altogether, and how real women come in all kinds of shapes, colours, and sizes and abilities, and all our bodies are awesome. “I don’t fit the fashion industry’s beauty standards, but I fit male beauty standards, yay” does not body acceptance make.
/soapbox rant
That “sorry for being a man” image is actually from this image:
http://cdn.gagbay.com/2015/09/funny_web_comics_this_comic_succinctly_explains_what_feminism-610974.jpg
And I don’t really agree with it.
Feminism doesn’t want men to apologize for “being men”, we want men to understand that violence, emotional stunting, avoidance of everything “feminine” and subjugation of women through threats of violence or forcing women into their “natural roles” doesn’t have to be part of “being a man”.
There’s lots of other things too, but this really bothers me.
This one is much better, I think.
@VioletB
We were both joking but i do agree with your first comment.
The MRA mind:
“Hey, I heard this comparison of men and women where women came out more favorably. Should I look deeper into this to see if it is, in fact, true and, if so, what could be the root cause or causes? Or should I just assume not only that it is true but that it’s some aspect of a woman conspiracy to harm me and use that as fuel to yell into the internet? Well, the second one, of course! Bring me MS Paint!”
I’m just kidding. No MRA has ever asked that first question.
@Malice W Underland
All bodies are good bodies!
One thing the people who shame *any* type of body (especially under the guise of being concerned about health) really need to understand is that a gigantic contributing factor to people doing unhealthy things to their bodies is shame. It’s easier to do good things for your body when you feel good about it.
Dr. NicolaLuna beat me to it, but I was equally baffled by the idea the “control over my property” or “control over my reproduction” would be a bad thing, for anyone, ever.
“Dear Feminists: Special treatment doesn’t help weak people — it creates them!”
For once, one of them said something I agree with. So…why are the men getting special treatment, again? And why does the ass who made that picture think we can’t do math? And why is it “Math4Freminists” when there’s no actual math involved? Questions, questions. Who’s got answers?
@Tara
Not to mention since most of those points are contrasted against men (I assume; they fail to mention explicitly who the “womyn” are being compared to), does that mean they think that men don’t have control over their own property or reproduction?
Well, okay, we already know that they think being unable to force a woman to abort a child they helped conceived means they lack reproductive rights. But the property one still confuses me. Is that a reference to child support/alimony??
Even if someone is overly sensitive and cries at a mean comment online, that doesn’t make the person being mean the one in the right. At all.
The sensitivity might be for a reason. They may be rape or abuse survivors with trauma. They might have mental health issues. They might be going through a rough patch.
These meme makers are trying to convince people that feminists are hysterical. How original. All they’re really saying is that anti-feminists are immature assholes who think being able to make someone cry is cool. Yet I bet you anything these douchenuggets all have sob stories about jocks and cheerleaders teasing them in high school and expect women to give them a sympathy fuck because of it.
I think the “reproductive rights” things is a reference to spermjacking followed by 18 years of alimony. The property rights is in reference to taking 50% of a man’s property via divorce settlements.
@Malice W Underland
Thank you for that rant, I really liked it. Some very good points.
That first image reminds me of the one GoldieBlox ad.
You know, if that ceral has canola in it, then it literally contains rape. Feminist: 1. Meme-maker: 0.
(Not meaning to step on any toes here…it’s a stupid meme, and I just enjoy smacking down smug doucheturnip gotchas)