You may recall how Christina Hoff Sommers, right-wing think tanker and longtime pseudofeminist, was transformed into the idolized “Based Mom” after she cannily jumped aboard the #GamerGate train and started going to events with noted ethical journalist Milo Yiannopoulos?
Now GamerGaters and Anime Nazis and other elements of the Internet’s Trump-loving sh*tlord army are turning on the woman they thought was one of the cool girls.
Sommers’ crime?
She signed a petition in support of Michelle Fields, the former Breitbarter who lost her job after being manhandled by Donald Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski at a Trump event.
Sommers’ fans — well, ex-fans, really — aren’t taking it well.
Those were some of the more polite reactions.
Others were a bit more, er, blunt.
But not everyone has deserted this Jewish agent of Lucifer. Sommers has managed to hold on to the endorsement of at least one influential Tweeter.
It’s almost touching.
@Mrex:
Um, yeah, that’s what I explained – I’m saying claiming that someone would become a FeMRAs over a single internet comment was simplistic, which is what you said, and that I took issue with.
I’m very confused now…
Calling someone disingenuous isn’t sexist, especially when I’m talking about the Men’s Rights Movement in general. Obfuscation is a common tactic of their’s and their concern for the issues I mentioned do come off as tenuous or as a smokescreen for their vitriol – hell, this entire blog is dedicated to that.
I gave a clear example of such with Hardie/Bloomfeld, who has a tendency to make up fake quotes and make a bunch of other baseless accusations unapologetically. It has nothing specifically to do with her being a woman as much as it does being in the Men’s Rights Movement.
I’m starting to think you didn’t read my comment fully or correctly…
Well, thanks for proving my suspicion right and completely missing the point.
I never argued he had no right to find that issue important – I understand why people take issue with it, which I also explained – but that he acted as if getting his foreskin removed as an infant was on par, if not more important, than policy dictating how reproductive health is treated for women and how it can be detrimental.
Here’s a link to what I’m talking about as well, for further clarification, and the troll in question is “Chandler”:
https://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2016/03/22/dudes-if-youre-friends-with-a-lady-youre-a-vagina-explains-reddit-lady-expert/#comments
Why’re you even quoting me when you aren’t responding to what I actually said?
I never said it took time or energy from feminist issues, whatsoever. You made that up. I said, once again:
“The fact he thought that is part of the problem, because it assumes that – when women talk about gender issues – perceived infractions against men still somehow take priority over the disproportionate treatment of women have faced throughout history and even now.”
Trolls come through here all the time doing that, to some extent or another, and he was another example. They often use the “what about teh menz?!” talking point not to really have a discussion but to derail it. They do not argue in good faith and, even if they’re sincere in their views, their tactics in discussion is often manipulative. They’ll self-victimize and claim no one here cares about those issues of male circumcision or men in abusive relationships…even though, really, many of us here (myself included) are not dismissive about it at all. We consider those things to be products of toxic masculinity as well.
I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever judged him for thinking the issue was important nor was that the point I was trying to make. Where the hell did you get that from? In what way did I imply it wasn’t legitimate? Weird, I remember saying…
“A lot of MRAs like to bring up circumcision and male victims of domestic abuse, which are legitimate problems, as rhetorical ammunition against Feminists and more specifically women than because they’re truly concerned about those issues.”
I explained, yet again, that the problem was that he came into the conversation demanding validation and then used his being circumcised as an infant as a way to guilt us – except no one was being dismissive about it nor was post about the issue. He just brought it up as a “gotcha” against his perceived enemies.
Go back, read my comment again – in full – as well as the thread featuring Chandler.
I can’t speak for the FeMRAs who go as deep down the rabbit hole as JB et al, but there are definitely influencing factors that might prompt a woman to go down that path. There’s a lot of pervasive misogynistic attitudes that run through our culture, and it is easy to internalize them. It’s easy to dehumanize women, even for other women. Couple that with the rewards and head-pats that the ‘right’ women or the ‘cool girls’ get by pandering to the men in power, and it can be a tempting option for some. It’s not so much a ‘oh look at the awful things they’re doing to other women, I should suck up to them so they won’t do it to me’ mindset as it is a ‘hey these dudes are really nice to me and pffft who cares about those other women they have it coming because they’re not as cool and special as I am, those shallow cows’ thing.
Personally, and embarrassingly, as a socially awkward girl with nerdy interests and primarily male friends/family members, I was a bit of a proto-FeMRA as a teenager. It was easy to ignore struggles that I didn’t have to face thanks to my relatively privileged position, and repeating the talking points that I’d been exposed to was an easy way to get positive reinforcement. I was one of the ‘cool girls’ the ones that exist to massage other dudes egos and laugh at the jokes and sneer at ‘political correctness’.
Thankfully, I pulled my head out of my ass before I went too deep into those murky and ‘gator infested waters, but I can see why it might draw some FeMRAs in. It can be a lucrative business, as the honey badgers and JB have shown.
@Catapala:
Especially older generations. My late grandmother spent a good deal of her time admonishing other women more than men, though being a devout Catholic didn’t help.
Always found it weird how misogynistic Catholics can be – given they use the visage of the Virgin Mary so much, you’d think they’d have more respect for women. Guess not…
@Xarael
What a pointless comment.
@Nick
“Um, yeah, that’s what I explained – I’m saying claiming that someone would become a FeMRAs over a single internet comment was simplistic, which is what you said, and that I took issue with.”
A. It’s not “a single Internet comment”. Obviously I’m criticizing a pattern, hence why I said “this attitude from feminists”, and not “this singular, lonesome Internet comment that I’m using as an example”. Reread what I said. It’s not about a singular person, or a singular comment.
B. I never said it was the only contributing factor in becoming a FeMRA. Reread what I said. It was a lightly snarky way to point out a singular point, not an exaustive analysis.
C. Don’t underestimate the power of bad first impressions, especially to young girls. Especially bad first impressions that fit societal scripts.
“Calling someone disingenuous isn’t sexist, especially when I’m talking about the Men’s Rights Movement in general”
Calling the MRM in general disingenuous is not sexist. Calling a particular FeMRA that you have proof of being a lying liar disingenuous is also not sexist.
Calling literally all FeMRAs disingenuous for being FeMRAs is sexist. And yes, I know that isn’t your argument, but it was mine.
“I explained, yet again, that the problem was that he came into the conversation demanding validation and then used his being circumcised as an infant as a way to guilt us – except no one was being dismissive about it nor was post about the issue. He just brought it up as a “gotcha” against his perceived enemies.”
And this is relevant to my argument that MRAs have legitimate issues that they use to hide their misogyny how? It sounds like you agree with me. Why are we arguing?
Did you just want to rant about MRA trolls? Sure, they’re asses. I literally could not even make it through a single post of Chandler’s.
Still no relevance to my original argument.
“Always found it weird how misogynistic Catholics can be – given they use the visage of the Virgin Mary so much, you’d think they’d have more respect for women. Guess not…”
If benevolent sexism is the carrot, then hostile sexism is the stick.
The puzzlement over why a woman would join the MRA creepies is understandable, but I suspect its because folks arent really thinking of the bigger picture about how the patriachy functions. Like all power relationships, its about maintaining a set of priveleges and the status quo that supports it. Mostly this is a set of priveleges that benefit men at the expense of women, but its not quite that simple. We know that men who dont fit the cis/hetro stereotype get othered and suffer too, but likewise women who DO stick to the cis/hetro stereotype and work in defence of the status quo are given priveleges as well. Malcolm X talked about this in the black community with his concept of the “house negro” and the “field negro”. Summers comes from a mid to wealthy background as an institutional academic and then later as a well rewarded member of the right wing think tank industry. The status quo, the patriachy, is in her interest from this perspective. She’s a “house negro” , so to speak.
But that doesnt mean she wont occasionally break rank. Sometimes shit stinks so hard even ones allies are gonna shy from it.
@Mrex:
Based on your comment alone, it seemed as if you were saying that a single internet comment alone could turn someone into a FeMRA.
“It’s more likely that women become FeMRAs after seeing this kind of attitude from Feminists”
Didn’t exactly sound like you were considering the fact other, far more personal experiences would do that.
Yes, a bad first impression has an effect. No, I doubt it’d lead to a sea change of one’s views – that’s not how people work. It’s a gradual build-up based on many factors.
Like when some conservative pundit claims to have once been a devout progressive until a singular incident are either lying or exaggerating. It’s likely, just as FeMRAs, they were slowly undergoing that change as it is and either didn’t notice it or just not admit to it.
Fair enough, then. I assumed it was directed at me because of usage of the phrase – my apologies.
We’re arguing because you said I was being judgmental about Chandler making a big deal about circumcision, as if I didn’t think anyone had a right to make a big deal about it, even though I never once said anything remotely similar to that. I do think it’s a legitimate problem – I just dislike how MRAs use it as a smokescreen. It’s an insult to those who do take the issue seriously.
Like I said, my problem with calling MRAs talking points “good” is because they aren’t actually used in good faith – they’re very dishonest about it and, as legitimate as those issues are, it’s hard to see MRAs bring it up as something of a genuine concern. Maybe some, sure, but most just use it as rhetorical ammunition.
Again, I’m being nitpicky about it. I get the same way when anyone uses “everyone’s entitled to their opinion” instead of “everyone is allowed to their opinion.” It doesn’t seem like much, but it has an obvious effect on behavior and how people view certain things (often to everyone’s detriment).
Very true. Plus, it doesn’t help when so many in the atheist community these days (especially online) are so hostile towards Feminists and women as well…
@Nick
“Based on your comment alone, it seemed as if you were saying that a single internet comment alone could turn someone into a FeMRA.”
Nope, I wasn’t implying that at all. But I do think that FeMRAs are often reacting, in part, to some of the more problematic things that happen in feminism. And yeah, big tent and all, but still.
“Yes, a bad first impression has an effect. No, I doubt it’d lead to a sea change of one’s views – that’s not how people work. It’s a gradual build-up based on many factors.”
I disagee- what seems silly to you can have profound importance to someone else, and a singular important event can absolutely cause a sea change of one’s views, especially if one is on the fence, or hasn’t really thought about and deeply committed to one’s views yet.
But, I’m just arguing retorically here since it was brought up. Or, see my first paragraph of this post. 🙂
“Like I said, my problem with calling MRAs talking points “good” is because they aren’t actually used in good faith – they’re very dishonest about it and, as legitimate as those issues are, it’s hard to see MRAs bring it up as something of a genuine concern. Maybe some, sure, but most just use it as rhetorical ammunition.
A fair debate point remains fair whether it’s abused to manipulate or not. All the best lies are done with the truth.
I never said that *no* FeMRAs are lying liars acting in bad faith, I said it was sexist to assume that most were, based on nothing more than disagreeing with their opinions. We actually don’t personally know most FeMRAs, making *assumptions* that women you don’t know are mentally ill because they believe in x, or that they’re acting in bad faith because you know of a few women that believe in x and are disingenuous, is relying on old, sexist tropes.
White racists stealing and misusing black slang (based, basic etc) will always be hilarious to me.
Well at least she has some level of class. It’s too bad that she associated herself with GAYmergate, she made a fool out of herself.
Using “gay” as an insult? Really? Are you a 1990’s teen trying to be edgy or something?