By David Futrelle
On Wednesday, a Malaysian member of parliament proposed a new kind of “Sexual Harassment Act” to help protect men from being “seduced” into raping or otherwise molesting women and girls wearing too-sexy clothes.
“I propose to the minister that we create a ‘sexual harassment act’ to protect men against the demeanor, words and clothing of women,”
Mohamad Imran Abd Hamid told the Malaysian parliament.
which can cause them to be seduced to a point where they commit acts such as incest, rape, molestation, pornography (sic) and others,
Such a law, he said, would ensure that “the men in this country are safe, and the country is peaceful.”
The proposal didn’t go over well, with Mohd Imran’s own party, the ruling Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), rejecting it outright. And so, on Thursday, Mohd Imran apologized for hurting “the feelings of many women and also men, who feel insulted” and retracted his proposal.
Unfortunately the central assumption behind his proposal — that women are “asking for it” if they behave in certain ways or wear certain clothes — is shared by innumerable men (and quite a few women) around the world.
It’s especially widespread among men of the manosphere, who regularly rail against the alleged seductive power of women wearing yoga pants or short shorts as well as outfits that show a bit of shoulder. (Or even just arm.) Men’s Rights granddaddy Warren Farrell has been warning men for decades about the alleged “miniskirt power” and “cleavage power” of young women.
Meanwhile, our old pal enemy Roosh V, the rapey-pickup-guru-turned-raging-fundamentalist-Christian took to Twitter yesterday to warn against another deadly seductive threat to men: women wearing pants.
Stay safe, men! Emulate the folks in Bird Box and wear a blindfold at all times every time you leave the house.
H/T — to Alan Robertshaw for the story and @Zemyla for the Roosh tweet
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I forgot to mention about extramarital sex. Unfortunately, many take Roosh V’s stance and support people trying to save for marriage. I’d rather cut my genitalia off than do that, if only to save my own ass since I hear extramarital sex is even illegal in some places – I don’t see the point of humans having a high sex drive for it.
@rv97
We really don’t care about your pants feels and I have no idea what this random statement has to do with anything, at all, let alone this discussion.
@rv97
Also, if this is related to your Islamophobia, Roosh is not a Muslim. He’s an Armenian Apostolic Christian.
Why is saving yourself for marriage such a horrible thing? Not everyone wants to have zillions of lovers before they get married because they’re not wired that way. So long as they understand correctly how babies are made, a rough idea how to make things fun for their partner and themselves, and what’s normal with their bodies, what difference is it to you? If that’s how they want to start having sex, then it’s their right to do things that way.
Oh, by the way, extramarital sex is sex between a married person and someone not their spouse. Premarital sex is sex between two (or more) unmarried people. Which of these were you talking about?
Nothing wrong with saving yourself for marriage. Nothing wrong with saving yourself for someone or some time special, marriage or not.
What is a bit awkward is the “saving yourself” language, which does sort of imply that you’re a gift to another person, and can’t help but have echoes of the idea that people are “spoiled” by having had sex. But I suppose it’s easier to say than “saving the experience” or something.
I would suspect that rv97 meant non-marital sex, a less often used term which basically covers both pre-marital and extramarital in a single concept. But I’ll leave that to them to clarify.
We fucking aren’t. Igno-right have proven, time and again, their ability to deny the truth in front of their eyes without a hint of dissonance.
They first pick their self serving conclusions, then they come up with flimsy justifications. There’s no logical or evidence based argument you can make to convince them to change their minds. Because the justifications do not matter at all.
Targeting Islam, or any other religion, is counterproductive. You could catch a magical genie and wish religion disappear overnight, and bigots of the world would probably immediately switch to evo-psych or something, something, family, tradition, social order.
Policing vulnerable people, because what will conservatives think, is useless and hurtful.
@Naglfar I know Roosh is not a Muslim. I still find him offensive.
@Kupo
My point is that people hold the same view as Roosh and want to impose on everyone his view on sex and relationships.
What does it have to do with anything we’re talking about? Are you trying to say all muslims do this? Because you’re wrong. You’re being incredibly bigoted, here.
And maybe you could speak clearer, because your initial comment was about people who support people doing this for themselves, not about imposing it on others.
@kupo
I think most people who consider themselves religious, not just Muslims and perhaps even some atheists too are trying to impose an ideal where sex is only to be performed in a heterosexual marriage for the sole purpose of procreation. I’m sorry if this wasn’t clear initially.
I find the idea problematic, because especially based on my personal experiences, what the fuck should I do if I do want to start having sex with someone but don’t want marriage or kids? Pray? I’m sorry, but I don’t want to submit to any religion, and praying can be considered such (at least in my eyes). Yes, there are nice people in every religion, but my personal experiences regarding it has made me view them with contempt regarding their repressive views on gender (which I may want to address later), sexuality and recreational activities.
I’m pissed, because many of the tenets set forth by mainstream religious institutions that are held by most of its followers, favour social conservatism. I do not want any one religion gaining a free pass whatsoever in promoting social conservatism, and unfortunately, it seems like certain religions are being given a free pass (at least depending on who you talk to).
Find someone with the same values as you instead of being Islamophobic all over a random blog comments section? I mean, it worked prerty well for me. I got plenty of premarital sex that way. Sometimes even with fellow atheists! You should try it!
@kupo
What if they decided to make adultery illegal again even in countries like the US and across Europe, which are supposedly sexually liberated?
Then I’ll fight those laws. Why are you angry at an entire group of people for something that hasn’t happened and shows no signs of happening?
Go fuck yourself.
Who the fuck is the “they” to you. Muslims? Men? abused lesbians? you don’t make any fucking senses and you don’t own up to the horrible shit you say despite being told your saying awful shit about both lesbian women and straight women.
I am angry that the world is going back to its repressive ways, when homosexuality and being transgender were considered bad choices, and adultery becomes forbidden.
I feel like the left are fighting losing battles probably by defending repressive cultures more unconditionally, which gives social conservatives more figurative ammunition towards their causes.
Because fucking jackass like this always get upset about things that aren’t happening. Like how a bunch of racist think no white woman is marrying or being in a relationship with a white man because they saw an interracial couple walking down the street once.
@rv97
It seems like you’re making lots of generalizations to serve your point rather than those you claim to care about. If you actually care about LGBT people, or women, or people in general, Islamophobia or castigating all religious people isn’t going to help you.
And as for defending repressive cultures? The vast majority of Muslims in America vote on the left. The only way in which I have defended anyone is by opposing blanket hatred of a minority in America. I’m not saying that I agree with everything Islam espouses. I am saying that it is wrong to hate Muslims.
Social conservatives think that society is descending into chaos with adultery and recreational sex being allowed. They also think the same is caused by homosexuality, feminism, abortion and changing one’s gender being allowed. I hate the way this world is going. I expected better from this decade and onwards. Unfortunately, the social conservative right have been empowered in countries like Poland, Turkey, Russia, the United States and many others. It’s annoying too that they see LGBT and feminism as something of an import – no, not even Americans these days seem to want it.
I’m done. This ass is just looking for a space to blather on now.
@Naglfar
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the rest of the world. Most people worldwide tend to vote for social conservative causes and parties (or at least have a corrupt political system that allow such parties to remain in power). For instance, the ruling Law and Justice Party in Poland, AKP in Turkey, United Russia in Russia. It does seem like we’re fighting a losing battle. I think it’s dangerous to excuse anything they support.
I think it’s time for a time out for rv97, because wtf is happening here????
Go ahead. I need to take time to read these anyway and take it all in.
@rv97
Hi. I’m a cishet, white male Christian.
I’m also liberal (closest to a Social Democrat), a feminist, and a strong supporter of LGBT+ rights. I am these things not in spite of my religious beliefs, but because of them.
And in the words of a great moral teacher:
“I care about everyone. But right now, you’re pushing it.” – Superman
@rv97, Allandrel
I am a practicing Jew. I also am socially and fiscally very liberal, as are most of the members of my synagogue. I am also a strong supporter of LGBT rights and feminism. For me, my commitment to social justice is also inspired by my religious beliefs. My rabbi has made it clear that she also supports these causes, and there are numerous LGBT members of the synagogue. Bashing religion will not help when many would-be allies are religious.
So…basically what Allandrel said.