WTF is a MGTOW? A Glossary

On this blog, MRA does not stand for Magnetic Resonance Angiography

NOTE: This page is in desperate need of revision and expansion. In the meantime, I suggest you use Rationalwiki’s Manosphere Glossary.

For newcomers to this blog, here’s a handy guide to some of the strange acronyms and lingo you’ll encounter here and in the “manosphere” in general. (For a definition of that term, see below.) I will update this entry periodically as needed.

First, the acronyms you’ll see most often here:

MRA: Men’s Rights Activist
MRM: Men’s Rights Movement

MGTOW: Men Going Their Own Way MGHOW: Man Going His Own Way.

Ok, so what do those terms mean?

MRM: The Men’s Rights Movement: A loosely defined, but largely retrograde, collection of activists and internet talkers who fight for what they see as “men’s rights.” Unlike the original Men’s Movement, which was inspired by and heavily influenced by feminism, the self-described Men’s Rights Movement is largely a reactionary movement; with few exceptions, Men’s Rights Activists (or MRAs) are pretty rabidly antifeminist, and many are frankly and sometimes proudly misogynistic. Those who oppose the MRM are generally not against men’s rights per se; they are opposed to those who’ve turned those two words into a synonym for some pretty backwards notions.

MGTOW: Men Going Their Own Way: As the name suggests, MGTOW is a lot like lesbian separatism, but for straight dudes. MGTOW often talk vaguely about seeking “independence” from western and/or consumer culture, and a few MGTOW try to live that sort of zen existence. But most of those who embrace the term have a deep hostility towards and/or profound distrust of feminists and women in general. Many MGTOW refuse to date “western women” and some try to avoid women altogether.  I think the Man Going His Own Way acronym MGHOW adds another layer of confusion to an already awkward acronym, so I use MGTOWer instead.

Some other terms and acronyms you’ll run across here:

Anglosphere: Countries in which English is the primary language, or, more narrowly, those countries that used to be British colonies. They are full of evil Western Women (see below).

Incel: Involuntarily Celibate. A term, and identity, adopted by some dateless guys (as well as some women, but it’s the men we’ll focus on here). While there is nothing shameful about being dateless, or a virgin, or having a really long dry spell sexually — most of us have been there at some point — the term “involuntarily celibate” seems to suggest that the world owes incels sex, and that women who turn down incel men for dates or sex are somehow oppressing them. For those (male, straight) incels who are genuinely socially awkward or phobic, this can be a self-defeating stance that can lead to bitterness towards women. And often does.

Mangina: Derogatory term used by MRAs, MGTOW, etc. to describe guys who disagree with them — e.g., me. You can figure out the various connotations of this term yourself.

The Manosphere: The loose collection of blogs, message boards, and other sites run by and/or read by MRAs, MGTOW, and assorted friendly Pick-up Artists. The primary source of material for this blog.

NAWALT: Not All Women Are Like That. Dudes in the manosphere make so many ridiculous and untrue generalizations about women that they’ve come up with their own little acronym to describe the most common reaction to their nonsense: “not all women are like that.” Remarkably, many seem to think that making a reference to NAWALT is actually some sort of clever rebuttal of their critics.

PUA: Pick-up Artist. PUAs are obsessed with mastering what they see as the ultimate set of techniques and attitudes — known as “Game” — that will enable them to quickly seduce almost any woman they want. There is a vast literature on “game” online, though PUA (insofar as it is not complete bullshit) is at its essence simply a male version of the age-old ploy of “playing hard to get.”

Western Women: Also known as WW. Evil harpies, at least according to many in the manosphere. Contrasted with “foreign women,” a term that (in the manosphere, at least) sometimes refers to all women outside the Anglosphere, but often refers to a subset of these women from poor and/or Eastern countries, mostly Asian, who are regarded as more pliable and thus more desirable to haters of “Ameriskanks” and other WW.

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jumbofish
12 years ago

Obviously the context in which the word mangina is most often used doesn’t register with you. The word “enabler” doesn’t have enough sting, so we use “mangina” because frankly, we’re tired of PC doublespeak.

Oh please spare me from your male shaming crap, you care so much about men’s right but you could give less of a damn about men who don’t fit your standard of masculinity. Thats what you are doing here, trying to shame a guy by being too “feminine”. fuck you

male shaped creatures like you

male shaped? Again with you male shaming crap. I can call you a man despite not agreeing with you. Is that you you rationalize you hate? You aren’t a man therefore I can try to shame you! Its really convenient for you isn’t it?

not one MRA has posted anything even as remotely hateful as the SCUM Manifesto,

-the mra that wanted to cut out the voiceboxes of little girls
-dmk who wanted to force all women into brothels
-mras who suggest breivik’s shooting was justified

jumbofish
12 years ago

repostinggg

Obviously the context in which the word mangina is most often used doesn’t register with you. The word “enabler” doesn’t have enough sting, so we use “mangina” because frankly, we’re tired of PC doublespeak.

Oh please spare me from your male shaming crap, you care so much about men’s right but you could give less of a damn about men who don’t fit your standard of masculinity. Thats what you are doing here, trying to shame a guy by being too “feminine”. fuck you

male shaped creatures like you

male shaped? Again with you male shaming crap. I can call you a man despite not agreeing with you. Is that you you rationalize you hate? You aren’t a man therefore I can try to shame you! Its really convenient for you isn’t it?

not one MRA has posted anything even as remotely hateful as the SCUM Manifesto,

-the mra that wanted to cut out the voiceboxes of little girls
-dmk who wanted to force all women into brothels
-mras who suggest breivik’s shooting was justified

just a few examples

kirbywarp
kirbywarp
12 years ago

Heh, I actually did look up Briffault’s Law, and this site came up. So basically, all women only associate with a man if a man is providing something for her right now, and keep no promises once that benefit stops, eh? Wow, women must all be sociopaths.

On the plus side, the blogger on the site comes to the conclusion that all women are whores, so he and Tom Martin would probably be best friends.

Crumbelievable
Crumbelievable
12 years ago

-the mra that wanted to cut out the voiceboxes of little girls
-dmk who wanted to force all women into brothels
-mras who suggest breivik’s shooting was justified

– the 100+ MRAs on The Spreadhead who thought women shouldn’t vote
– the FEMALE MRA who said that if a woman wore a skimpy outfit, it meant her body was public property
– The MRA subreddit moderator who wrote that a false rape accuser should have her house burned down and her throat slit
– The Reddit MRAs who believed that women innately have a lesser sense of justice than men
– the MRA who wrote that lots of women are conniving bitches “begging” to be raped
– The MRA who wrote that he would do ansolutely nothing to help a woman being raped
and the other MRA who seconded this
– The MRA who admitted he was a violent person, then said that if MRAs’ demands weren’t met, widespread violence would occur and he would do nothing to stop it
– The MRA who talked at length about detonating bombs in malls in order to kill feminists and manginas
– The 45 MRAS who upvoted that comment and the many more who saw the post but didn’t bother to condemn it whatsoever
– The MRA who said that women are like stupid children

And many, many more!

I can’t resist taking the troll bait sometimes.

CassandraSays
12 years ago

“Besides, what’s it to you? A men’s forum is a MEN’S forum. You’d learn a thing or two about (actually being feminine) if you looked at it with less hatred.”

Why would women would want to learn about “actually being feminine” from a group of men whose defining characteristic (according to themselves) is that they’ve been repeatedly rejected by women? If that’s the case, clearly most women don’t care very much about what those particular guys think about how women ought to perform femininity (since they already rejected them), so what possible benefit to them would reading MGTOW forums offer?

Shaenon
12 years ago

Besides, what’s it to you? A misogyny-mocking forum is a MISOGYNY-mocking forum. You’d learn a thing or two about (not being mockable) if you looked at it with less hatred.

Garrett
12 years ago

Mocking MR? I think I can do that 😉

http://www.reddit.com/r/Mens_Rights/new/

vklaatu
12 years ago

Definition of WHORE
1
: a woman who engages in sexual acts for money : prostitute; also : a promiscuous or immoral woman
2
: a male who engages in sexual acts for money
3
: a venal or unscrupulous person

vklaatu
12 years ago

I subscribe to Robert Heinlein’s take on humanity:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

That, comrades, is a definition of Man, by a man, and I’ve never heard any woman anywhere at anytime aspire to do all that. I’ve personally done many of those things myself, some much better than others. So as far as I’m concerned, unless you’re a MGHOW of some stripe, and bear in mind that I personally participated in the Men’s Movement back in the 90’s, to me and even many women, you’re basically just a male shaped creature. Note that I’m not attaching any serious moral stigma to that, you are what you are, and that’s all you are unless you wish to sets your sights a bit higher.

Male shaped creatures often enable female shaped creatures bad behavior. Grow a spine. Women are getting closer and closer to getting away with murder, literally, based soely on the vagina mystique alone, i.e. “oh you poor creature, it’s so hard to be a woman, we’ll let you off for killing your children.” Male and female shaped lawyers and judges allow these atrocities all the time, yet men routinely get exocuted for less. Double standards abound. Radical feminists are are actually praised as warrior women for spouting hate speech far more venal than anything on that site or youtube.

Shadow
Shadow
12 years ago

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

It would seem Heinlein needs to add reading comprehension to his list to hekp your ass understand better.

Quackers
Quackers
12 years ago

I’ve personally done many of those things myself, some much better than others.

Bwahahahahahaha!!!

dude April Fools day ends at 12 pm.

princessbonbon
12 years ago

I know I have not aspired to do all of that because I have a life outside of doing a huge list of random things.

I did once write a sonnet that I used the same day for another assignment.

Rutee Katreya
12 years ago

That, comrades, is a definition of Man, by a man, and I’ve never heard any woman anywhere at anytime aspire to do all that.

I can already do most of the things on that list without substantial attempts to have super diverse knowledge, and I have skills Heinlein totally forgot about, like “Write my way out of a paper bag” and “cook”. It doesn’t change that he was stupid as hell to write it, though; specialization is an increasing fact of life, and it ain’t going to be any easier to avoid just because a writer stamped his feet against the future that week (He wasn’t exactly consistent). It does make his incredibly inplausible scifi less defensible though.

. So as far as I’m concerned, unless you’re a MGHOW of some stripe, and bear in mind that I personally participated in the Men’s Movement back in the 90′s, to me and even many women, you’re basically just a male shaped creature.

So you’re an asshole with a paper thin excuse. Got it.

Women are getting closer and closer to getting away with murder,

Statement assumes facts not in evidence.

Radical feminists are are actually praised


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FopyRHHlt3M

And dude, I look at Radfemhub from time to time., because of this very claim (that they’re worse or as bad as the Spearhead). NOPE. The worst you generally see there isn’t horrible to men, it’s horrible to trans people or the poor. They certainly don’t demand the death, rape, or enslavement of men on anywhere near as regular a basis as The Spearhead does, if it does so at all.

Polliwog
12 years ago

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.

That, comrades, is a definition of Man, by a man, and I’ve never heard any woman anywhere at anytime aspire to do all that. I’ve personally done many of those things myself, some much better than others.

So far, having not aspired to or cared about this list, and as a fairly ordinary and not especially accomplished twentysomething, I’ve unambiguously done at least 13/22, and have arguably done 17/22, if you count invasions in games, buildings made of Lego and the like, and building things that are not walls (I don’t have any particular reason to build a wall, but I’ve built things like bookshelves), and feel that the fights I had with my brother as a kid were “efficient.” (I sometimes “won” despite being half his size, insofar as I got him to stop and leave me alone, so I guess that was efficient of me?) I haven’t set any bones because that’s something I tend to think should be left to people with medical degrees, haven’t butchered any hogs because on top of not being a butcher, I gave up pork a long time ago, haven’t pitched manure because manure is stinky and I see no reason to seek out unnecessary quality time with it, haven’t conned a ship because I live in Missouri, which is not an area known for its abundance of seafaring vessels, and haven’t died because I’m not a zombie or a vampire. I’d love to hear how you’re ahead of me in this particular list, Mr. Manly Man. :-p

pecunium
pecunium
12 years ago

That, comrades, is a definition of Man, by a man, and I’ve never heard any woman anywhere at anytime aspire to do all that. I’ve personally done many of those things myself, some much better than others. So as far as I’m concerned, unless you’re a MGHOW of some stripe, and bear in mind that I personally participated in the Men’s Movement back in the 90′s, to me and even many women, you’re basically just a male shaped creature. Note that I’m not attaching any serious moral stigma to that, you are what you are, and that’s all you are unless you wish to sets your sights a bit higher.

Oh my sweet Jesus.

1: That wasn’t Heinlein’s definition, it was the definition he ascribed to Lazarus Long.

2: Having spent time with Heinlein, and with those who were closer friends of his I can tell you his opinion of MGTOW’s; you wouldn’t like it. For all the problems in his books, and the relics of his time, age, and upbringing, he would look at your “movement” and laugh, mock, and lambaste.

Because he’d think your premises were shit, your goals loathsome, and your rhetoric puerile.

3: Insofar as you want to take quotations of Lazarus Long to the worth of Holy Writ you need to take the work as a whole and consider as well:

Men are more sentimental than women. It blurs their thinking.

So, about that rationality you are trying to claim…

If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.

Got figure to back that assertion about no women wanting/being able to do those things?

What a wonderful world it is that has girls in it!

Why are you going your own way?

A woman is not property, and husbands who think otherwise are living in a dreamworld.

Substitute “partner” and you are close to Heinlein’s thinking, esp. if he had lived to the present day.

What are the facts? Again and again and again-what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history”–what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!

Got those numbers yet? Or are you still peddling opinion as “truth”?

And… the one you will choke on…

Whenever women have insisted on absolute equality with men, they have invariably wound up on the dirty end of the stick. What they are and what they can do makes them superior to men, and their proper tactic is to demand special privileges, all the traffic will bear. They should never settle merely for equality. For women, “equality” is a disaster.

SO you ought to be pleased as punch that women are asking for equality. You also need to either retract the bullshit you were peddling, or admit that women who get special privileges are merely, per your touchstone’s words, getting what they ought to be entitled to.

No matter how you slice it, Heinlein’s words mean you need to sit down, shut up, and let the grown ups run the conversation.

Holly Pervocracy
12 years ago

I can’t believe people troll the GLOSSARY here.

Creative Writing Student
Creative Writing Student
12 years ago

^ Some people have no lives, or are desperately trying to avoid writing a rationale for their poetry. Bad CWS. Bad!

MollyRen (@MollyRen)
12 years ago

Wait, Pecunium: WHEN DID YOU SPEND TIME WITH ROBERT HEINLEIN? O.O

pecunium
pecunium
12 years ago

Molly: It was a longish time ago. I joined fandom in the ’70s, in LA. Heinlein had moved to Santa Cruz by then (Laurel Canyon no longer being strange/hippy enough to his taste), but he still came to town every so often. We belonged to the same club, so he’d be in town from time to time.

When I was about 13 there was a non-SF based con, about the time Reagan had his famous “Science Fiction Writers Can Help Us Save the World (Western European/US Edition), and I got to sit down with him for about half an hour, just the two of us.

We had friends (Niven being the only one you’d be likely to know) in common. He was very aware of babies, and children. When my mother was pregnant with my little sister he recalled the general time frame of her due date and called to see how things were going, about two days after she was born. That, or he asked Larry to let him know, and so was able to be timely.

There are photos of him dandling her on his knee, shortly before he died.

He was a nice guy, prickly in some ways, and very much a liberal; for someone born in rural Missouri in 1907, and then the Naval Acadamy, etc. He was, mostly, a live and let live libertarian, with a moderate streak of taxes ought to be “for something”. He had some strange (to me/us) ideas about what women were like/wanted, but he would never have ascribed to the idea that they are fundamentally inferior, or grasping/conniving/evil/need to be kept in their place.

And his books aren’t him. There are chunks of him, but even those aren’t prescriptive. That quotation is, in some ways, the closest to “the genuine article”, but it’s not a checklist, it’s a philosophy. I’ve done (or tried) to do all the things on it (save, perhaps, “die gallantly). I don’t know that I’ve, “planned an invasion”, but I’ve planned my part of one. I’m not so great at programming computers/solving equations, but the rest? I’ve done them to some degree.

Which doesn’t make me better than anyone else, and wouldn’t make me, “a human being” in Heinlein’s eyes (and what is it that makes a, “man” writing it so definitive, our little MGTOW friend is a bit blinkered, but we knew that).

To be a human being is, per Heinlein, to be willing to try to do what needs doing (see that list) and to respect other beings, male, female, alien.

Which vlklaatu (is he planning to die gallantly, thus saving the world when the robot brings him back to life?) has failed completely to figure out.

LBT
LBT
12 years ago

RE: vlklaatu

Oh, oh! I’ve shoveled manure in my day! I’ve done more than half those things without trying! (Does building the wall of my tree fort as a kid count? Is free verse necessarily inferior to sonnets?) Also, I’m cool with being a male-shaped creature, if being a man means I HAVE to die valiantly. What if I get a sudden heart attack? Or get hit by a drunk driver?

RE: Pecunium

Is there nothing you haven’t done (besides die gallantly)?

LBT
LBT
12 years ago

I can do it too!

A human being should have their dearest, most heartfelt beliefs completely unraveled at least once in their life, and come out the better for it. And… well, no. That’s about all I got.

pecunium
pecunium
12 years ago

LBT: There is lot’s I’ve not done. It’s just that some of it is trite/obvious (I’ve not shot myself).

Some of it is that the broad strokes of things (what Heinlien was talking about), is the sort of thing I’ve done. So I am not a world class athlete, but I’ve engaged in serious competition (e.g. I tried out for the US Olympic Air Rifle Team, in 1984. I didn’t have more than the slightest chance of making the cut, but I had the chance to try out; and the slightest chance of having a career day, so I took a swing for the fences).

I read a lot. I try things. I’ve not got the discipline/intensity, to make one thing the focus of my being, so I get decent at a lot of things, and pretty good at some others.

What I’ve managed to master is learning things.

That, and making very accurate holes in things, sometimes at great distance.

crella
crella
12 years ago

A mangina is a man who ingratiates himself with women by spouting feminist beliefs, or a man who puts women on a pedestal, deserved or not, not someone who simply disagrees with MRAs.
Careful Boobz….look what happened to Hugo Schwyzer, and he was involved with the feminists a lot longer than you, and actually teaching ‘gender studies’, and he was considered attractive to a lot of them…he had all those advantages and they still tore him apart. What could they do to you?

Women eventually reject sad ingratiating ass-kissers. Your time will come.

Dracula
Dracula
12 years ago

Actually, use of the term “mangina” is rather pathetic attempt to shame and bully men out of supporting feminism. It’s juvenile and sad.

And come on, now. Using Hugo fucking Schwyer to drive a wedge between the commenters here? You really don’t know your audience.

Dracula
Dracula
12 years ago

*Schwyzer

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