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.
Sure.
Why do you refer to us with implications of mental illness, depression and suicidal thoughts?
You’re doing it to mock us.
If you’re doing it to mock us, doesn’t that, by your logic, weaken, injure, or impair, the idea of anti-depressants, depressed / suicidal so called life?
Why is that okay, Flump? Do you want people to die? Do you disagree that suicide and depression are important, significant issues worthy of honest discourse? Are you trying to make us feel bad about possibly experiencing these things you describe?
Does your logic hold? 🙂
Yes.
Nope.
Again, can you find a single article on this website calling something misogynist when it’s just “trivial”?
Come on, just one. Stop talking in the abstract and say what you actually think we shouldn’t be mocking.
Oh, yeah, Flump. You sure tried to help us by flinging incoherent word salad at us. Bravo, dipshit.
Flump.
Kiddo.
This is our house. If you are going to come into our house and tell us our shit is busted, it is one hundred percent on you to prove it.
You have done no such thing. You have no examples, no content, no substance to any of your arguments. You bring nothing to the table but your own inflated sense of self-importance.
If you want to come in here, make a bunch of empty statements, and pretend that you’re better than us, you are going to get the treatment that you deserve: unabashed mockery.
Flump: I don’t understand what it is about MGTOW that offends women so much?
1: not just women.
2: If they were actually just going their own way, nothing.
3: They don’t. They hate on women.
That’s the nut of it. They hate on women. This site (in case it escaped you) is about mocking people who hate on women.
If that offends you, I suggest you take this piece of wisdom to heart, “I think Men and Women are free to do what they want with their lives.,” and go your own way.
No way will you make me a worse person
You have probably spoken a truth.
Flump: – So you want to undermine misogyny? you want to weaken, injure, or impair, the idea misogyny?
Yep. That’s not all, I want to eradicate it. I wan’t it so weak that like the idea of phlogiston it’s beneath the notice of all but scholars; people who examine the reasons for misguided beliefs of the past (though, unlike phlogiston there never was any reason to accept misogyny).
If you are against that, well as I said, you were probably right when you said we couldn’t make you any worse as a person.
ok. I still think some of you here in the comments are encouraging misogyny so you can mock it….pecunium and Fibinachi sound legit, the rest of you are angry and gay.
my reasoned and logical explanation as to why you are all gay is here, in the form of this Seinfeld clip.
Yep, we sound totally gay. Totally gay.
…
Wait, do you mean that as a bad thing? What the fuck is worng with sounding gay?
Homophobic asshole.
wat
Sure, there are probably some gay people commenting here. What’s your point?
Oh! I see, you meant that as an insult! So what were you saying about “8th grade level insults”, again?
Still waiting on a link to something you actually disagree with there, champ.
https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/3845201408/hA5FDD5EA/
Is anyone else laughing at “wronger”?
WTF dude? Sound “gay”?
I don’t suppose you noticed that I insulted you; and praised the commentariat.
When I said you spoke a truth, it’s because I am pretty sure you can’t become a worse person; you are at rock bottom for moral clarity, have no skill at reasoning and think playing “gotcha” is debate.
You pretend to nihilism but it’s a sham. You’re a poser. Probably a classic troll, trying to get people frothing,and angry.
Good luck with that. We’ve seen it before, by professional (and wannabes, you and Talacaris could swap notes… he’s about as good at as you are). Morons, fools, liars, ideologues and conspiracy theorists; we’ve had ’em all. A crank like you, pretending that mocking misogyny makes it stronger by making it ridiculous? Please.
There’s a reason lèse-majesté was a capital crime… laughing at power weakens it.
You are opposed to laughing at misogyny. That’s about as low as it gets, it’s hard to be worse than that; because supporting misogyny means supporting the institutional, and social, hatred and degradation of women.
And you don’t care; because making light of it, mocking the practitioners of it is, “incivil”
Fuck that, I’m gonna shout back.
Angry and gay? Nice try, asshole.
“We’re all about them Men’s Rights. Just not for men Men who like Men.”
Never fails. Or “Always Fail.” One or the other.
yes I am opposed to laughing at misogyny, someone tells me a woman-sandwich joke, I do not laugh. you do? you’re looking at my methods through a keyhole, when really you should be *zooms out*
I do not laugh at misogyny as misogyny is no laughing matter. now you’ve resorted to just making stuff up – “You’re a poser. Probably a classic troll, trying to get people frothing,and angry.” – you were already frothing and angry when I got here. also when did I say “incivil”? I didn’t, I’m saying you’re adding fuel to the misogynistic fire, the fire that you can then conveniently douse. and make yourself the hero.
you must understand you are making the pre-existing misogynists more misogynistic?
worst. gotcha. ever.
i: Nope.
i.
Oh, Flump.
We don’t laugh at misogynistic jokes here.
WE. MOCK. MISOGYNY.
Fella makes a sammich joke in front of me? I don’t laugh at his joke.
WE. MOCK. MISOGYNY.
But that distinction is lost on you.
Dude. It’s like you’re trying to be dense. Are you really this obtuse? To use your analogy, we’re not laughing along at the joke, you moron, we’re mocking the jokers.
“Are you really this obtuse?” no I am not, but the misogynist is, all he hears is “laughing”
put yourself in the mindset of a misogynist, now read this comment section. you are all laughing indirectly at a woman-sandwich joke.
= happy misogynist. get it?
When did you say we were being incivil… when you said we shouldn’t mock misogynists.
Let me refresh your memory (seems silly, you wrote it, and all, but maybe you were busy with less important things).
So you got upset with us for being “absurd”. You then started to make things up (which you later claimed is wrong, I’ll get back to that). when you said we were,”making up” misogyny where it doesn’t exist.
Are you saying the MGTOW fora aren’t full of misogyny? Are you saying links provided here are false? That we are secretly the Misogynist MGTOWs?
Now who’s making shit up? You came in here (on the FAQ) and started being a shit, accusing us of “doing it wrong” because we were mean to the misogynists, and then you said it was because we are so sad and depressed in our everyday lives that we have to pretend there are misogynists in the world.
And you have the cheek to get upset that someone called you out for being a troll?
That’s rich. If I put that into a film or a play it would be so over the top no one would believe it. That;s up there with George Zimmerman saying the Boston bombing happened because precious resources were diverted to investigate his son (while the real racists [i.e. is Black People] are allowed to walk the streets unmolested). You can’t make this shit up, no one will believe it.
Pecunium said it best; I have nothing to add.
Welp, that pretty much proves it. You really are dumber than a sack of hammers. By this logic, Paul Elam LUUUUUURVES manboobz.com. Why, I bet he even donates to it on a regular basis!
Flump: put yourself in the mindset of a misogynist, now read this comment section. you are all laughing indirectly at a woman-sandwich joke.
Walk me through it. Show me the parallels. Because I don’t seem them. I see two very different sorts of humor.