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.
“Your site has turned me gay. Thank God I don’t have to deal with you women anymore. Enjoy your feminist dystopia!”
Firstly that has to be the feeblest comeback in living memory. You weren’t born gay. No you were TURNED gay. Kind of makes you look a bit pathetic don’tcha think?
Secondly you have no idea who we are/what we look like so in that respect you wouldn’t actually know if you’d dealt with us would you ie you may accidentally drop your shopping and one of us notices a tin of beans that has rolled under a chair and kindly hands it back to you. It may be anyone from here.
And finally while we’re enjoying our feminist utopia (yes we spotted your error there you!) you make sure you enjoy your pity party for one. Have a nice day.
@pecunium
Ft. Campbell, 13F, 6.5 years active and 1.5 IRR, my discharge was a Chapter 4 (you know completion of required time in service).
Unfortunately, you are truly a gamma male. As for your feminist wife, well, you’ll change your tune when she rapes you in the court. I am done talking with you morons.
@CR Williams: Farewell, then. Don’t let the door hit your misogynist arse on the way out…..
CR: Please remember to stick the flounce. Points will be deducted upon your return.
Awwww…did I miss something? What a shame. >pout<
I hate how men like him use the word rape in their drama queen farewells. It was a word that used to mean something. Now it’s used against women for all manner of insulting reasons. Look at meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee being the main one.
Wait wait wait, back the marriage bus up. I missed the wedding?! But I wanted to get you a mango slicer as a wedding gift! (That is, mostly, not snark ^.^ )
So, knowing pecunium’s beloved, unlike asswipe here, may I say that she’s a lovely person and they are ADORBS together?
Isn’t It Ironic — given how often “drama queen” is applied to women with legit complaints, maybe don’t use it against whiney self-entitled douches?
Asswipe — your flounce gets a 3/10 from me, would be a 2, but feeling the need to define your discharge, not just list the chapter, earns an extra point. Standard -2 if you don’t stick the flounce.
Pecunium — now I’m curious, what was your official discharge? Medical? Or did they let you properly retire? *math* cuz you did what, 10 years? No, more than that…12? Brain fart on the details…
Color me unimpressed.
An F/O (if we are generous enough to say you advanced past the 10 level skillset), who did 6 1/2 and didn’t deploy; must have been really good at it (esp. as you didn’t list the expanded MOS, with skill level and ASI).
I did 16, have an 80 percent disability rating (Service connected, combat related): my MOS was 97E30LRUH00. I did 16. I taught my MOS in the schoolhouse. There are people working today (and will be for another decade) whom I trained to their tasks. I know how the Army works, and what causes divorces. I saw it from before I enlisted (I wasn’t fresh out of HS), and I saw it before OEF/OIF. I saw it when guys got back from Bosnia, and I saw it when they got back from being stupid on TDY. Your fantasies about how it’s “all the women” are just that, the fever dreams of your dashed hopes: again, it’s not them, it’s you.
But (since you were so predictable) tell me, son, why I’m “gamma”. What are my failings in the mystical art of manliness? What about my appearance, my attitude and bearing means women don’t want to fuck me?
Tell me all about how I’ve wanted for sexual companionship (or that the women who do want me are all ugly). Explain how they have used me, and I’ve gotten nothing out of it. Tell me how my hobbies aren’t sexy, and my achievements are dull.
Of course you could try to be a bit more rational than a teenager in the throes of carbonating hormones and actually address the arguments made to you; the ones you have stuck your fingers in your ears while squeezing shut your eyes to pretend they didn’t happen.
I could use the laughs.
Oh,. Williams: One isn’t discharged on completion under a chapter: one gets a code.
Expiration of term of enlistment will be Code 203 on your DD-214, with a code 205 showing the transfer to the IRR. If you actually got around to requesting the your Discharge Certificate it will be annotated to show a code 202, with a characterisation of service.
Most people never request a Discharge, and make do with the DD-214, because, barring some few circumstances where the nature of one’s discharge is an issue, it doesn’t matter.
Mine, because of how things went ought to be a bit more complex, it probably reads 203/205/202, and might have a retroactive 77M, relating to my disability rating.
“…the throes of carbonating hormones” is one of the best turns of phrases I’ve read in awhile. 🙂
CR keeps saying he’s going his own way. Will he actually go his own way this time?
The suspense is killing me.
“Tell me how my hobbies aren’t sexy,”
Idk, I find a man with a sword pretty hot. It just occurred to me that both my ex-FWB and pharm student can work a sword well enough. (My brother’s getting a couple for Christmas, I cannot wait to give them a go)
16 years…they kept you around after heli’ing you out of theatre longer than I thought. They still give discharge papers in fancy leather folios? My grandfather’s original papers are around here someplace, my brother would know where.
Seriously though, when’d you get a wife? Baring issues of my sanity, I wanna be there damnit!
…now I want to go practice with my staff (well, bamboo stick) but it’s dark out and there isn’t really room indoors to safely practice. (The risk of whacking the ceiling is moot when actually engaging in defense, when practicing…yeah, Mom Anger Consequences)
The wedding(s) have not yet taken place. I think he may be confusing “exes” with marriages.
Then again, since I am of an age where most marriages are successful, I’m not too worried about how it will go if we divorce.
My last breakup (of shared living space) went really well, since I was poor, she paid for my phone for about a year, as well as her mother storing my stuff for about the same.
So the, “women will screw you in the divorce” thing… seems to be about the dudes, not the women.
And about those women with “15 kids shared among 10 fathers”: That’s bullshit.
I was kidding, I know what the deal is there. Though, does everyone else? Or is this SUPER SECRET INFO? Cuz I know you wore many army hated, literally and figuratively, but I didn’t think secret agent was among them…not that…o.O? I knew it! You’re a TERf spy! That other troll was right!
Please hand me the booze, I clearly have a case of the sillies.
And if you divorce…you two rank among the top two cutest couples I’ve known. The other is like, the gay couple you bring home to grandma to show her that they’re really just sweet people in love. (General advice guys — never ask your housemate if they can hear you fucking, if they weren’t sure if that’s what they were hearing, they are now)
Huh…their not legal wedding was by far the awesomely thing I’ve attended. You’ll have that to contend with too… (like twenty of us, nice hillside view of Pittsburgh from one of the parks, sunset, had a friend read some really sweet pagan-esque vows…just a small little thing, but nearly free and entirely beautiful)
They also kinda saved the last shreds of my sanity. It was them, me, and narcissist ex in the house his parents had bought him. So I at least had some reality check on his gaslighting.
Acid now I’m all reminiscing, don’t mind me.
And, not acid. Though acid probably would’ve helped reattach my head from the gaslighting — the reminder that I’m actually quite good at telling objective reality from subjective reality.
Was I a “spy”? No, but I worked with spies, and helped train people to spot them/spy on them.
My job had some “secret squirrel” shit.
And no, it’s not a secret.
Like you’d say if you were :-p
And if it isn’t a secret, why don’t you spill the beans? Not my beans to spill, as squee as I am about it.
Ah…I see the problem here. You’re all too much work tired huh? I’ve gone and snapped my brain into hypomanic mode. You’ve seen me all goofy flirty right? Read all comments in that tone. Serious, I am currently incapable of it. (Like, I’m humming secret agent man ^.^ )
Even though I consider myself to be among the MGTOW cadre I do demand increased equality among the 2 main genders and whatever additional gender-types have entered the fray (trans-sexual and others proclaiming they are outside the M/F duality).
One demand I have is that females in the USA be required by law, as males are, to sign up for the military draft and to be subject to a draft if enacted.
To achieve parity I want the vast majority of draftees to be females until a general equality is attained with the numbers of dead and maimed males from past wars. To ease the determination I would start with World War 1.
Another area where equality is a must is with criminal sentencing. Too often, females receive lesser sentences than males do. Criminal sentencing must be equalized among the gender!!!!!
Another life aspect is the woeful number of males maimed or dying performing the tasks that keep the USA operating on a daily basis. As a society we must do all we can to get females employed in those high-risk jobs that traditionally have high injury/death rates. Those jobs TEND to pay above the norm for blue-collar jobs so more females employed in those areas will up the average female wage rate!!! A double win!!!! Increased equity in pay AND negative aspects of being employed.
What should appease some of the feminists is that my MGTOW lifestyle includes shunning females as much as possible. I keep my distance so my presence, actions, and other aspects of my life should never offend the dainty dames.
Of course, my shunning includes remaining aloof if something negative affects a female. If you are physically attacked by anyone or any thing, do not expect me to step in. Has danger or peril entered your life? Bye… I am out of there.
And such is life. I do sincerely hope that USA females attain all the rights and privileges that are rightfully theirs!!!
If only the gals would be as incessantly demanding of the requirement to accept equal responsibilities that males tend to bear the burden of.
It’s EQUALITY, baby. Accept it. All the aspects of it.
I’d be too busy fighting off my attacker to even notice you were there. What a coward to run away when a woman gets attacked. Shameful behaviour. As for joining the army, I’m sure many women would while you can stay at home and breast feed the baby. In fact in the name of equality why aren’t you giving birth yet.
So do we have to wait until the women actually get killed in combat, or can we just line the women up and shoot them?
But, sure, we can give it a try. Meanwhile, we’ll revoke men’s right to vote or hold office for 120 years or so. But don’t worry, you won’t miss it, you’ll be much too busy working during our several centuries of enslaving all white people.
Can men become the property of their wives, and have no rights to their own income and property, too?
Hahaha. Ignoring the suffering of other human beings when you are entirely capable of helping them is just wonderful.