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.
I wasn’t aware that Japan had been taken over by feminists and that’s why the birth rate is low. You learn something new every day!
But WWTH, how will they satisfy their creepy “submissive Asian women” fetish if at least the Japanese ones are feminists? WHAT ABOUT THE MENZ?
@ paradoxical intention
Really? The NHS will shortly be drilling me for some bone marrow so this is all kind of fascinating.
If women are already gtow (“leaving the nuclear family”), then mgtow are the social equivalent of “you can’t fire me, I quit!”
If MGTOW were actually GTOW, they wouldn’t keep coming back to women with these YOU’LL BE SO SORRY WHEN WE’RE GONE screeds. It’s like a 9-year-old “running away from home” who keeps coming back into the living room to say, “I’m really doing it! I’m really leaving! You can’t stop me!” instead of just leaving.
If you’re going your own way, fucking go already and stop coming back to whine about how the adults don’t care enough about your kiddie tantrum.
I love how women are ‘leaving the nuclear family’ but men are ‘opting out’. Women’s default state is in the family, men’s is outside of the family, lol. Never mind that neither women or men start out ‘in the family’ and then leave, they just never have kids to begin with.
Actually, both men and women are ‘opting out’ of having a family with children in Japan (and increasingly in the US, btw) and choosing to focus on having a good career and being able to support themselves because the two goals are mutually exclusive. The cost of living is such that providing a middle class lifestyle for a family of three or four on a single income is largely impossible. People need two incomes per family to survive, but work/life balance is non-existent and daycare costs are enormous. Neither parent can afford to take unpaid time to be with a new baby and most employers don’t offer paid time sufficient to meet the needs of a new baby (I think Google may be the exception in the US). Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. So more people are choosing to make the best of their own lives and careers, and in a society that highly values good work ethic over most anything else, who can blame them?
My fiance and I have talked about this ourselves, and we’re in a similar bind. We’re in our 30’s, and want to have a kid someday, but neither one of us makes enough money alone to support a stay at home spouse and a child. And neither of us have paid time off other than our normal vacation time. FMLA is unpaid time, and insufficient in length anyway.
Feminists have been fighting in many countries for mandatory paid parental leave (paternity and maternity) so that working people can also have a family. Who knows, maybe the decline in the birth rate in Japan will be the swift kick in the pants the corporations and government need to implement more family friendly policies?
Exactly. Feminists aren’t anti-family, they’re anti-women-must-raise-children-and-do-it-without-help. Lord knows there are enough right wingers trying to force that sort of thing through the Senate, what with anti-abortion bills AND proposed cuts on welfare. Can’t have it both ways, sweethearts, or you wind up with many more families in poverty.
These guys always talk about “plummeting population rates” and “the destruction of the nuclear family [always talking about some narrow and oppressive “Leave it to Beaver” fantasy, not how actual families ever were and are now]” like these were bad things.
Oh, it is. It so is.
Dudes who never seem to go anywhere despite their promises,
I live smack on the shiny brass buckle of the Bible Belt. People have been trying to doom and gloom me into submission since I was a child. I’m not afraid of the sky falling if I have rights and make my own decisions. I never will. To me, you sound like a less charismatic fundamentalist preacher. I’ve got your number. You wish that fire would rain from the skies and the seas would turn to blood to punish women, LGBTQ people and our allies for failing to comply with demands you have no right to make. Your mouth is writing a check you’re ass can’t cash. If all the bigots go away, the world will be just peachy. White, straight, cis, well off, male bigots are not the most brilliant, special people on the planet. They do not possess special skills or attributes. We do not need them. They need us. The privileged are not the inventors of or stewards of civilization. They thrive on unpaid and inadequately compensated labor. So, go away and take the screaming street preachers with you. We’ll be fine.
Oh, and dudes? White guys telling women to be nice to them lest the icky brown men get us is just racist as fuck.
Last I heard it was true, though I haven’t heard much about it lately.
@ paradoxical intention
Well, waddayanknow, here’s an article:
http://www.nature.com/news/rudimentary-egg-and-sperm-cells-made-from-stem-cells-1.16636
I love this sort of thing.
@Paul
By MRAS. The people who live in reality see it slightly differently
The prime minister of Japan now believes that creating a culture where mothers can hold jobs is one of the most important changes Japan needs to make. They need to stop the patriarchal “man brings home the money, woman works at home” and replace it with something more equitable. Dare I say, more feminist.
As for the men “opting out” and “going their own way” by becoming shut-ins, that’s more a result of social shame in a culture where “one’s status and reputation are paramount and hard to change.” They are not the majority by a long-shot.
Meanwhile, while the US birth rate is technically declining at the moment (due to the recent recession, mostly), it appears to have been quite stable for a few decades.
http://www.pewresearch.org/files/2013/09/FT_Birth_Rates.png
I’d guess that the rise of contraceptive use is the biggest factor in the huge drop starting in the 1960s, but like other people have said; the US is nowhere near having any population issues. In fact, it appears to have made the birth rate much more stable through recessions or economic booms.
Heh, no. Feminism is not the cause for Japan’s issues. In fact it appears to be the solution.
The idea that Japan is now a feminist stronghold is HILARIOUS to me. Guys, no. No. Just because shounen-ai exists does NOT make it a feminist stronghold, sorry.
Mr David, you are an omega male! http://www.mgtow.com/glossary/ but women are well aware of your existence! 🙂
https://imgflip.com/i/kqoxo
I thought Chuck Heston was the Omega Man.
I don’t know if all women everywhere are aware of the existence of David Futrelle. Certainly some are, which can be confirmed by the fact that I am a woman, and I know David exists. But there must be some women who haven’t heard of him, yes? Or is he just that unbelievably famous?
@Viscaria
Well, those cats in the ferret suits in the David suit are masters of disguise. Maybe every woman does know David, she just doesn’t know she knows him.
Does anyone else find it hilarious that the MGTOW logo is a dead-end road forking angrily off the main road?
They should change their logo to a rotary.
I got recognized on the street once. They yelled out “hey there’s the guy that stole my wallet!”
(Not actually true.)
@Buttercup Q. Skullpants:
Nah, I find it hilarious that it’s an erect penis.
This list is good but needs SJW added.
SJW: A fictional creature similar to a faerie or a zombie.
Honestly, while I do think that more feminism is always better, regarding the shitfit that people are throwing about declining birth rates, I really think we need to move towards an economic system that ISN’T based around having an ever-larger base of younger generations to prop up the system like some kind of sick pyramid scheme. Because the human population physically cannot just keep growing into infinity. We have a limited amount of space and resources. So throwing around better support structures for mothers (while I agree that a better safety net and minimum guaranteed standard of living are important) and creating more incentives for people to breed is at best a band-aid solution on a much, much bigger problem, and at worst accelerating our downfall into complete resource and environmental collapse.