This comment by Daran on the post This Infograph About Privilege Made My Day
Well perhaps you could explain to me why Men’s rights activists regularly attack me and why I am on a list on A Voice For Men that declares “fuck you” to awful awful feminists?
I can’t speak for Men’s Rights Activist or for aVfM. I personally find you frustrating, and I sense that some others here feel the same way. I may be able to throw some light on that.
You are talking to a bunch of men some of whom, in various and diverse ways, have found their mere maleness to be a source of scrutiny and suspicion. They have found that being male has made their lives harder and left without influence in society. And they’ve seen the same dynamics that crushed them operating to the detriment of men throughout the world. And you’re saying to these men: “Your experiences are not valid. Your lives did not happen as you experienced them. What you see happening to other men isn’t happening. You should shut up and let me and other women describe how gender affects you and other men.”
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Question of the Day:
Do you agree with George Carlin about men and women, and if you do, what can we do the change that?
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Agreed there again. You got me thinking some more on this too, so forgive me if I go on again for a bit: I don’t know if I call it “anger from men against feminists” but I would say that there are logical and rhetorically irreconcilable differences with it; with much of feminisms’ very rigid dogmas that underlie and inform its worldview. Ideologies exist to better understand society, reality & causality, and to make sense of our world. An ideology’s efficacy is based on its ability to explain & persuade; and to do so a manner that resonates as truthful, relevant,… Read more »
Daran, I very much agree with your observation- but I feel obligated to also point out that others might be inclined to critique it, saying: ‘Well, we could just flip the script around’ and say: “You are talking to a bunch of women, some of whom, in various and diverse ways, have found their mere gender to be a source of scrutiny and suspicion. They have found that being female has made their lives harder and left without influence in society. And they’ve seen the same dynamics that crushed them operating to the detriment of women thoughout the world. And… Read more »
The Carlin comment was a conversation starter. I don’t think George actually believed that “men are stupid and women are crazy”. I think he was making a point about perception and how difficult it is to see yourself and your gender in an objective light vs. the ease of blaming all on the other gender when discussing how the sexes interact.
Daran, I very much agree with your observation- but I feel obligated to also point out that others might be inclined to critique it, saying: ‘Well, we could just flip the script around’ and say: “You are talking to a bunch of women, some of whom, in various and diverse ways, have found their mere gender to be a source of scrutiny and suspicion. They have found that being female has made their lives harder and left without influence in society. And they’ve seen the same dynamics that crushed them operating to the detriment of women thoughout the world. And you’re… Read more »
Why on earth would I agree with the sentiment that men collectively are defective, and women collective are not defective, but passive (i.e. they do not act of their own will, but only react to men — the same thought that poisons most male dating advice)?
Great comment.
Disagree with the Carlin quote. Men n women are often gendered to react differently, doesn’t make either crazy. Men are expected to be more direct and women less direct so that lack of direct “saying what the problem is outright” can be confused with crazy.