Friday, August 15, 2014

More WebFem Nonsense About Misandry: Amanda Marcotte Outdoes Herself

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Wow. Marcotte just seems to be getting worse and worse.

One hardly knows where to begin with this screed. And I've got better things to do.

So I'll just say this and move on:

Feminism has a problem. A big problem. Very few people identify as feminists anymore--and for good reasons.  I'm in lots and lots of good company when I say: I used to be a feminist; feminism was, in fact, very important to me; but now I don't consider myself one anymore. Feminism isn't what it used to be.

To paraphrase Saint Ronnie of Hollywood (with whom I disagree about almost everything, incidentally):
I didn't leave feminism; feminism left me.

Feminism's problems are caused largely by its vocal lunatic fringe. But that fringe is not really a fringe--it's the vanguard, or something like it. This vanguard is significantly populated by illiberal, irrationalist radical leftists. That might possibly be forgiven, but more mainstream feminists tend to refuse to criticize the radical vanguard, and often even refuse to acknowledge that it exists.

And: actual anti-male attitudes are extremely common in the vanguard of feminism.

Look, as I've said, I'm not a humor cop. And I think misandry jokes are just fine...so long as they're really jokes. However, given the fact that a fair number of influential neo-feminists really do seem to dislike men...well, it's fairly clear that the "jokes" aren't always 100% jokey.

They seem like yet another attempt by certain feminists to eat their cake and have it to. In this case, a fair number of them are, by many indications, at least semi-serious. They obviously have very negative views of men--at least men who disagree with them--and so their claim that it's all just a joke rings hollow. Though the very same jokes made by my female friends, or anyone else who I knew to be pure of heart, would be funny. Because that's how humor works.

This is all exacerbated by the fact that the extremist fringe of feminism is renown for its humorlessness and humor policing--and would never tolerate equal and opposite humor.

Me, I don't care much about this. Though I do care that the vanguard of feminism is corrupt and awful. Nobody's getting all upset about the popularity of misandry jokes among web feminists, except insofar as it does highlight the actual existence of real misandry in the relevant sectors.

I do have to say that I think that gif from 9 to 5 with everybody dressed up like fairy godmothers and toasting misandry is pretty freakin' funny...

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