And This Is Your Brain On Feminism
Feminist Current is apparently “Canada’s leading feminist website.” Its editor Meghan Murphy tells us that “female students are under constant threat” and that all women everywhere live in a state of unending terror:
And who is it we fear? Is it other women? No. It is a male. A male with a penis that he may or may not use as a weapon.
Armed with a mind of infinite subtlety, Ms Murphy has more than a few ideas on how to combat this throbbing phallocratic menace:
There are solutions: a feminist revolution… an end to masculinity… all of that would help.
An end to masculinity. Yes, I know, it’s quite a project. But first, baby steps:
It’s time to consider a curfew for men.
One more time:
While a curfew would not resolve the problem of patriarchy and male violence against women, it does, in a way, address entitlement and privilege… The more I consider the idea of a curfew for men, the more it makes sense.
Why, it almost sounds like a gratuitous power fantasy, the product of an unwell mind. Of course a curfew will make dating rather difficult if you’re not a lesbian, and overnight motorway maintenance will have to be done exclusively by ladies. And there’ll be no more working nights to support your family, you indecently privileged patriarchal shitlord. Happily, however, our collective punishment as menfolk may not be eternal:
After a designated period of time, we’ll allow them back on the streets after dark to see how it goes.
Clearly, Ms Murphy is determined to upend idle stereotypes of feminists as batty misandrists unmoored from reality. An iconoclasm underlined by her biographical blurb:
Meghan Murphy, founder and editor of Feminist Current, is a freelance writer and journalist. She completed a master’s degree in the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University in 2012 and lives in Vancouver, B.C., with her dog.
A bitch, presumably.
Meghan is also available to teach workshops on advocacy journalism.
Good to know.
As you might imagine, the readers’ comments at “Canada’s leading feminist website” are also quite… special. There, you’ll learn that in addition to a gender curfew, “there should be a limit on how many men can congregate together in public places at any time of day.” Because “three [men] together constitutes a gang.” You’ll also learn of the urgent need to “break apart the white family, the foremost institution of oppression,” and that, obviously, “all men rape occasionally.”
Via Joan.
Update:
Ms Murphy instructs her readers in feminist life skills.
Oh, I get punished because some other men are bad? This argument would be torn to shreds by a civics class of 16 year-olds. If a teacher lead a discussion with this argument, the class would laugh at him for something so weak.
Such was how my elementary school was run. On several occasions the entire class was kept in from recess because of the misbehavior of a few. Of course the teachers were women. But then some would say it was good experience for how marine boot camps work. Not sure what that means.
On several occasions the entire class was kept in from recess because of the misbehavior of a few.
Reminds me of an unfortunate incident in fifth grade when a few ne’er-do-wells opened several hundred milkweed pods into a trash can and then directed a fan into it to spread thousands fluffy seeds over the first floor of our elementary school. Nobody squealed inasmuch as the fifth grade version of Omertà is pretty strong incentive. I wonder if the statute of limitations is up on that incident.
Asking for a friend.
But then some would say it was good experience for how marine boot camps work. Not sure what that means.
When one recruit screws up, the other recruits can rather often get the flak along with that recruit.
In Marine boot camp, the drill instructors will make very clear that there is my Marine Corps, but the closest that a recruit gets to being an individual is only “This recruit”, rather than I . . . a very definite emphasis is that there is no individual Marine, there is a general collection of Marines, with a general responsibility to make certain that individuals don’t screw things up.
—Not my personal direct experience, but definitely reported in rather a bit of detail here and there . . . . Here’s one collection . . .
Etc.
Dicentra/
Kate @SmallDeadAnimals once stated that she wouldn’t mind giving up her vote if she could be sure that she could take all the rest of them with her, LOL!!
I’m not sure if this site has been linked here before, but I’m quite certain this crew will appreciate some :: ahem :: less-than-subtle satire.
http://reductress.com/
@Siny Norman/
LOL. The new SWPL…but way more over-the-top. Reads like something Kathryn Timpf would write–or at least read on a regular basis. Bonnie McFarlane also comes to mind..
Sorry Spiney…I know spell-check is my friend and I don’t visit her often enough, but can’t even type a word while looking at it? Time to hit the Adderall..lol
A curfew for men.
Who are the feminists going to get to enforce it.
Oh, one of the dirty secrets of feminism is that as much as its advocates rail against patriarchy, they rely on men to enforce their orders. What this lot do is what Alison Tieman calls “damselling” – playing the poor little victim to get men to protect them against the big bad man.
If you can stomach it, check Milo vs the two feminists. Watch carefully. When the feminists are criticised on account of being liars, they play the hurt little girl.
But then, this is a woman of such mental heft she took on crippling debt and wasted years of her life to get a degree that’s intellectually worthless and will actively repel any sane employer.
Snork. That.
Snork. That.
And it’s not a trivial detail. If you want a life full of alienation, failure, resentment and habitual captiousness, then wasting years of your youth and tens of thousands of dollars on a degree in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies is a good way to start. Apparently, it will also encourage a habit of dogmatism, censoriousness and mental agoraphobia, such that critical comments and corrections are either blocked and deleted or pre-emptively dismissed with chants of “Hey, hey, MRA.” And that degree in Women’s Studies is her badge of class status, of mental sophistication, of being an intellectual.
Who are the feminists going to get to enforce it
Guys like David Greenwald, apparently. Who was given this polite little checklist and, rather than reading it and responding, started hitting his block button, as Kate Smurthwaite has been busy doing lately…
Or maybe guys like Steve Shives, who likes to furiously berate all men via YouTube – whilst apparently not wearing the proverbial trousers in his relationship.
Please don’t piss in our gardens.
Or shit in our showers, thank you.
Why are penises hogging all the glory here?
Surely testicles deserve a little respect too?
When the feminists are criticised on account of being liars, they play the hurt little girl.
To her credit, the ginger girl with glasses – who I believe is one of the contributors at Spiked – said she found this act to be extremely condescending towards women. She gave a good account of herself throughout the whole exchange, I thought.
Meanwhile, over at Feminist Current:
Other, older comment threads, in which infidels rarely talk back, are of course still open.
Other, older comment threads, in which infidels rarely talk back, are of course still open.
That’s what I like about feminists. They’re so open to being disagreed with… 🙂
That’s what I like about feminists. They’re so open to being disagreed with… 🙂
I think the idea is you either defer almost instantly or just stand there silently, head bowed, while they chide you at great length and with disproportionate indignation.
From the comments: “we are seeing rape gangs that are FUNDED by white supremacist right wingers sexually assaulting european [sic] women”. So, essentially, in this woman’s view, the German rape crisis is the fault of evil, heterosexual, racist white males, who are exhibiting their supremacist neo-colonial mindset of exploiting cheap immigrant labour to impose an oppressive, patriarchal system on women. Now, I’m no farmer, but I know bullshit when I see it. More seriously, how does anyone become so intellectually damaged that they actually believe this is a sane and rational view to hold?
Apparently men belong in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant.
More seriously, how does anyone become so intellectually damaged that they actually believe this is a sane and rational view to hold?
Hard to say for sure. My impression is that Women’s Studies courses and third-wave feminism in general attract a high concentration of certain, rather obnoxious personality types, a certain disposition. And I suppose once you’ve wasted years of your life and a huge amount of money on this supposed credential, this regurgitation of bollocks, you’re kind of invested in it. It’s your badge of cleverness. It becomes the basis of your political persona and in-group status, and who you like to tell people you are.
It can’t be easy to have learned how to beg questions and how to cough up boilerplate – and then go, “Oh bugger, I’ve wasted my once-in-a-lifetime chance at university. I’m now horribly in debt with a worthless degree.”
See, for instance, this.
More seriously, how does anyone become so intellectually damaged that they actually believe this is a sane and rational view to hold?
I suggest you talk to a psychologist or even some psychiatrists. There you will then find your answer.
…the German rape crisis is the fault of evil, heterosexual, racist white males,…More seriously, how does anyone become so intellectually damaged that they actually believe this is a sane and rational view to hold?
Well, Angela Merkel is rather mannish.
@Captain Nemo re: “we are seeing rape gangs that are FUNDED by white supremacist right wingers sexually assaulting european [sic] women”.
That’s why we need immigration. For all those jobs that white men won’t do.
Kate @SmallDeadAnimals once stated that she wouldn’t mind giving up her vote if she could be sure that she could take all the rest of them with her, LOL!!
Chuck in Anyone On The Dole and you’ve got a deal.
how does anyone become so intellectually damaged that they actually believe this is a sane and rational view to hold?
You’re making two erroneous assumptions: (a) that she wants to hold a sane and rational view; (b) that what she says correlates to what she believes.
Remember that we are dealing with seriously nasty pieces of work; their motives are alien to the rest of us, who cannot imagine anyone being so hell-bent on destroying things that don’t need wrecking.
Their only true belief is that they ought to be in control of everything and that their enemies should be destroyed. They say whatever is necessary to achieve that goal.
And that, I’m afraid, is perfectly sane and rational given the desired end.
“started hitting his block button, as Kate Smurthwaite has been busy doing lately…”
I must confess I did set out , and succeeded in getting blocked by, said Ms Smurthwaite.
I think the comment that did it was pointing out that even getting a nice set of plastic tits (which she has) wasn’t going to distract blokes from the relentless bile and bullshit coming out of her mouth.
“Women’s Studies courses…this regurgitation of bollocks”
Is that really an item of consumption in rad fem circles? /ducks
Well, I suppose they’ve got to do something with the bits of the emasculated men, pst314.
“Remember that we are dealing with seriously nasty pieces of work…”
Yup. Where is the ball gag when you need one?
“got to do something with the bits of the emasculated men”
Well, it’s environmentally correct but hardly sustainable.
dicentra beat me to it, and is more eloquent anyway
I think many feminists like her are easily understood when you take it as a given that they want to see more women like themselves in power. I suspect that to a great degree they project their ‘will to power’ onto men and treat politics as a zero sum game, with men as the monolithic force of patriarchy working in defense of their illegitimate rule.
Apparently Meghan Murphy is something of a moderate
You’re making two erroneous assumptions: (a) that she wants to hold a sane and rational view; (b) that what she says correlates to what she believes.
At one job, I watched someone arrive and get utterly and absolutely incompetently trained because the title of “trainer” had been given to a narcissist whose primary interests involve hearing himself talk and in making narcissistic and incoherent videos that an entire department is required to watch.
The new arrival then demonstrated her lack of comprehension of her new job at just about any time she was working with customers. Because her arrival required justification by the current regime, she was handed a recurring project of announcing the new processes that the department would be carrying out. She soon was heard nearly cursing out a customer on the phone because the customer asked about one of the new programs that she had helped announce, where she kept insisting that the customer was totally wrong, there was no such program. This was while the rest of us were simply trying to get a source of documentation for that new program so that we could explain it in detail.
Next the lead sockpuppet allegedly in charge of the department then read off the latest script that his puppeteers had handed him. He announced that the new arrival was an astoundingly successful person, that she had been doing utterly and absolutely excellent work, and therefore she was being promoted to be in charge of all the new announcements.
Her first conference to announce the newest arrival was an unbroken series of statements of We’ll get back to you on that. At one point she finally declared that the new arrival had particular features that are just like a certain other product. Almost to a one, the entire department then immediately corrected her in unison, pointing out that the already present product that she’d allegedly been trained in had different features.
About a day after that latest abject failure to declare Having A Title to be more important than actually doing the work, an email was sent out to the department telling of an additional different arriving product. The email was coherent and comprehensive—and sent out from a neighbouring department by someone who previously had been consistently and excellently making the announcements.
All in all, with the ongoing and insistent demand for proactive and celebrated incompetence there, my failure as a manager while I was there was in not getting out of there four to six years earlier than I did.
Simon Fraser University does have a very good Pipe Band.
Cheers
“Very good pipe band” is an oxymoron.
“Very good pipe band” is an oxymoron.
Oh, I dunno. Unfortunately, not all of them can be excellent.
Apparently Meghan Murphy is something of a moderate.
That post reads like it was written while Ms. “Wind” was listening to an endless loop of Linda Ronstadt singing You’re No Good and When Will I Find Love, doesn’t it.
Dicentra
Remember that we are dealing with seriously nasty pieces of work
Well, I suspect you know better than I, but I suspect David also has a point when he points out how much of their lives they’ve invested in this ideological activism.
Even though some of it is based on whipped-up paranoia & resentment – it’s become their identity, and the rationale for some seriously bossy, volatile behaviour. Rather embarrassing to have to turn round and say:
“Oh yeah. By the way, turns out you were right that patriarchy doesn’t exist. Sorry about for the shouting,… and for that time I hit you in the whatsits, shame about that… and er sorry to call your friend a misogynist on facebook so noone would date him for a couple of years etctec”
And for their own sanity, oddly, they need to think they’ve been behind the right cause all along. Be a bit deflating for some folk, to not have a good cause.
But they want to be nice too. Many of them turn around occasionally and say, “hey I like men too – that’s one of the myths about feminism”. And they wear pink badges with the word “Feminist” surrounded by nice, nice flowers…
has a point when he points out
I think I’d better not try for that career as a writer
When it comes to clunky prose, I’ve seen much, much worse.
@David, @dicentra, Thank you for those explanations, they go some way to explaining the mindset of these people. I only asked as I was curious as to how one ends up with that worldview.
Captain Nemo – January 20, 2016 at 14:39: More seriously, how does anyone become so intellectually damaged that they actually believe this is a sane and rational view to hold?
“One has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: no ordinary man could be such a fool.” – George Orwell.
“I see a huge opportunity for mail order brides from Asian and Russia.”
Having seen the results in several acquaintances attempts…. you might get a year if they don’t speak English. After that, the “sisterhood” has informed them of all their “rights” and that they have no responsibilities… except to the sisterhood by making your life h*ll
It certainly still being the case that one should not ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, my corollary to Hanlon’s Razor is that at some point stupidity becomes so wilful and so refractory to correction that it takes on the shape of malice. Or, to paraphrase another eponymous law: sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from malice.
“…sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from malice.”
I like that; and it sure makes sense in this context. So that’s Gillies’s Law, henceforth.