Weepy And Hysterical
Men, listen up… Join me, with due diligence and civic duty, and publicly claim: I am sexist!
In the pages of the New York Times, a philosophy professor named George Yancy is gushing his little heart out:
It is hard to admit we are sexist. I, for instance, would like to think that I possess genuine feminist bona fides, but who am I kidding? I am a failed and broken feminist.
Upon which revelation, I suppose we could all just stop and go home. But no, let’s press on.
More pointedly, I am sexist. There are times when I fear for the loss of my own entitlement as a male. Toxic masculinity takes many forms. All forms continue to hurt and to violate women.
The word toxic, by the way, is deployed no fewer than nine times, excluding various synonyms, as if it were an incantation. Now brace yourselves for some full-on testosterone-jacked beastliness.
For example, before I got married, I insisted that my wife take my last name… While this was not sexual assault, my insistence was a violation of her independence.
To reiterate. Asking a fiancée if she’ll change her surname upon marriage, as is still the custom, perhaps to avoid confusing people as to whether you’re actually married or not, and possibly to avoid imposing on any children lengthy hyphenated surnames… this is not sexual assault. I’m glad we’ve cleared that up.
However,
I had inherited a subtle, yet still violent, form of toxic masculinity… These are deep and troubling expectations that are shaped by male privilege, male power and toxic masculinity.
What, then, are these dark and monstrous expectations, the ones that are “subtle, yet still violent”? Apparently, our professional thinker is troubled by the fact that he appreciates thanks after cleaning the house or cooking a meal. Yes, it’s deep and troubling.
Oh, we’re not done yet.
If you are a woman reading this, I have failed you. Through my silence and an uninterrogated collective misogyny, I have failed you. I have helped and continue to help perpetuate sexism. I know about how we hold onto forms of power that dehumanize you only to elevate our sense of masculinity. I recognize my silence as an act of violence. For this, I sincerely apologise.
And yet, frankly, I’m not sensing an excess of masculinity. If you spend hours preparing a meal, or cleaning the house, and then appreciate some acknowledgement, however small or routine, this doesn’t strike me as “toxic,” or “troubling,” or “dehumanizing,” or a “violation” of womanhood. Framing an appreciation of gratitude as “uninterrogated collective misogyny” sounds just a tad preposterous. And when my own Other Half takes charge of some particularly tricky meal preparation, some feat I daren’t attempt, I keep bunting and T-shirt cannons on hot stand-by.
Professor Yancy goes on to denounce, on behalf of all men, “our sexually objectifying gazes… our pornographic imaginations.” Our “dominant phallic economy.” Indeed, he continues, “we are collectively complicit with a sexist mind-set and a poisonous masculinity.” You see, being aroused by women, while not quite rape in itself, is nonetheless, as it were, rape-adjacent, and constitutes “a violent, pathetic and problematic masculinity.” One wonders how a species of suitably corrected human beings, purged of such heterosexual inclinations, might propagate and flourish. Such that we can indulge the theatrical sorrows of woke philosophy lecturers.
Or, as our educator puts it, tearfully, his face reddened with shame,
When I was about 15 years old, I said to a friend of mine, “Why must you always look at a girl’s butt?” He promptly responded: “Are you gay or something? What else should I look at, a guy’s butt?” He was already wearing the mask. He had already learned the lessons of patriarchal masculinity.
Yes, adolescent butt-watching. Oh calamitous woe. And which, apparently, girls never indulge in. Presumably, we should only be sexually attracted to personalities, and never the fleshy packaging.
There was no wiggle room for me to be both antisexist and antimisogynistic and yet a heterosexual young boy. You see, other males had rewarded his gaze by joining in the objectifying practice: “Look at that butt!” It was a collective act of devaluation.
Or possibly the reverse.
The acts of soul murder had already begun.
I’ll just leave that one there, I think.
Ooh, a button.
Incidentally, annual tuition at Emory University, where Professor Yancy shares his wisdom, is $66,950.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, mea tedia culpa…
Meanwhile, his long-suffering wife is thinking “Act like a man, you twit!”
David, did TOH ever use that culinary flamethrower?
I recognize my silence as an act of violence. For this, I sincerely apologise.
Guess who’s not getting any.
It’s also quite amusing how quick leftists are to demonise all men because a minority behave foully, yet are the first to shout: ‘Not All Muslims’ after the latest Mohammedan atrocity, even though being a man is an immutable fact and Islam is merely a social construct.
did TOH ever use that culinary flamethrower?
It’s been dusted more than once, if that counts.
I’m beginning to think that even the Puritans enjoyed life more than modern liberals do. They’ve really managed to suck all the joy out of living.
P.S. I still look at butts. Don’t judge me.
how quick leftists are to demonise all men because a minority behave foully,
Yes, the professor is quite eager to speak on your behalf, and to sell you down the river. You see, being so much better than the rest of us, he was, even as a 15-year-old, “both antisexist and antimisogynistic.” A woke prodigy, presumably, and therefore terribly agonised by other boys noticing their female classmates’ buttocks.
Though apparently, that still wasn’t enough to purge him of innate heterosexual sin.
And which, apparently, girls never indulge in.
Oh yes we do. 🙂
Oh yes we do. 🙂
It’s pretty much hard-wired, and not noticing intriguing physical attributes takes quite a bit of conscious effort. As a million comedy sketches can testify.
“Honey, your butt looks great in those jeans.”
“Stop murdering my soul!”
Poor Mr. Yancy.
He gets half a point for dusting it; nobody wants a dusty flamethrower.0
So many cliches, so little time, and yet they wonder why they are called NPCs.
I digress, having seen people mangled in all sorts of actually violent ways, and am I the only one fed up to the gills with everything slightly (and usually for no good reason) troubling to someone these days being called “violent” ?
So many clichés, so little time, and yet they wonder why they are called NPCs.
Quite. Despite the attempt to sound heartfelt and sincere, the ludicrous, mannered language and clotted thinking – regurgitated wholesale – suggests something entirely different.
…I keep bunting and T-shirt cannons on hot stand-by.
Um, is that a euphemism? Asking for a friend.
And yet, frankly, I’m not sensing an excess of masculinity.
LOL
What the hell must his wife be like?
You see, being aroused by women, while not quite rape in itself, is nonetheless, as it were, rape-adjacent, and constitutes “a violent, pathetic and problematic masculinity.”
God help any sons he has.
God help any sons he has.
It is worth noting just how often “feminist” serves as shorthand for “unfit parent.”
I’m guessing he wouldn’t be a fan of Jake Thackray, then.
Mangina
But no, let’s press on.
Code for ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you. No money back. Credit Note only!’
Buy some more T-Shirts for the cannon. Christmas is around the corner.
What is our hero accomplishing (if not parody)? What’s the manifest benefit of this sudden enlightenment and who does it benefit? Are chains flying off chicks all over the place?
That rant’s looking pretty damn self-obsessed to me, although come to think of it the whole woke thing is classic Pharisee.
Um, is that a euphemism?
Sadly, no. But his cooking is pretty good, so a tiny fanfare seems in order, even if it’s often just a muffled grunt of approval emitted between bites.
Buy some more T-Shirts for the cannon.
Bless you, sir. May your toaster remain free of scorched and ancient crumbs.
What is our hero accomplishing…
Don’t worry Professor, Yancy,
I’m sure your fiance was well aware that you weren’t a “masculine” male before she became your wife. I am sure she never saw you as being toxic in any way, shape, or form. In fact, your milquetoast persona is quite clear for all to see.
As far as the “masculine” men you seem to despise so much….don’t worry about us. If you were in a group of people, I doubt could separate you from the other women.
So I’m setting up a betting pool. I’m thinking 8 to 1 in favor of him being a serial harasser of women, 2 to 1 in favor of him being abused regular by his wife himself, and anyone daring enough to bet on him being neither abuser nor abused will get the whole pot if nothing happens within, say, five years.
He certainly is signalling, Farnsworth, but what about? What’s the vast benefit to [victim group] of such virtue? Freeing them? Ending their century’s long incarceration by [target group]?
If so, let’s see the physical manifestation of this spectacular of a virtue that the nation’s leading newspaper of record sees fit to release such enlightenment upon a dark and ignorant world.
Presumably, we should only be sexually attracted to personalities
Feminism says that we should only be attracted to ideologies. A screaming Marxist should sexually arouse us.
Yes, the professor is quite eager to…sell you down the river.
Funny how so many of our intellectual “betters” are like that. It’s almost as if the purpose of the education system is to turn out armies of little Stalins.
There is a whole genre of gynaecological documentaries under a collective classification known as “cuckold” that can be used to familiarise oneself with such milqutoast persons. He is obviously well versed in the practices.
It is worth noting just how often “feminist” serves as shorthand for “unfit parent.”
Let’s generalize that to “unfit citizen”.
He gets half a point for dusting it; nobody wants a dusty flamethrower.
I’m not sure what prompted this little diversion, but given the rapidity with which I’ve reached the end of my tether in recent years, a culinary flamethrower would be of no use to me. And I definitely think we need more helicopters, too. I don’t even care if the blades are dusty.
he was, even as a 15-year-old, “both antisexist and antimisogynistic.” A woke prodigy, presumably, and therefore terribly agonised by other boys noticing their female classmates’ buttocks.
I’ll take ‘things that didn’t happen’ for ten points.
Yea, verily we are all sinners, bretheren!
“It’s pretty much hard-wired, and not noticing intriguing physical attributes takes quite a bit of conscious effort.”
Yes, it sounds as if he’s not only pissed off at masculinity; he’s angry at being a mammal.
“It’s pretty much hard-wired, and not noticing intriguing physical attributes takes quite a bit of conscious effort.”
This illustrates one of the many reasons that it is very tiring to be around feminists.
Speaking of “hysterical” reactions, note the latest in toxic masculinity.
That’s right kids. Men spend an extra 70 seconds per day in the can, ostensibly “hiding” from the wife and kids.
Cue sociology departments feverishly creating graduate level courses on this outrage even as we speak.
When did the Junior Anti-Sex League arrive?
What’s the vast benefit to [victim group] of such virtue?
Absolutely nothing, it is not intended to, it is solely to make him have good feelz about himself and to announce he is better than we mere trogloditian peons not in possession of degrees in Angry & Useless studies.
…2 to 1 in favor of him being abused regular by his wife himself…
That’s got him pegged.
Oh, yes we do.
My wife is going to suffer major withdrawal symptoms when Rafa Nadal retires.
If anyone has trouble with comments not appearing, email me and I’ll cajole the spam filter.
I’ll take ‘things that didn’t happen’ for ten points.
Seems like a good time to repost a link to this.
Somehow I can see the dear professor coming home to find his wife getting wildly plowed by the neighbor, and he timidly raises his hand to ask permission to speak.
That’s right kids. Men spend an extra 70 seconds per day in the can, ostensibly “hiding” from the wife and kids.
“Studies with made up data because who would know and/or how would it be repeated” for twenty points.
Seems like a good time to repost a link to this.
LOL. That’s made my morning. 😀
LOL. That’s made my morning. 😀
Glad to hear it. And yet, in Professor Yancy’s super-woke feminist mind, teenage girls are somehow sexually inert and are only the reluctant, put-upon receivers of attention, not actual participants in a mutual dance.
The hair shirt is very much in fashion for Professor Yancy and his ilk. I’m not at all convinced I should wear one.
And I definitely think we need more helicopters, too.
{looks up from newspaper, nods sagely}
That’s got him pegged.
No, that’s different. Although equally likely.
What’s the vast benefit to [victim group] of such virtue?
Absolutely nothing, it is not intended to, it is solely to make him have good feelz…
There we have it.
Here’s the problem. Western civilization probably won’t hold. It’ll fall to this unmitigated bullshit, consume itself in a fit of moral angst it can’t divine the purpose of much less the logic, and be overrun.
This will happen, however, because its remaining vestiges have not identified what’s happening. The right, being ostensible and inherently slothful, will keep taking most of its cues from the left and react badly, and few or none will identify the core of such things. There’ll be no philosophy of liberty and there’ll be no analysis of the durable ways a people form and endure and by what means.
Leftism is inherent force. Postmodernism is the lie. Progressive social signalling is both as it embraces objective evil. How so? The whole mess is fundamentally abnormal, actively denormalizes the normal, rewrites history, violates human nature, and from there, it aims to erase anything not itself. As a stunt, 10,000 people are heading the the southern US border to illustrate elements of this phenomenon. An invasion without a purpose except to invade under color of an alternative morality previously unrecognized in the history of civilization about which the victim is virtually unprepared to wage a proper, reliable intellectual battle and take effective action.
Because feelz. Because the west’s institutions are already gone. The west will be overcome by a malaise of malignant emotion the basis of which is an empty falsehood of envy, parasitic activism, and simple force. The resistance to this assault? A politically-charged, media-fueled heckling from the victims using the language and arenas of the attackers.
Sucks. Past time to identify both elements right down to their cores and for the normal, civilized contingent drive many, many more stakes of real demarkation.
That’s right kids. Men spend an extra 70 seconds per day in the can…
And from the linked report:
Out of the year, men find that only 171 of their 7 hours of bathroom time is disturbed, allowing them to spend the rest of those hours truly by themselves…
Which seems to imply that we misogynists spend negative 164 undisturbed hours in the bathroom. Whatever – obviously not a math major.
I see value in the man’s writing this. When Spaceship A and Spaceship B are finally built, I think this essay can be used to determine who goes on which. If you agree, in any way, go to — and if you don’t, go to –.
Welcome aboard! And good luck / best wishes to those on the other ship! I’m sure everything will go just swimmingly when you start into the asteroid belt.
Heckler’s chorus: “YOU SURE ARE!”
I’m guessing he wouldn’t be a fan of Jake Thackray, then.
As a child, I used to get him confused with Derek Nimmo, who also had
a certain way with words.
You know what? Good for him. I’m glad a potential violent rapist has self-identified, therefore his friends, family, and colleagues can steer well clear of him. At minimum he gets put on the “don’t leave alone with the nieces” list during Thanksgiving*.
*Insert Brit holiday of choice.
Or possibly the reverse.
LOL
That.
Western civilization probably won’t hold.
Correct.
When Spaceship A and Spaceship B are finally built, I think this essay can be used to determine who goes on which.
Why not start building the Golgafrincham Ark B today?
Correct.
There’s a fitting aspect to an on-cue self-parodying of Western complacency to a degree indistinguishable from that of the subject of this post.
“A fact which cannot be disputed is the weakening of human beings in the West while in the East they are becoming firmer and stronger — 60 years for our people and 30 years for the people of Eastern Europe. During that time we have been through a spiritual training far in advance of Western experience. Life’s complexity and mortal weight have produced stronger, deeper, and more interesting characters than those generally [produced] by standardized Western well-being.
Therefore, if our society were to be transformed into yours, it would mean an improvement in certain aspects, but also a change for the worse on some particularly significant scores. It is true, no doubt, that a society cannot remain in an abyss of lawlessness, as is the case in our country. But it is also demeaning for it to elect such mechanical legalistic smoothness as you have. After the suffering of many years of violence and oppression, the human soul longs for things higher, warmer, and purer than those offered by today’s mass living habits, introduced by the revolting invasion of publicity, by TV stupor, and by intolerable music.
There are meaningful warnings which history gives a threatened or perishing society. Such are, for instance, the decadence of art, or a lack of great statesmen. There are open and evident warnings, too. The center of your democracy and of your culture is left without electric power for a few hours only, and all of a sudden crowds of American citizens start looting and creating havoc. The smooth surface film must be very thin, then, the social system quite unstable and unhealthy.”
– Solzhenitsyn, 1978
Gad Saad giving the cuck a damn good fisking.
[Note: I’ve never really been sure what fisking is exactly. But this is probably it.]
http://www.faqs.org/docs/jargon/F/fisking.html
fisking: n.
[blogosphere; very common] A point-by-point refutation of a blog entry or (especially) news story. A really stylish fisking is witty, logical, sarcastic and ruthlessly factual; flaming or handwaving is considered poor form. Named after Robert Fisk, a British journalist who was a frequent (and deserving) early target of such treatment.
From Wikipedia: “[Yancy] is known for his work in critical race theory, critical whiteness studies, African American philosophy…”
Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, et al. must be laughing their asses off down in hell. They created a monster.
The risk of blindly quoting self-styled authorities on the interwebs:
Urban Dictionary:
Fisking is a written argument where one person sequentially addresses each point of an of another person’s argument.
This is done in a precise manner relying on semantics and ambiguities to infer a defect in the original point. This approach is tantamount to taking a sentence out of context in order to refute an entire argument.
Fisking does not pay heed to the opponent’s thesis as a whole, and thus does not disprove the thesis as a whole.
Which is pretty much the opposite spirit of your “faqs.org” definition.
Read and sigh:
http://www.georgeyancy.com/bio.html
I knew a guy in grad school who was very vocal about his feminism and support for all women’s rights.
He told me in private that this was the best way he’d found to get laid.
“[Yancy] is known for his work in critical race theory, critical whiteness studies…”
But of course. For those who aren’t familiar with the eye-widening hokum of “critical race theory,” this is a good place to start.
Which is pretty much the opposite spirit of your “faqs.org” definition.
It’s also incorrect, and gives off more than a faint whiff of butthurt.
pst314’s definition is the correct one. Fisk’s articles attracted the treatment beause near every sentence contained a trivially provably incorrect assertion.
Read and sigh:
Judged by the notably weak sauce home page, it’s in some doubt whether Yancy is any more to philosophy than Neil deGrasse Tyson is to existentialism.
Whenever someone smugly informs me what’s “correct” on the internet I’m reminded of Nicholas Matte.
a faint whiff of butthurt
I’ll have to take your word for that.
Hi Adam: Must be a thing with the young folks. My reaction to a feminist man would be “Go away, I already have a pussy.” 😄🐱
(I’m 59 & holding.)
pst314’s definition is the correct one.
It is indeed. The sadly defunct Daily Ablution featured some inspirational fisking, as did the also-missed Factchecking Pollyanna, a blog devoted to parsing the boggling innumeracy of Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee.
pst314’s definition is the correct one.
While I do of course defer to our host, I reserve the right to refuse one of his pickled “eggs”.
That pickled “egg” may make you an offer you can’t refuse…
In the feminist utopia the “eggs” pickle YOU!
I’ll have to take your word for that.
Would you accept Firefox?
My connection is not secure
I’d blame typepad for auto-prefixing https to my website.
I’d blame typepad for auto-prefixing https to my website.
It’s apparently being looking into as I type. Meanwhile, it’s up-buggered half the blogroll and any number of links in comment threads.
I sincerely apologise for the insecurity of my website. If only I’d known the potential ramifications. This internet thing is a disaster waiting to explode. We should go back to criers. What was so wrong with town criers?
I sincerely apologise for the insecurity of my website.
Heh. On Friday, I spent several minutes trying to convince Tim Newman that his website was down.
Anything else he says about the incident is a filthy lie.
“I’d blame typepad for auto-prefixing https to my website.”
Nah, it’s Firefox. Mozilla’s determined to encrypt all the things right now, and is going around scaring the kids with warnings that innocuous static pages are “insecure” if they aren’t. I think it’s an early Halloween prank.
On Fisking.
The original Fisking is below, by James Lileks concerning a laughably smug piece by reporter Robert Fisk on the Olive Garden chain restaurant. Lilek’s post is one of the blogosphere’s founding documents, so it’s worth a read for nostalgia’s sake at the least.
http://web.archive.org/web/20030416020456/http://www.lileks.com/writings/screed/olivegarden.html
“He calls me into his office and closes the door… to promote me. He promotes me again and again. I am wild with ecstasy.”
https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Erotica-Feminists-Deserve-Again/dp/1473691168
Respect my independence you…you big patriarch you. Respect me till I scream!
innocuous static pages are “insecure”
Hey – watch who’s pages you call innocuous, buster!
Hrm,
The Wayback Machine has not archived that URL.
Well, typepad messed that up 🙂
I enjoyed your reassuringly secure link [ https://web.archive.org/web/20030416020456/https://www.lileks.com/writings/screed/olivegarden.html ], but it didn’t seem to be so much Fisking as hilariously carping. Hence my observation that depending on where you sit, Fisking appears to be either a decimating factual take-down, or a good excuse for a grumpy whinge.
Hrm,
I don’t think Typepad and the Wayback Machine are compatible!
What the hell must his wife be like? — Joan
Sick unto death would be my guess.
Karl,
Yeah, typepad and Wayback aren’t very friendly, I guess. And we both tried “preview” and everything!
Anyway, a bit of googling should get folks the Fisking if they are interested. Lileks, as always, was light-hearted. But I think he did pretty well in deflating Fisk’s rather tendentious piece.
I am a failed and broken feminist.
Translation: I can’t get laid and I’m appealing to the pity-sex demographic.
The sadly defunct Daily Ablution
Yes, a jewel of the Internet.
Preserved on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.j
Masculinity is the least of his worries…
A woke prodigy, presumably, and therefore terribly agonised by other boys noticing their female classmates’ buttocks.
In my day, we didn’t have any fatties (well, unlike today), so buttocks weren’t high on the list of what a 15-year old male checked out–IYKWIM.
But Yancy is a Black dude, and their interests tend towards the backside–so I’m told…
“our sexually objectifying gazes… our pornographic imaginations.” Our “dominant phallic economy.” Indeed, he continues, “we are collectively complicit with a sexist mind-set and a poisonous masculinity.”
Shiver me timbers. The good Professor has reminded me I’ve been working too hard lately. It’s been months since I visited a porn site and directed my ‘sexually objective gaze’ at anyone other than Mrs EMG – and there they are, just a key stroke away. Possibly not what you intended, but thanks anyway Prof…way to start the weekend!
@Forbes
Essentially, Yancy is letting us know that he is partial to a Big Butt, and is unable to falsify that fact.
Essentially, Yancy is letting us know that he is partial to a Big Butt, and is unable to falsify that fact.
Neither can the men of similar melanin content effectively disavow it.
Essentially, Yancy is letting us know that he is partial to a Big Butt, and is unable to falsify that fact.
Essentially, Yancy is letting us know that he is partial to steatophygia, and is unable to falsify that fact. Later he informs us that his inamorata is so afflicted.
The hair shirt is very much in fashion for Professor Yancy and his ilk. I’m not at all convinced I should wear one.
Professor Yancy enthusiastically cites Bell Hooks – specifically, her claim that all men – including those with wives and daughters – “unconsciously engage in patriarchal thinking, which condones rape even though they may never enact it.” “This,” we’re told, “is a patriarchal truism.”
Professor Yancy enthusiastically cites Bell Hooks
Have you committed a microaggression by capitalizing her name? 😀
Have you committed a microaggression by capitalizing her name?
To paraphrase Mr Spock, I believe my response would be fuck that shit.
😀
That would make a great YouTube clip, David.
He’s probably been hounded by the narrative so unremittingly in his daily faculty rounds ans general existence that he’s capitulated just for a quiet life and felt constrained to publish these catechisms for all to see so that he’ll be left alone and have a safe tenure and a nice safe life.
“[Yancy] is known for his work in critical race theory, critical whiteness studies…”
This seems apposite:
Via Dicentra.