Five things that I did instead of writing a proper post
Posted by Richie on January 19, 2008
One: Mano E Mano
This week I mostly toyed with writing a post about men and feminism. I’ve touched on my general reluctance to say anything about the topic before – among other things, it leaves women out of the equation, which seems counterproductive – but the recent behaviour of a blogger called Profeministmale made me think it probably worth trying, if only because he set the bar so incredibly low that I could write a post about my cat and it would still contribute more than TODAY I THOUGHT ABOUT QUESTIONING MY SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT BUT IT WAS TOO HARD SO I MADE A VERY CONCERNED FACE INSTEAD. PS FEMINIST. In the end, it’s probably just as well that L from Editorializing the Editors wrote this post (as well as this, earlier) covering where Profeministmale screwed up, since I’ve been very busy lately and am feeling even less diplomatic than usual.
Two: Academia Revisited
The letter of offer I got about the JMC Academy was sent out early, since it was entirely interview and folio based and thus they didn’t need to check how well I’d gone in the previous year’s studies. Now the first round university place offers are being mailed out, and it turns out I also got in somewhere else, which is more impressive but less practical. I have to have decide by Wednesday, so right now I’m frantically drawing up pro/con lists.
Three: Other Writing
I’m in the midst of editing some Cerise stuff, as well as collaborating with an artist friend one a webcomic which I will link to when it’s finished some time in 2029. It will then become apparent that I have no original ideas and write women very poorly, thus rendering the opinions expressed on this blog even less relevant.
Four: eBay
Because I’m moving in about a month, I’m selling a bunch of crap on eBay. Some of it may be of interest to people reading this, but most of it’s either foolish purchases or gifts from people who’ve horribly misjudged me as a human being. Nothing more recent than Christmas 2005, though, because otherwise that would look ungrateful.
Five: LOMRAS (Not safe for work)
Profeministmale said he was on Facebook, so I thought I’d track him down – why, I don’t know – and ended up running aground on an MRA group.
Yes, really. And if it’s meant to be ironic, nobody told the actual members.
Since muscular men with handlebar moustaches can never be anything less than heterosexual, I have decided to make some MRA posters using Tom of Finland artwork.
And a happy new year to all of you at home.
L said
Thanks for the links and the support. And the thinking. The thinking is good. Keep that up.
BTW, I <3 the MRA posters. (Those are some giant cocks, let me just say. Wowza.)
ObMeiste said
I am considering blowing (hurr :B ) up those pictures, so I might print and make use of them as wallposter. This way I can just take a gander look at my walls and be reminded of the everpresent threat to manly manness and the free male.
Good luck with choosing a educationwossname, and particulary looking forward to the results of this union with an artist friend whom I might know!
violent_rabbit said
It seriously took me a minuite or so to work out that in the last pic, that were their cocks and not the arms of another man hiding in the hay stack.
stormy said
Hi Richie; go with the better uni. Don’t know what the uni landscape is like back in hometown for the last 15 years, I guess it has changed quite a lot.
purtek said
Okay, so, serious question: Does a post about the role of men in feminism have to leave women out of the equation? I didn’t see the writing of the “profeministmale” in question, so maybe I’m missing some nuances here, but isn’t there some room for discussion, for example, on how men might interact with feminist women? You made a comment on a post of mine at one point talking about how being in online spaces made some of the “feminist conversion” experience somewhat less threatening for you (radical paraphrase, but that was part of the impression I remember getting) and I think you’d certainly have stuff to build on there.
I mean, did you in fact just start with “Today, I decided that being a totally entitled, self-satisfied dick was no longer cool and therefore this feminism thing may be worth checking out”, and then start on your progressive journey up the slope of awesomeness? And on that journey, weren’t there, like, conversations with women-types?
On a less serious note: yeah, I had to scroll back up to figure out the cocks. *hands in matriarchal conspiracy membership card in great shame*
Richie said
Yeah, I think you’re right. I guess I’m specifically talking about being critical of men involved in feminism, because if I were to write about Profeministmale (and, uh, some other guys) my initial response would be to really lay into them for fucking up. But then if I do that, I become the one defining how feminism should work, which is, like, really shaky ground for obvious reasons. Especially since Profeministmale was setting himself up as an authority figure on the subject and making all these blanket judgments about various waves and prominent feminist figures entirely from his perspective without taking women’s voices into account.
I did eventually leave a comment over at Profeministmale’s blog which said, in effect, that I’d never found feminism alienating or hostile and my blog is not overflowing with women telling me I’m an ass, ergo the problem is most likely with him rather than feminism. So I guess that’s kind of what you were talking about, about how men interact with feminist women.
L said
I can’t find the comment where you were talking about looking for pfm on facebook, but I found him. He’s, of course, a loudly contributing member to the Feministing group. Some gems from the discussion boards:
Which begins an anti-radfem mutual jackoff session with another profeminist dude, which somehow pfm recognizes, so he exclaims, “The Radical Feminist, it seems, would have a problem with you and I having this conversation, citing two males speaking on this based on patriarchy and male privilege – both of which we know exist.” Yeah, ya think? Good thing he has all those third-wavers wrapped around his manly finger so that he doesn’t get accused of being an asshole (for the record, I am not against third-wave feminism).
I really will drop it eventually. I go back to school tomorrow. I won’t even have *time* to think about him. *fumes*
purtek said
Oh, ew. Apparently I’m a second wave radfem, despite that irritating quirk of having been born after the wave crashed.
The problem here is that they’ve now left no one who *can* criticize them (well, that’s the problem for those of us who are sane, it’s pretty much *their* goal). Women who do it are humourless prigs, easily dismissed with the standard statement about how we’re “no fun” and whatever (sounding, for “profeminists” an awful lot like the antis), and *actual* feminist men are reluctant to get involved in the conversation because it makes them feel queasy to realize that the only reason they’re being allowed to voice their disagreement is because they have a penis. Or worse, maybe the “self-loathing” and “mangina” insults would come out and we could start a comparative discourse analysis for just how much the profeminists use the exact same words as the…not.
Did profeministmale respond to your comment Richie? Because that might start off my comparative discourse analysis research.
Richie said
I never bothered following it up. I may have read the entirety of Shredded Moose, but I’ve got limits.
(click click click)
No. Although some MRA-lite says it’s totally pro-feminist for him to work at a lad mag because the women in them use their beauty to have power over men. Boy, who is he going to listen to, I wonder?
As far as the whole self-loathing thing goes, Profeministmale did go off on this spiel about how feminists were rejecting him because he wasn’t “emasculated” and he liked doing stereotypically masculine things, which attracted a bunch of comments from MRAs about how if he wants to be a feminist, he’d better become a woman first!!! What feminists actually had a problem with was his advocation of physical violence to win arguments, but either he wanted a strawman argument or was genuinely incapable of separating “being male” from “being an asshole”. Which goes back to one of my pet peeves with allies of any sort, which is that they’ll support a cause, but only until they realise they’ll have to give up their privilege at some point, and then immediately become hyper-defensive about it.
bluemilk said
Oh those posters Richie, brilliant work!!!! I want them as postcards to send to everyone.
polly styrene said
Ah Tom of Finland doncha just love him (no, since you ask) but I am loving the subversion – can you download them as files so I can print them out to frame – they’d look great in my loo? Well what profeminist male makes me think of is that famous Samuel Johnson soundbite “Like a dog’s walking on his hind legs, it is not done well, but the wonder is that it is done at all”
I think “profeminist man” often equals “just can’t stand to be ignored man”. Hey there’s a party going on and I’m not invited! Women are wilfully expressing opinions without a man to tell them if they’re right or not! I’d better BECOME A FEMINIST so I can give them the benefit of my superior brainpower!
Look chaps don’t take my word for it, take Michael Moore’s word (from “Stupid White Men”)because he’s got a penis and is therefore intellectually superior. “Don’t try convincing anyone you’re a “feminist”. You don’t qualify, you play for the other team. It’s like a Klansman chanting “keep hope alive!”. You are a specimen of the gender that will always make more money, that will always have the door swing wide open and far to wherever you want to go in life”
Joan Kelly said
Posters are fucking fantastic – especially LOVE the first one.
And this gave me a good laugh, thanks Richie:
“he set the bar so incredibly low that I could write a post about my cat and it would still contribute more than TODAY I THOUGHT ABOUT QUESTIONING MY SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT BUT IT WAS TOO HARD SO I MADE A VERY CONCERNED FACE INSTEAD. PS FEMINIST.”
Also, I would still like to see a post about your cat.
Tome of Finland said
What’s this about some jerk not liking Tom of Finland? Do they have some kind of mental disconnect that prevents them from recognizing the late Mssr. Laakensen’s brilliance?