Wilson's Almanac on gender equality | |
Quote: Wilson's Almanac on gender equality
Related terms: men mens men's rights child support feminism
anti feminism masculinism masculism gender equality of sexes Men! Ever wondered why your buddy got fired and prosecuted because of the female glamour photo on his office wall, though the woman who complained has even more male glamour photos that are seen as 'cute', 'liberated' and 'progressive'? Wonder what all this has to do with feminism?
Have you ever been publicly eviscerated for referring to a certain woman as "attractive", by a roomful of savage women, each of whom reads four novels a week, that have fabulously wealthy, ruggedly handsome heroes who are 6 foot 3, with massive muscles and a name like 'Fabio' or 'Baron Kalashnikov'?
Have you given up expressing opinions on any female because you are attacked for every view, whether you call her beautiful or plain, dumb or smart, gentle or rough, rich or poor, fat or thin, sweet or sour? Have you noticed that you are now 'not permitted' to have views on women in general because you are male? Do you sense you're in a censored, never-win situation? Have you noticed that women are 'permitted' to say what they like about men, whether in private or in the media? Ever tried to get equal rights in a court of law over a family matter?
It's no accident ... it's ... (drum roll) ....
Strategic disempowerment
"'It's sexy and eye-catching", says Janet Hogan, 42,
co-creative director of the advertising agency Streamline,
who created the campaign for her client Kolotex.
"Women love the ballsiness of it."
Sydney Morning Herald, April 13, 2002
Click to read how Australia's Advertising Standards Board
explained to Pip Wilson that this billboard is only "a satirical comment"
Good news for men about gender relations
If you are a man, the subtitle of this article might raise a laugh. What good news could there possibly be about male-female relations, right? Feminists have ruined them for all time, correct?
I have to tell you that for a while I felt like that, too. When I became fully aware of how men are disadvantaged in gender relations by what I have named 'strategic disempowerment' (SD), I was sure that there was no way out and I felt ... well, disempowered.
Before I go on to tell you some ways that I have found to not feel helpless in the face of the onslaught of feminist's belief in the superiority of women, I'd like to describe some of the phenomena associated with SD.
Double standards to disempower
SD is used by some (not all) women in order to boost their self esteem, and probably to gain power over men, or a man. It is sometimes used consciously, and sometimes unconsciously, but at all times it is backed by the woman's belief system. At the root of SD are beliefs that women are superior to men, that men owe women, and that women are oppressed by men (see my article Twelve Great Myths of Feminism, which addresses these false beliefs). The women who are most likely to engage in SD tend to be those who have accepted the persuasive, convincing myths of feminism.
The basic method of SD is the use of double standards. Many of these involve the most deep-seated of all human feelings, sex, because it is there that all human beings are often most sensitive and vulnerable. It's in the area of sex that the most leverage can be attained for increasing one's dominance, whether the woman is trying consciously or unconsciously to disempower. However, not all of the tactics used by practitioners of SD involve sex or sexuality, so we mustn't be too quick to overlook other areas of engagement by these women.
Let's take a look at some of the disempowering tactics these women use. It should be noted at this point that many of the tactics have gained wide enough currency for them to have been enshrined in legislation in many Western nations, where a concerted effort has been made over many years by feminist activists. In fact, much legislation is clearly disadvantageous to men, and it is possibly because many men also have accepted the myths of radical feminism as outlined in my aforementioned article.
Oppressed minorities syndrome
The double standards that are the engine of SD are many, and may be schematised in terms of what feminists label unacceptable,
and what they label acceptable. These examples always involve permission for women to do one thing, and the denial of permission of men to do the same.
The effect that occurs when a man is subjected to an SD tactic is identical to that suffered by any disempowered person. Wherever one class, caste or section of society enjoys privileges denied to another, the latter group suffers feelings of powerlessness, shame, guilt, hurt and confusion. The results are well documented in the study of disenfranchised and oppressed minorities around the world, and include suicide, drug abuse, alcoholism, ill health and a host of other factors. These factors, by the way, are exhibited by males far more than females. (Unfortunately, men's health, despite being in a more parlous state than women's, is drastically less funded than women's, so research is thin on the ground. Nonetheless, enough exists for us to know that men are experiencing symptoms akin to those associated with underprivileged groups.)
More research should be done in academia to explore my hypothesis that men share with indigenous and other disenfranchised groups a common set of underlying causes leading to congruent syndromes. While anecdotally it is clear that there is a female hegemony in many fields, such as health funding, family law, anti-discrimination legislation, and so on, what is not so clear is what can be done about it, nor what role men play in allowing and even facilitating it. Again, it is a field ripe for research, but one suspects that funding bodies and academic institutions would be loath to risk persecution under the very tactics that we are discussing.
It should be noted at this point that the effectiveness of the following tactics of SD lies in the following methods: discriminatory interpretation of legislation; withholding of affection; withholding of compassion; shaming and other emotional abuse; verbal abuse; private vilification; and public vilification. At all times, however, the most effective element in the table below is the frustration experienced by the person or group who is forbidden to do what the other person or group self-encourages.
The psychology involved here is simple: SD sets up a paradigm of 'to the victor the spoils'. The selfish child who has an ice cream gains further victory by flaunting the victory of eating ice cream in front of the child denied permission to eat. Similarly, ruling castes who have expropriated material wealth from oppressed minorities maintain their high status not only by owning wealth, but by making their wealth conspicuous.
In both cases, and in the case of SD, the frustration engendered in the oppressed actually disempowers them further, and often leads to self-harm rather than militant action against the oppressor. The child slips into depression and feelings of being 'less than'; the oppressed minority accepts an inferior status, and disintegrates with drink and drugs; the frustrated man thinks it serves him right for being a 'mere male' and slowly self-destructs with self-hatred and unhealthy behaviours.
Some examples
Many feminists play on this to their advantage, as most Western men now know. Take, for example, an incident that happened to me a couple of days ago, but which is fairly typical and common enough in essence.
I was in a supermarket checkout queue. Just ahead of me was a woman, 40-something, who was being served. Next to the cashier (a young woman), was a young male supermarket employee who was struggling to get a plastic bag from about 20 or so that, in the manner of supermarket bags, were stuck together. His difficulty arose from the nature of the items, and perhaps his youth. However, the woman being served had another explanation, one that is rather predictable from a feminist. "Men can never do fiddly things," she opined. "They haven't the fingers for it." The cashier smiled and the young man blushed and fumbled further.
I wish I had said something to soothe the young man's embarrassment at being so deliberately and uncaringly humiliated by the customer, but as my male readers will appreciate, I have a sense of honour and did not wish to shame the customer as she had shamed the lad. Also, I confess, and male readers will no doubt empathise, a reason other than a sense of duty and propriety was at play in my mind. I didn't criticise the silly statement because to have done so would have, from my experience, almost certainly occasioned some kind of illogical, ad hominem, under-the-belt answer from the woman, and I've developed a strong and self-protective antipathy to being attacked while my hands are tied by the cords of reason and ethics. Meanwhile, as I could detect from my peripheral vision, the woman customer tried to gauge my reaction, but I maintained as inert a look as possible.  Do you have any sexist graphics like these?
I'd be grateful to receive them from you. Naturally, my mind was not as blank as my face. The rejoinder that came to my mind was something like "You're so right; that's why the great engravers, watchmakers, jewellers, brain surgeons and tailors of the world have always relied so heavily on women to do the 'fiddly work' on their behalf."
This customer's comment, of course, is hardly a hanging offence, nor should it be. However, the significant fact is not that a woman made a fairly lighthearted, however insensitive and unkind remark. The significance lies in the fact that were the genders involved to be reversed, the offence at the remark would have been labelled 'sexist' by any feminist present, and quite possibly an escalation of offence would have occurred. In Australia, litigation has been successful for such infringements.
Imagine what hissing would come from the teeth of a feminist had she heard a man try to embarrass a young woman with a statement such as "Women can't add up. They haven't the brains for it", or "Women can't sing, they haven't the voices for it". Being a mere male with an inferior sense of decorum and honour, I restrained myself, while the female customer walked off with an delusional air of victory.
Here's another fairly typical example. Led by feminist theory, it has become egregiously fashionable to denigrate fatherhood. This is done in many ways, such as the wild inflation of statistics of male parental faults, but sometimes by more anecdotal techniques. I had to shake my head recently when I heard a woman praise her father for not having brought her up to do "boys' stuff" (she had no brothers and she was pleased that her Dad didn't treat her as a surrogate son). She was just as emphatic about this as those many other women who rail against their fathers for not sharing "masculine" skills such as car repair. Thus we have Rule 1 of strategic disempowerment: Disarm the enemy by forcing him into a no-win position. A table of examples of SD tactics
Hiss!! __________________________________________________ ___ Purr!! Condemned by _______________________________________________________________Promoted by SD practitioners __________________________________________________________SD practitioners
– guaranteed always to ___________________________________________________ – guaranteed always to raise a hiss and a sneer __________________________________________________raise a laugh and a cheer Advertising which contains graphic representations of females naked. Advertising which contains graphic representations of males naked.
Men's magazines that contain soft-core pictures of women.
Women's magazines that contain soft-core pictures of men.
Men's sexual fantasies, needs and behaviours.
Women's sexual fantasies, needs and behaviours.
Advertising which shows women as sex objects.
Advertising which shows men as sex objects.
Conceptions of God as male.
Conceptions of Satan as male (never female). Promotion of 'goddess' worship. Denial and vilification of the masculine corollary.
Use by men of the term 'girl' for woman.
Use by women of the term 'girl' for young woman and 'boy' for man (eg, "Let's go, girls"; "I need a night out with the girls -- you go out with the boys"; "Look at those toys for the boys").
Men going to prostitutes, female escorts and so on ('sexist, male chauvinist exploitative behaviour'; 'it's all about power and not sex').
Women going to male prostitutes, gigolos, and so on ('getting in touch with one's sexuality'; 'exploring the wild inner woman').
Advertising that shows women as incompetent.
Advertising that shows men as incompetent.
Men being attracted to younger women ('sexist').
Women being attracted to younger men ('liberating one's sexuality').
Parenting instincts, when felt by females.
Parenting instincts, when felt by males.
Sensitivity and nurturing emotions, when felt by females.
Sensitivity and nurturing emotions, when felt by males.
Jokes about women.
Jokes about men.*
Comments about the dimensions of the female genitalia.
Comments about the dimensions of the male genitalia.
Use of taboo words for female genitalia as abusive swear words.
Use of taboo words for male genitalia as abusive swear words.
Generalised criticism of women.
Generalised criticism of men.
Male assertiveness.
Female assertiveness.
Women crying publicly.
Men crying publicly.
Male participation in defence forces.
Female participation in defence forces.
Men-only clubs, etc, must be picketed, closed down and/or opened to women, even if centuries of tradition are at stake.
Women-only clubs, etc, are to be promoted, and preferably paid for by public funds: on-campus 'women's rooms'; women-only swimming pools; "women's shelters" etc.
"If a man lashes out in defense or frustration, he is told that he is angry and should be responsible for his actions, is chastised by society, forced to take an anger management program and must suffer the consequences of his actions." Source
"If a woman lashes out in anger she is told that she was defending herself or was frustrated and requires the sympathy and support of society and is not responsible for her actions ..." Source
Movies in which men are violent and anti-social.
Movies in which women are violent and anti-social (eg, Thelma and Louise)
Boldly aggressive male rock singers.
Boldly aggressive female rock singers.
Video clips showing men toying sexually with women.
Video clips showing women toying sexually with men.
Imagine the repercussions if one was reckless enough to refer to a group of women by saying "the room was just full of oestrogen!"
Often heard: "The room was full of testosterone!" This is apparently criticism, not praise, and acceptable to feminists.
Men talking to their friends about their female sex partner's physical attributes or 'performance' in bed.
Women talking to their friends about their male sex partner's physical attributes or 'performance' in bed.
Men having interests outside a relationship, or a space of their own such as a workshop or shed, which are always denigrated as sexist.
Women having outside interests and "a woman's room".
Relationship commitment by women.
Relationship commitment by men.
Men speaking for institutions must only be called 'spokespersons', never 'spokesmen', thus removing a significant part of their identity.
Women speaking for institutions may be called 'spokeswomen' as well as 'spokespersons', thus enhancing a significant part of their identity.
Use of male-gender terms generically.
Use of female-gender terms generically.§
The word 'housewife'.
The word 'househusband'.
A male 'partner' or spouse going out and not saying exactly where. Men often feel they have to bend over backwards being quite detailed about their lives and even private thoughts.
The woman in a relationship is typically supposed to just say "I'm going out" and for the male to inquire is sexist. It is considered progressive for women to be very private, reactionary for men to do so. More power-vampirism.
Artificial vaginas are sold in the 'sex toy' industry, and these are criticised by feminists as dehumanising sexual objectification of women.
It is common for feminists to extol the virtue of dildos and vibrators.
Insults about a woman's clothing is sexual harassment.
Insults about a man's clothing is office fun.** Have I missed something?
Or can you add to my examples, eg, violent-women movies?
I would love to hear your examples of SD.
So ... what's the good news about gender relations? I know, it seems that in recent decades men have taken such a beating and experienced so much disadvantage, that to speak of good news sounds like a pipe dream. But no, men are not powerless against this onslaught and I would like to share with you some of my insights.
Insights like these have even been noted by people whom one would not expect, such as Doris Lessing, the British feminist author, who said at the Edinburgh Book Festival, on August 13, 2001:
I find myself increasingly shocked at the unthinking and automatic rubbishing of men which is now so part of our culture that it is hardly even noticed. We now have pretty much equality at least on the pay and opportunities front, though almost nothing has been done on child care, the real liberation … I was in a class of nine- and 10-year-olds, girls and boys, and this young woman was telling these kids that the reason for wars was the innately violent nature of men. You could see the little girls, fat with complacency and conceit while the little boys sat there crumpled, apologising for their existence, thinking this was going to be the pattern of their lives …This kind of thing is happening in schools all over the place and no one says a thing. It has become a kind of religion that you can’t criticise because then you become a traitor to the great cause, which I am not. The most stupid, ill-educated and nasty woman can rubbish the nicest, kindest and most intelligent man and no one protests … Men seem to be so cowed that they can’t fight back, and it is time they did. | Interesting indeed.... ** Wilson's Almanac free daily ezine | Strategic Disempowerment | Men, mens, mens rights, masculinism, masculism, child support, feminism equality
Last edited by Feckless; 11th-September-2008 at 12:24 PM..
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28th-August-2008
