Nine Deuce
This blog exists as an arena for me to lay out a set of irrefutable arguments that will convince all but the most idiotic of readers that my own brand of feminism is not only the most logically sound of feminisms, but also the most logically sound of worldviews. I suppose that makes me sound arrogant. I probably am a little arrogant when it comes to this subject, but that’s because I’ve thought about it more than Avril Lavigne has thought about how much she loves skateboarders. Also, I’m, like, really educated, so I’m totally qualified to act as a leader to those who would rather not take the time to develop an entire system of thought of their own.
I’m not going to say what kind of feminist I am (I’m just not into labels, man), but I can explain what kind I’m not:
- I’m not a “sex-positive” feminist, inasmuch as that term is used to refer to the kinds of people who believe that women, by adopting the piggish sexual attitudes of men and becoming complicit in their own objectification, can fuck their way to being treated like human beings. In fact, I say piss on that misleading term altogether. It’s just another guise by which men try to trick women into believing that the road to equality is paved with thongs and used jimmy hats. Using your sexuality to manipulate men does not equality make, nor does it even amount to controlling your own sexual destiny, because in order to manipulate men through sex you have to fulfill their pornographic fantasies, very few of which revolve around anything but a one-dimensional and completely fictional conception of female sexuality. The idea that prostitutes (an umbrella term that I will use to refer to people who get paid to have sex or get naked, meaning that it applies to strippers and porn “actors” as well as traditional prostitutes) are controlling their own sexuality would reach the level of comedy of the film American Ninja 2 if it weren’t for the fact that I’d be laughing at women who have been so brainwashed as to believe that getting paid to let some asshole pork them is liberating. I think the new definition of “sex-positive” feminism ought to revolve around women demanding that their sexuality be acknowledged to be independent of male sexuality and that their sexual needs be met. That would truly be revolutionary.
- I sometimes call myself a radical feminist because I think that the structure of our society has to change fundamentally in order for women to attain any kind of equality/liberation. But I’m not really a radical feminist in the sense that a lot of people conceive of that term, because I don’t think there is a socio-political scheme on the horizon that can replace the one we live in without a ton of people getting killed, and I’m not into killing people (clusters of cells are fine, people no). Maybe I’ll come up with something, but the point is that I’m not for any kind of rapid (read: violent) revolution. I’m more into revolutions in attitude and social formation that won’t cause anyone to burn my house down or shoot anyone. I know that the exploitation of women and children that characterizes patriarchy is abetted by capitalism, but I don’t know that any other current political or economic system is the answer to that problem. The reality is that most emergent political and economic systems treat women’s concerns as a side thought, if they take account of them at all, and if we want to see equality for women, we’ll probably need to do it from within whatever system we are dealing with, not let women’s concerns get co-opted by new political movements like they have been historically.
- For those who don’t know the history of feminism, it has traditionally been divided into “waves”, each of which has its own set of defining issues, which sometimes stand in direct conflict with the issues and positions that characterize the waves before and after it. I’m not into waves. Feminism ought to be a permanent fixture, not a series of high and low tides that are seemingly contradictory. I can find things I agree with in any of the “waves,” but I’m not totally on board with any of them, nor am I comfortable with the idea that women across generations can’t all get their shit together and see the light without fighting. That sounds like some shit old men invented.
- I am most definitely not a New Age hippie-type feminist. I’m not going to be mentioning goddesses or transcendent consciousness unless I’m doing it as a joke. Really, who can take that shit seriously? It’s usually just an embarrassing repackaging of useless patriarchal religious ideas. (I suppose I’ve just given away the fact that I’m not too into religion as a whole.)
That aforementioned thought system of mine will probably not be laid out as such; it’ll become obvious over time through my posts, but I don’t want to give it all away now. I don’t plan on writing a manifesto because I’m not insane enough, but I’ll say a few things here about what this blog will and won’t be about:
- I’ll write about porn. I’m in just about absolute agreement with Twisty Faster over at I Blame the Patriarchy on the subject of porn: it’s a symptom of the fact that we live in a patriarchy, a system in which women’s bodies are seen as objects for the use of and by men who generally do not credit women with the full measure of humanity that they themselves possess. That may sound kind of extreme (!), but it’s way less extreme diction than Twisty herself might use.
- I’ll write a lot about media in general (and especially advertising) and its role in gender role formation and maintenance, from the kinds of toys and other products that are marketed to children that inform their images of themselves and the people around them, to the kinds of wrinkle creams and boner-inducing drugs marketed to old people to help them stay in the constant state of hyper-sexualization that seems to be the ideal in our little society here.
- I’ll write about the general misogynistic assholery I witness in my daily life in Manhattan and in my academic career.
- I’ll write about the perversion of the Hippocratic Oath that is the plastic surgery industry, and about the general tendency in the medical profession to treat femaleness as inherently pathological, while all but ignoring the vast majority of women’s health issues.
- I’ll probably write about abortion and birth control. I’ll just say now that I’m pro-abortion. Seriously. I say if there’s any doubt, abort. As for birth control, I think it’s a travesty that we are still living in a situation in which we have few (or no) birth control options that don’t come with serious health risks for women. I know the Pill supposedly opened the path to our sexual liberation (which I think is bullshit), but the fact remains that hormone-based birth control is bad for women’s health, and that the other methods are a pain in the ass, dangerous, and/or gross.
- I’ll write about thoughtless promiscuity, both male and female. I’m not for it. You’ll note (I hope) throughout this blog that I’m an ethical person who cares about people’s feelings and thinks that sexuality exists as a vehicle for expressing affection. When people act like pigs about it, they ought to be called pigs. Most men are pigs about it, and a lot of women seem to want to join them these days (see the growth of the amateur porn industry and the success of Girls Gone Wild, but do NOT take this as me blaming women the fact that their options have been so limited as to make them think that allowing themselves to be objectified is a good idea). We’re on the wrong trajectory. BUT… I’m NOT a part of the “modesty movement” that places the blame for sexual abuse and men’s piggish behaviors on women. Those sellouts are worse than the “sex-positive” crowd as far as I’m concerned. It IS possible for women to have sexual freedom without emulating men’s gross behavior.
- I’ll write about my disappointment in the tomfoolery of some professed feminists, especially those who call themselves “sex-positive,” which is a serious misnomer. Using your sexuality to try to control people doesn’t make you a feminist, it makes you an asshole who has been brainwashed into believing that by being as gross as most men are you can reach some kind of equality with them. No matter how many times you show them your tits, they’ll still run the government and all the corporations and institutions that make sure your life revolves around obsessing over your appearance and making 75 cents on the dollar for what they make. Frankly, I’m sick of hearing these women reduce feminism to “to strip or not to strip.” It does nothing but add fuel to the general public’s misinformed view that we live in a “post-feminist” world in which there is nothing left to be decided but whether porn watching and pube waxing are feminist acts.
- I’ll avoid syrupy discussions of my feelings, and I promise that if I do write about having feelings, it will have a purpose.
- I’m not going to write about how evil men are as a whole. I mean, most of them are assholes, but I think it’s more constructive to discuss the behaviors men exhibit and try to figure out where they come from and how dudes can be made aware of their role in things than to sit around impotently raging against the man-chine (I hope you got that the title of this blog is a bit of a joke, and that I don’t listen to Rage Against the Machine). I do believe we live in a patriarchy, but I also believe that it’s an unexamined one. I don’t think there’s a vast conscious male conspiracy to keep us women down, just that there is a lot of unacknowledged benefit in being male in America (well, everywhere) and that there is a self-sustaining system in place that happens to direct women away from doing things that are good for them and toward things like pretending to like crippling shoes, make-up, and porn in order to be accepted by men. I guess my self-assigned job is to try to make people aware of it. It’s pretty clear that men need to get on board with treating women like human beings in order for any kind of equality to ever develop, and treating them like they aren’t human beings either isn’t going to make them see the light. But don’t get me wrong: there are only a few out there who are salvageable. I’m not an apologist for my views, I’m a proponent of them, and any dude who wants to engage in discussion here ought to behave, avoid condescension, and expect to have to defend his views (unless he agrees with me) with something more than dumb insults or poorly thought-out arguments, lest he face my scorching wit. I suppose the same goes for women, but I don’t know whether I need to point that out.
- I’m going to avoid theory and jargon at all costs. Maybe I’ve been forced to read too much Foucault and Derrida, but I think almost all theory is oversimplification, and tedious oversimplification at that. I just can’t deal with reading circumlocution and bewildering jargon about unclear or unoriginal ideas, so I won’t ask anyone else to either. Besides, it’s 2008. 1960s ideas about power and oppression should be rudimentary knowledge at this point, and I’m really not doing this in order to form an intellectual circle jerk with people who already agree with me. I’d rather present things in terms that people who don’t agree with me yet can get down with so that they can start agreeing with me.
- I’m going to write about some things that have nothing to do with feminism. The thing is, although feminism colors almost all of my worldview, it isn’t all I think about. If it was I’d just be angry and weltschmerz-y all the time, and that shit is really boring. I’ll categorize them so you can avoid them or look at them exclusively.
- I am totally going to talk authoritatively about things I don’t know shit about. It’s one of my hobbies.
Note: If you happen upon anything you find terrifically offensive, consider the possibility that it might be a joke or a rhetorical device. If both of those alternatives seem unlikely, you’re probably either a crybaby or an asshole that I’m not worried about offending.
62 Comments
March 20, 2008 at 8:52 pm
You need to address your anger and lighten up a bit, as serious as you think these issues are most of us just do our best to be good human beings and actually get on with life.
Cheers
March 20, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I think it’s pretty easy for a dude to tell someone to lighten up. As soon as you aren’t part of the group that runs everything, go ahead and start telling people to stop worrying about being shat on. As soon as the porn industry is dominated by images of men being choked and called derogatory names, tell me to stop being angry. As soon as men start getting raped on the same scale women do, and as soon as women start beating their husbands to death, you can come tell me this shit doesn’t matter. As soon as women can walk down the street without assholes harassing them, as soon as women earn equal pay for equal work, as soon as our bodies aren’t used as decoration for advertising and entertainment, tell me I have nothing to be irritated by. As for doing our best to be good human beings, that’s what I’m about here. I’m trying to do something to alleviate some of the ills I see plaguing women in our culture, if only by making one person at a time more aware of the problems that exist. But thanks for the patronizing pedantry.
March 21, 2008 at 4:49 am
Your suggestion that there is actually a oppressor/ oppressed relationship between men and women is at best illusory. In any case I’m not saying that you should stop fighting for a better deal for anyone but you are so obviously VERY angry about this and such anger will tear you apart in the long run. so my suggestion that you lighten up is all about strategies for self preservation rather than support for the “evils” that piss you off.
The porn industry is here to stay and while I share some of your concerns about some aspects of it just about all of the women who participate in it do so entirely consensually but there are whole sub genres of porn where men are in fact treated exactly as you describe, in both Straight and Gay porn. Every one has their own tastes when it come s to erotica and really this does not have anything to do with gender equality.
I detest rape as much as you obviously do but the relationship between Porn and rape is tenuous at best because, But when it come to Domestic violence I suggest that instead of taking the “all men are rapists line” I suggest that you explore the work of Erin Pizzey some one who has the track record to know what she is talking about.
When the fashion industry (which is dominated, by women and homosexuals) tells women to dress in a sexually provocative manner all of the time men will notice. I don’t live in the US and here in Australia we do have legislation that mandates equal pay for equal work, not perfect but closer to good than in your country. When it comes to advertising there is these days an equality of sorts because I see just as many “himbos” draped half naked in advertising as there are women doing the same . We will never get away from our basic biological imperatives for attractive people get our attention and I suspect that your puritan tendencies here are bound to give you more pain than satisfaction.
A laudable enough ambition but anger on its own will not achieve much and the toll that it will take on you at a personal level will be higher than you expect. I tend to think that persuasion rather than trying to brow beat anyone into your position is a better way to go because if you want to change the world so that it is better for women you have to find a way to bring men along as well and you won’t do that with an “Us and Them” attitude
I’m not trying to patronise you at all I’m just shooting the breeze in a blog comment about issues I’ve thought a lot about. Now you can keep writing pieces full of piss and vinegar or you can learn from others who have done the anger thing and moved on to a more fruitful duologue about the issues , it is entirely up to you. But ask your self which is going to be the more effective way to effect change, even one person at a time?
Cheers & best wishes
Iain Hall
March 21, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I’ve gotta get on a plane, so I’ll respond when I get back. For now I’ll just say that, for someone who has supposedly given more thought to these issues than I have and has come to some kind of superior vantage point from which to discuss them (which is a fucking laugh) and for someone who chooses to adopt such a condescending tone, you sure don’t seem to know much about what you’re talking about (as in statistics, facts, correlations), nor do you seem able to see the big picture behind the concerns you so cavalierly dismiss. For now you may want to read this and this.
March 21, 2008 at 9:37 pm
iain -
as a man, i am embarrassed to be of the same gender as you, but i can sleep at night because at least i live in a different hemisphere. i suggest that you think a little more about the issues that you have thought a lot about, and then keep thinking a little bit more, until you realize how retarded you are. good luck with that son.
paternally yours,
heywood
March 27, 2008 at 8:48 am
Anger is a valid weapon of the oppressed. Telling us not to be so angry out of pseudo-concern is akin to telling us that we should put away one of our most potent weapons and play by your rules. Those same rules which have been slanted in your favour for millennia. You control history, culture and the legal system, which means if we play by your rules we already start out at a huge disadvantage.
If you actually took the effort to open your mind while reading sources such as this (http://www.amptoons.com/blog/the-male-privilege-checklist/) then maybe you’d understand why we’re so angry. You’d also appreciate the fact that incredibly intelligent people write out fantastic arguments and observations in the faint hope that people like you will listen.
As for the relationship between porn and gender equality and porn I suggest you look at Robert Jensen’s work.
If you think you see as many himbos as bimbos in advertising then you are noticing the change of the default objectified human. This is similar to the effect two powerful women and one male POC on a committee of a hundred, the committee is seen as representing a range of views and experience, the fact that 97 of the people are white guys doesn’t mean much, because white male men are seen as the default. An exception to the rule doesn’t prove the rule doesn’t exist. I’d also note that in mainstream Western culture the attractive woman is portrayed as weak, with her breasts and arse highlighted. Her nakedness represents vulnerability. The attractive male is portrayed as strong, his muscles highlighted. His nakedness represents his strength.
I sincerely hope you get over your privilege and truly believe that I, as a woman, deserve to be treated as human.
March 27, 2008 at 11:11 pm
How is telling someone to ’shut up’, especially with no further dialogue ’shooting the breeze’? Notice that you (Nine Deuce) are not meant to make an informed choice to not be angry, but to listen to the man and accept what he says without explanation and without debate.
Fruitful dialogue? Ha. And they wonder why we’re angry.
March 28, 2008 at 2:23 am
Alright Iain, I’m back and I’m ready to address your paternalistic attempt to show me the error of my ways, however ill-advised that may be.
I’m not angry in the sense that you’d like to think I am. It doesn’t keep me up at night, disrupt my life, or cause me physical harm. I’m just aware of what’s going on, that it’s unjust, and that extreme terms are what’s needed to get my point across at times. It’s called style. I’m an excellent writer. What can I say? Still, why do you think it’s your job to tell me how to express myself? Where do you get the idea that you know better than I do what I ought to spend my time on? You sound like those jagoffs I hear prefacing some ridiculously misinformed racist nonsense with, “What the black community needs to do is…” I’d like to think you’re just concerned for my well-being, which would be patronizing and insulting anyway, but that isn’t what’s going on here. What you’re doing is trotting out one of the classic anti-feminist cliches: feminists are angry, which means they’re emotional, and thus irrational. Well, sorry. I’m a rational motherfucker at all times, and my logic is airtight.
As for the porn industry, I don’t know whether it’s here to stay, but I do know that it’s detrimental to women’s existence and I therefore am going to do whatever I can to bring attention to that fact. I’m aware that some women participate in pornography willingly, as you define that term, but I believe that in a society in which women were treated as if they possessed the same measure of humanity that men do, pornography would not exist (at least in the form that it does today) and women would not be willing to participate in its production. But I don’t agree that such a large portion of the women in porn are willing participants. It’s a completely unregulated industry that has an obscene track record of abusing minors, keeping women in sexual slavery, pumping confused young women full of drugs, and countless other abuses. I fail to see how women make unfettered choices under those conditions. Did you know that as many as 3/4 of women in porn have serious drug problems?
The idea that pornography has nothing to do with gender equality is a real laugh. I second the idea that you look up some of Robert Jensen’s work, and maybe watch the video I posted under the title “Fuckin’ A.” Robert Jensen uses a fairly clear example several times: let’s say I have to go to ask my boss for a raise, or ask a judge to treat me fairly in court, and that boss or judge has spent the previous evening watching “Filthy Cum Sluts 23.” Do you think he’s going to see me as an equal that deserves the same treatment he would expect for himself? Pornography is anti-woman propaganda; its message is loud and clear and that message is that women are here to be used like toilet paper by any man who should wish to. The message is definitely NOT that women are human beings who deserve respect and equitable treatment, or even the right to decide what to do with their own bodies. The idea that such a message doesn’t contribute to rape is absurd. There is more statistical proof that porn consumption fuels sexual assaults than there is that says otherwise. You can cherry-pick a study or two that says porn doesn’t contribute to rape if you want to, but you’ll just be Exxon telling me that a study exists that proves that global warming is a myth.
The fact that there exists a sub-genre of porn in which men are dominated by women does not disprove the theory that women are treated like sexbots in porn, because the men in these scenarios are still the ones in control; the woman is performing for the man’s pleasure, not the other way around, as is the case in nearly all porn. As for gay porn, the dynamic is much less psychologically dehumanizing in the vast majority of it, and when it is dehumanizing, it’s usually dehumanizing for the performer assuming the “feminine” role.
I absolutely never said that all men are rapists, but nice try. You aren’t going to misrepresent my position if you want to argue with me.
Yes, the fashion industry is dominated by women and gay men, but guess who they’re all trying to impress? Men.
I am not puritanical. I’m a liberal, which means I think people ought to do whatever they like, provided they aren’t hurting anyone *and* provided that they know what they are doing. There is a huge difference between being puritanical, which would mean I want to tell people to cover up and deny their sexuality, and wishing that women had the ability to express their own sexuality in their own terms instead of in terms of male fantasies.
You really ought to go back and have a look at your response and think about how patronizing and presumptuous it is. I’ve seen your blog, and I’ve read your posts here, and I am left with a question. I am clearly much, much smarter than you are, and I obviously know a lot more than you do about feminism and gender issues (and history, politics, government, and culture), so where would you get the idea that you could come here and tell me how I ought to spend *my* mental energies?
March 28, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Yes, you are a great writer!
I am going to keep reading. Thanks
March 28, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Thanks, SAAM. I was kind of kidding about that one. I like to pretend to be more arrogant than I really am at times because it tends to really irritate MRAs who think they’re smarter than all us womenfolk. I’m glad you like the blog!
March 28, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I meant it, as being an aspiring writer, I am reading your stuff, thinking, ‘Shit, I wish I could write like that.”
I know what you mean about arrogance. I like irritating people!!
March 28, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I’m with SAAM on your writing ability Ninedeuce.
As for irritating MRAs and fundies? Just one of the more satisfying perks of the job. -evil laugh’n’smile-
March 29, 2008 at 1:01 am
Your writing is always on point, 9-2. Take a bow.
March 29, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I SUPPOSE ALL YOU LIBERAL WOMAN HATERS THINK YOU CAN JUST MAKE FUN OF A MAN AND BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE OF YOU THAN IT MAKES YOU THE WINNER. IT’S A FEMINIST BLOG!!!!!! WHO DO YOU THINK READS IT MORE MEN OR WOMEN? OH I FORGOT YOU ARE STUPID LIBERAL WOMEN THAT ARE UPSET BECAUSE A MAN DOES NOT WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH THEM. IAN IS SMARTER THAN YOU ALL AND JUST BECAUSE HE IS ON A FEMINAZI WEBSITE YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED IN TRYING TO MAKE A GOOD MAN LOOK STUPID. IF YOU FEMINAZIS WOULD JUST LEARN TO RELAX THAN EVERYTHING WOULD BE JUST FINE. MAYBE YOU SHOULD SMOKE A JOINT THAT’S RIGHT I’M A LIBERTARIAN AND I SUPPORT DRUG LEGALIZATION BECAUSE MAYBE IF DRUGS WERE LEGAL YOU FEMINAZIS WOULD RELAX AND GET LAID AND FINALLY BE HAPPY. I KNOW THAT YOU ALL MUST BE UGLY TO BE FEMINAZIS BUT I PROMISE YOU CAN FIND AN UGLY MAN TO BE WITH TOO. ALL FEMINAZIS WANT IS TO TELL EVERYONE HOW TO BE AND LIVE THERE LIFE BECAUSE THEY CANNOT GET A GOOD MAN BECAUSE THERE UGLY. PERIOD. IN NASCAR A FEW YEARS AGO THERE WAS A DRIVER NAMED SHAUNA ROBINSON. SHE SUCKED AND DIDN’T MAKE IT IN NASCAR. DO YOU THINK SHE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PUT OTHER DRIVERS AT RISK JUST BECAUSE SHE IS A WOMAN? NOW YOU SEE THE STUPIDITY OF BEING A FEMINAZI IF YOU BOTHER TO PAY ATTENTION. I AM GOING TO HAVE MY OWN WEBSITE SOON AND I AM GOING TO DEVOTE IT TO FIGHTING ALL LIBERALS AND YOU FEMINAZIS ARE THE WORST OF ALL OF THEM. I DON’T WANT TO HURT WOMEN. I JUST WANT TO LIVE WITH WOMEN AS GOD INTENDED AND NOT HAVE TO BE TOLD THAT IT IS WRONG TO BE A MAN BY A WOMAN THAT IS TOO LAZY TO SHAVE THERE ARMPITS. I DON’T THINK THAT MAKES ME A BAD PERSON BUT TELLING IAN THAT HE IS STUPID FOR TRYING TO HELP YOU DOES.
March 29, 2008 at 8:28 pm
“buttkicker” doesn’t know where his caps-lock key is…
btw. i’m a man, a feminist, and have a wonderful sex life. Maybe if you didn’t hate women so much you’d know a thing or two about them.
How much do I desire to debunk thy assumptions? Let me count the ways. :-)
March 29, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Buttkicker, doncha know that use evil feminazis are all evil lesbians conspiring to kill all men? I guess instead of 6 million Jews we will kill 6 million rapists, but that just wouldn’t be emough. Maybe 50 million for all the people killed in WWII?
I know I shouldn’t joke with him guys, given that he’ll probably take it seriously, but c’mon, he used the caps locks key. Thats just so cute!
Awwwww, poor concewn twoll got his twoes stubbed by the ebil nasty feminazis.
March 29, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Does buttkicker deliberately use there and their the wrong way round? Is it part of the parody?
March 29, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE MY CAPS-LOCK KEY IS YOU SPINELESS LIBERAL QUEER BUT I WANT EVERYONE TO HEAR WHAT I SAY THAT’S WHY I TYPE IN ALL CAPITALS. SO YOUR A MAN AND A FEMINAZI. NOW I’VE TRULY HEARD IT ALL. THERE IS NOTHING BUT MANBASHING GOING ON ON THIS WEBSITE AND YOU THINK IT’S SO LIBERAL TO SAY IT’S OK. WELL IT’S NOT OK AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT YOUR SEX LIFE WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND MAY BE WONDERFUL TO YOU BUT ISN’T WONDERFUL AT ALL IN GOD’S EYES. I AM A LIBERTARIAN SO I SUPPORT YOUR RIGHT TO BE GAY BUT I AM A GOOD CHRISTIAN AND I KNOW THAT BEING GAY IS WRONG JUST LIKE HATING MEN ON THE INTERNET. AND BY THE WAY IF YOU ARE GAY YOU SHOULD NOT BE GAY IN PUBLIC BECAUSE PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO WATCH THAT BECAUSE IT IS DISGUSTING JUST LIKE WOMEN THAT DON’T WEAR MAKEUP OR SHAVE THERE LEGS AND ARMPITS OR SHOULD I SAY ALL YOU ANGRY LESBIANS ON THIS WEBSITE EXCEPT FOR IAN WHO IS THE ONLY ONE THAT SEES THE BIG PICTURE. OH AND BY THE WAY I HAVE A VERY LARGE PENIS SO I HAVE NO PROBLEM RELATING TO WOMEN. GEE MAYBE THAT’S THE REASON YOUR A FEMINAZI BECAUSE YOUR DICK IS SO SMALL THAT YOU HAVE TO SUCK UP TO WOMEN TO GET A DATE. YOU LIBERALS REALLY ARE PATHETIC.
March 30, 2008 at 12:18 am
I’ve decided to allow all MRA-type comments as they prove my points for me.
March 30, 2008 at 12:37 am
Hehehehehehehe. Whoever is doing the parody: nice work! You’ve pretty much nailed all the elements of the “Nice Guy” combined with the “Christian-Who-Thinks-He’s-Tolerant”. It’s practically a smorgasbord of idiocy!
Ooh, please pretend to be the pornsick weasel who believes he has the God given right to orgasm to women’s degradation next. Or make your current concern troll go frothing at the mouth at women having the right to control their bodies as “killing unborn children.” Make sure to add a reference to evolution not existing.
March 30, 2008 at 1:07 am
OH YOUR SO SMART FOR KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE IN THEIR AND THERE. IF I WAS TALKING YOU WOULDN’T SEE THE LAST TWO LETTERS ANYWAY. I’VE BEEN WORKING AND SUPPORTING MYSELF SINCE I WAS 17 AND HAVE NEVER ASKED FOR A BIG GOVERNMENT HANDOUT BUT I GUESS THAT MAKES ME A BAD PERSON BECAUSE I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE SPELLING OF TWO STUPID WORDS. YEAH I’M A PARODY ALL RIGHT IF YOU THINK YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE IS FUNNY. OH AND THANKS TO THE PERSON WHO SAID WE SHOULD KILL 50 MILLION MEN TO MAKE UP FOR WORLD WAR II. IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW WORLD WAR II WAS NOT ABOUT KILLING PEOPLE FOR NOTHING IT WAS ABOUT DEFENDING OUR FREEDOM AND WAY OF LIFE BUT I GUESS WE SHOULD HAVE JUST THE JAPANESE AND GERMANS INVADE OUR COUNTRY. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE POLITE THING TO DO WHICH IS WHAT YOU SPINELESS LIBERALS THINK IS THE THING WE SHOULD BE DOING ANYWAY. YOU GUYS JUST KEEP LAUGHING AT ME BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY I’LL BE LAUGHING BECAUSE CONSERVATIVE VALUES ARE WHAT THIS COUNTRY IS FOUNDED ON AND ARE WHAT MAKES THIS COUNTRY BEAUTIFUL. SO I KNOW THAT YOU ALL THINK ITS COOL TO BE A SENSITIVE DIFFERENT LIBERAL AND DRIVE A CAR FROM NATIONS THAT TRIED TO KILL US BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY AMERICA WILL ALWAYS BE STRONG. EVEN STRONG ENOUGH TO ALLOW LIBERALS LIKE ALL OF YOU HERE TO TRY AND DESTROY IT. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND EVEN ALL OF YALL. HE STILL LOVES EVEN YALL BUT DON’T THINK THERE WON’T BE A PRICE TO PAY SOMEDAY FOR SAYING YOU SHOULD KILL 50 MILLION PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU HATE MEN BECAUSE YOU ARE A UGLY STUPID FEMINAZI THAT HATES THE WORLD. GOD LOVES ALL BUT EVERYTHING HAS A PRICE. THAT IS SOMETHING YOU ALL SHOULD REMEMBER.
March 30, 2008 at 1:41 am
Inability to get a joke or mockery of any kind? Pure parody brilliance. Adding in clichés like “your worst nightmare” and “God loves y’all” is icing on the cake. You know you could do this for a living. You’re very good at playing the narrow-minded, terminally stupid bigot. You’d have the audience in gales of laughter.
I’m going to let others salute your comic brilliance, because I don’t want to be cluttering our gracious host’s about page. Thanks for the lols.
I’m off to cavort with my evil lesbian feminist friends. We sacrifice the penises of rapists, MRAs and fundies to our pagan goddess of feminazism. We also worship her with all our lesbian sex which we do in abandoned churches. In addition we give out flyers on how to have abortions and get BC to our heterosexual sisters who have yet to be converted.
Ta ta mon ami.
(edit if you want to 9-2, just reiterating how great your blog is.)
March 30, 2008 at 2:15 am
Clutter away, all y’all. I’m entertained.
March 30, 2008 at 2:50 am
I’M GLAD THAT I’M SUCH A JOKE TO YOU BECAUSE REALLY I THINK IT’S FUNNY THAT A PERSON SAYING THAT 50 MILLION PEOPLE SHOULD NOT DIE IS THE ONE WHO’S A NARROW MINDED JOKE AND JUST BECAUSE I DON’T LAUGH OR ADDRESS YOUR JOKES DOESN’T MEAN I DON’T GET THEM IT JUST MEANS I DON’T THINK THEY ARE FUNNY. YOUR SARCASM WILL NEVER SCARE ME AND YOU CAN MAKE ALL THE COMMENTS YOU WANT THAT MAKE ME LOOK STUPID BUT I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU HONEY THAT IS WHY YOU LIBERALS WILL ALWAYS LOSE BECAUSE YOU CARE MORE ABOUT LOOKING LIKE YOUR COOL AND SMART THAN YOU DO ABOUT THE COUNTRY THAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO DO IT. YOU’D THINK I WAS REAL FUNNY IF YOU WERE IN CUBA AND YOU COULD BE KILLED FOR MAKING THE WRONG JOKE AND YOU CERTAINLY COULDN’T TALK ABOUT KILLING 50 MILLION PEOPLE WITHOUT BEING JAILED OR KILLED YOURSELF. AND BY THE WAY I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I’M NOT STUPID AND I KNOW YOU DON’T DO ALL OF THE STUFF YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT AT THE END LIKE HAVING SEX IN ABANDONED CHURCHES BECAUSE I AM NOT STUPID. I KNOW WHAT SARCASM IS BUT SARCASM WILL NEVER CHANGE THE FACTS. A WOMAN HAS A RIGHT TO LIVE HER LIFE AND SHE IS PROTECTED BY THE SAME LAWS UNLIKE OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE THEY ARE NOT. OH BUT YOU FEMINAZIS DON’T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THAT YOU JUST LIKE TO TALK ABOUT LETTING THOSE NATIONS COMMIT ACTS OF TERROR AGAINST US. INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT REAL ISSUES LIKE THE WAR ON TERROR YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOU DO NOT WANT TO WEAR MAKEUP AND YOU DON’T WANT A MAN TO BUY YOUR DINNER FOR YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU WOULD PROBABLY GET MAD IF HE DIDN’T BECAUSE YOU FEMINAZIS ALWAYS WANT TO HAVE THINGS BOTH WAYS. THAT’S WHAT BEING A LIBERAL IS ALL ABOUT. YOU ALWAYS HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SOMETHING ABOUT THE GREAT COUNTRY THAT GIVES YOU THE FREEDOM YOU ABUSE. NOW WHO’S A JOKE.
March 30, 2008 at 3:51 am
This is the best blog ever, what with NineDeuce’s expert writings and opinions and with Buttkicker69 entertaining, if misspelled, comments!! (He has a very large penis, you know. All is right with the world.)
March 30, 2008 at 5:49 am
I dunno, it seems like you’re still the joke buttkicker. It amazes me how you can continue the parody so flawlessly without making yourself sick with the idiocy of it all. I mean stating “I’m not stupid” and then disproving that in the next sentence, damn you’re good.
Damn those church floors are hard; I’ll have bruises for weeks. Sacrificing a few men here and there just isn’t enough anymore for all that evil witch healing power. Any of my feminazi friends know if burning playboy works as a surrogate sacrifice? I’m running low on athame fodder at the moment.
March 30, 2008 at 11:16 am
Well it means that he can ‘relate’ to women. Which is good. Cause the words aren’t doing it.
or maybe we’re not women! Yes! The distinction of gender has finally been abolished! The aims of the feminist movement achieved! And all because of a big penis.
March 30, 2008 at 11:52 am
Also in the interests of historically accurate trolling, can I point out that c.50 million PEOPLE died in WW2- over 2/3 of that number were civilians including men, women and children.
March 31, 2008 at 4:57 pm
hey, “buttkicker” I said I was heterosexual. My wife of ten years would beg to differ with your comments. Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things. Funny to see how rabid the privileged get when their privilege is challenged. Feminists just want their fair share of prosperity us white men take for granted. I don’t see what the big problem is with them getting it.
So, how do you relate to women with your large penis? Club them with it? Puhleeze. Get an education, man up, and stop crying about the fact that you’re losing a smidgen of your privilege.
By the way, I’m totally down with killing off some rapists, but I’d rather go after the ideology behind their actions.
March 31, 2008 at 4:59 pm
also, bellyacher69… what’s the problem with man-bashing? It’s not like we’ve done a jam-up job of running the planet exactly. And don’t even get me started on the flaws of “libertarianism” and free-market fundamentalism.
March 31, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Hi, I stumbled onto this website in search of good porn and instead I found a bunch of sexually supressed man-haters (incl. the uber-wuss Syndicalist702). It’s a real crying game why women have so many problems with their beavers. If it’s not a yeast infection it’s menstration, if it’s not menstration it’s stress, etc. etc. etc. Get a real job and then tell me about your problems! I wish for one second I could watch soap operas or wash clothes, but I can’t because I gotta fucking work. I gotta fucking work so you can get your nails done and go shopping at JC Penny’s. Women are nothing but perpetual complainers. You freaks even complain about complaining. Now go back to watching Dallas or whatever-the-fuck-mindless-shit y’all watch and stop complaining for a change.
March 31, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Also, women can’t take the heat that man is subjected to on a daily basis. The only heat women experience is from a skillet.
March 31, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I’m torn. Should I let my comments sections turn into joke-a-thons?
April 1, 2008 at 12:41 am
Absolutely, so long as it remains funny. How will Buttkicker 69 learn if he isn’t given an opportunity to be a part of the debate? I think he may come around yet.
April 1, 2008 at 6:26 am
WELL THANK YOU DAVETAVIUS. I’M SO GLAD THAT YOU THINK I WILL EMBRACE LIBERAL WAYS. WELL GUESS WHAT? THAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN PIGS FLY. I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT I AM NOT A SEXIST. I DO NOT SUPPORT THE VIEWS OF DRAKKAR NOIR. I AM FOR WOMENS RIGHTS I JUST DO NOT THINK PEOPLE SHOULD SAY THAT MEN ARE BAD OR THAT PEOPLE SHOULD DIE BECAUSE OF PAST EVENTS THAT CAN BE INTERPRETED IN DIFFERENT WAYS. TO TAKE ON A FEW THINGS MANBASHING IS ALWAYS BAD BECAUSE MEN ARE FIFTY PERCENT OF THE WORLD SO TO SAY THAT FIFTY PERCENT OF THE WORLD IS BAD BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GENETIC DIFFERENCE IS JUST WRONG. THAT MEANS YOU ARE SAYING THAT HALF OF THE WORLD IS WRONG BECAUSE OF PREJUDICE. I DO NOT THINK PREJUDICE IS RIGHT. I AM A SOUTHERNER AND I HAVE SEEN THE WORLD CHANGE FROM WHERE BLACKS WERE NOT WELCOME IN THE SOUTH TO NOW WHERE THEY ARE MAINLY GOOD MEMBERS OF SOCIETY. I DO NOT THINK WOMEN HAVE TO BE HOUSEWIVES OR IN THE KITCHEN I JUST THINK THEY SHOULD NOT TRY TO SAY MEN ARE BAD JUST BECAUSE MEN ARE IN POWER. THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE AND THAT IS SOMETHING LIBERALS WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO STUCK UP TO EVEN TRY TO UNDERSTAND. AND TO EVERYONE THAT HAS BEEN MAKING FUN OF ME YOU ALL HAVE TO KNOW THAT I WILL NEVER BACK DOWN AND THAT A SOUTHERN MAN WILL NEVER BE AFRAID OF A LIBERAL. I DO NOT THINK THAT A PERSON SHOULD JUDGE ON SEX OR RACE UNLESS THEY WANT TO BECAUSE OF THERE OWN FREEDOM. I MIGHT THINK THAT A PERSON SHOULD NEVER BE GAY BUT AS A LIBERTARIAN I KNOW THAT FREEDOM IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. I THINK THAT GAYS ARE GROSS BUT I KNOW THAT FREEDOM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN OPINION AND THAT IS WHY I SAY THAT A WOMAN CAN DO ANYTHING AND A GAY MAN CAN DO ANYTHING BUT TO SAY THAT ALL MEN TRY TO HURT WOMEN IS A LIE AND TO SAY THAT A WOMAN CANNOT LOVE A MAN IS A LIE. I HOPE THAT EVERYONE CAN LEARN FROM ALL THIS AND LEARN NOT TO HATE BECAUSE HATE IS WHAT TRULY BLINDS US. I JUST WISH YOU LIBERALS COULD SEE THIS BUT THERE IS SUCH A THING AS AN EYE FOR AN EYE. I’LL LOVE YALL WHEN YALL LOVE ME. THATS PROBABLY SOMETHING YALL COULD THINK ABOUT FOR AWHILE.
April 1, 2008 at 1:27 pm
drakkar - You call me a wuss, but you name yourself after a cologne? Wow. Civilization has hit a new low. I won’t even entertain your assumption about me, because you don’t know me from Adam. You have assumed just because I don’t buy your it’s-a-man’s-world-women-are-men’s-fuckpuppets mentality that somehow I’m less of a man, or that I’m *chuckle* gay. Talk to me when you’ve done something, okay? Wait, nevermind. That would require thinking on your part, and that’d be too much effort for a guy like yourself. The day you and your ilk can prove that I’m less of a man is the day you’ll actually have a leg to stand on as far as arguments go. But, then - just maybe - I’ll just kick that one out from under you, too. Whatcha think about that? I defend a woman’s right to be considered more that a fuck toy, more than the person who wipes your lazy ass for you, and more than the porn slaves you were searching for. I’m willing to do it with my fists if necessary. Manhood, to me, is about justice, fairness, self-control, and balance - four things traditional manhood gives little more than lip service to. Traditional manhood isn’t manhood at all. It’s the adult form of boyhood. If you can’t hang with the big dogs, stay your little ass on the porch.
buttwhiner - listen, pal, it’s not about bashing men, okay. It’s about challenging the patriarchy (look that up, if you can put down your beer and pretzels long enough) and about the somehow radical notion that *gasp* women are human and equal to men. I don’t hate you, or anyone. I just hate the way some people think. This every-one-for-themselves mentality should have died with early humans. If you’re offended by fifty percent of our species wanting fair treatment from the other fifty, you’re thinking is the problem, not mine. And what’s all this talk about homosexuality. If I’m not mistaken, you’re the only one that brought that up. I smell a straw man. I also smell insecurity. Who’s emasculated now? Tactics like that are no way to conduct discourse. Tactics like that won’t get you out of a wet paper bag if you have a pair of scissors and a box cutter. Turn down the caps and turn up your hearing aid, even if you don’t like what you hear.
April 1, 2008 at 1:29 pm
drakkar - Sexually suppressed, hunh? I’m not the one who needs porn to get off.
But I digress.
April 1, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Don’t even get me started about how Eve ruined eternal paradise for ALL mankind. I’m sure reading the Bible and not shaving your legs don’t mesh well. I’m not sexist. I just think if women want an even playing field (which is ok) then accept the harsh conditions that are associated. What about child support? Gross majority of court cases enable the mother full custody without warrant simply because of sex. Income differentials: most state laws empower the mother, regardless of self-made income, rights to a grossly disproportionate share (dare I say) of the husband’s wealth. I guess we’ll have to change all of that too, huh?
April 1, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I would like to know what you all think about the statement: “Men are generally more intelligent than women.” In my opinion, in general, women are far superior to men emotionally and even communicatively. That said, men are generally better problem solvers/logical thinkers. No shit that these generalizations are cliche as fuck, but it does make me wonder if these are indeed true, what’s more important…logic or emotion?
April 2, 2008 at 7:30 pm
syndicalist702 - I never called you gay because you’re not, yet. This new low for civilization that you write about isn’t new. It started during the 1960’s and it’s known as “male hyper-sensitive behavior syndrome”. M.H.S.B. was started by hippies and circus sideshow freaks for comedic entertainment. Fast forward thirty years to the 1990’s and you see the emergence of metro-sexuality, males with lactating glands, and mainstream adoration for R.E.M. You were probably mentally soft and extremely impressionable during these times, which is why you weeped yourself to sleep to the voice of Michael Stipe singing about losing his religion and replacing it with guy-liner or Billy Corgan wimpering about being rats that are inside of cages. So now your a man in his thirties vehemently campaigning for women’s rights as a pathetic attempt to lose your virginity to some confused 18-year old bisexual teen with a penchant for rainy days and 30-year old men that still carry mace on their keychains. That’s what I call a new low for civilization my friend. You’re better off being gay.
Justice, fairness, self-control, and balance? Are you fucking kidding me? That seriously sounds like a Channel 5 Eyewitness News intro. If you’re going to pick virtues out of a Danielle Steele novel, at least pick the ones that involve something more interesting. You seemed to forget being a man meant having a penis, too. I’d say that was more critical to being a man than…fairness. I’m really sorry if I hurt your feelings; I guess the world really is a vampire.
April 2, 2008 at 11:55 pm
sorry, nine-deuce, I get a little militant here.
drakkar… you have no idea who I am. Not even the foggiest smidgen of a clue. *shrug* I proudly don’t even fit into a mold you hate. REM played out by the time they made MTV. Oh, and a father of two, trying to lose his virginity? Wow. News to me.
I have adequate enough manhood that I don’t have to use my strength to hurt other people, unless it’s in my defense. I don’t need pepper spray. That’s what the Marine Corps training and Nevada’s concealed carry laws do for me.
As for you, non-friend, what is more pathetic: (a) a strong father of two who uses his strength and talents to help others or (b) a whiny loser shithead who needs porn to get off and just can’t resist hating on other people instead of dealing with his own insecurity. That’s allright, though. I ain’t mad at ya. Think what you want to. Just don’t waste your time trying to convince me. Especially seeing as you haven’t the maturity of a twelve year old or the sense god gave a billy goat. With the justice, fairness, self-control, and balance, no. I’m not kidding. These are basic principles of true strength. Something a weakling like you wouldn’t understand. The only threat to what you call “civilization” is your inability to hold on to your tyranny. I’ll have pity on you, soon as the boot tracks clear off of your forehead. Better yet, I won’t do anything to you. I look and act just like any other guy, save the anti-misogynist comments I make to my coworkers. They’re starting to listen, which makes me an infiltrator.
Before you bullshit yourself, son, at least know your enemy.
April 3, 2008 at 12:55 am
You guys sure are dudes.
April 3, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Yeah, I know. :-)
April 23, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Not the same Iain as left the first comment… nothing wrong with a good bit of well placed anger.
Excellent blog.
The caps lock commenter has to be on a wind-up.
Love to know your views on Martin Luther King.
April 24, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Oh no! Not getting paid to have sex! What devious mind could think of a more sadistic torture than offering money to stick a phallus in a vagina and film it so people can masturbate to the sexual imagery and feel good!?
Only in our ridiculous puritanical society can sex be considered degrading. It’s ironic that you base a part of your feminism on an ancient idea of sex as dirty and evil to insinuate that paying women to be involved in it is some how subjugating them. And then you say the idea of sexual liberation is some kind of male trick to see more skin or something? Ridiculous. Seeing threats and veiled plots against you everywhere is a classic sign of paranoia. You and Joseph Stalin would probably get along. You and he could come up with some kind of crazy hybrid plot where capitalist males are trying to repress the proletariat so that women can’t afford things and have to be involved in prostitution or something.
April 24, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Jack, when men are reduced to their “fuckability” in our society, you can start telling women what they should and shouldn’t see as misogynistic. My premise here, and I know it’s radical, is that women are just as human as men are, and are thus entitled to expect to be treated with dignity.
I never said sex is dirty or evil. If you had read my post, you would see that I make every argument that sex is an integral and healthy part of life, but that it has been warped and damaged by the reduction of human interaction to female subjugation and male domination. Sex isn’t degrading, but one-sided sex that centers around men’s pleasure and ignores women’s humanity is. If porn were just people having sex, I’d have a much weaker objection to it, but it isn’t. It’s women’s bodies being used by men, it’s women being treated poorly, it’s women’s humanity being ignored. Read my 4th post on porn if you want my opinion on that.
Pro-porn types always want to paint feminists who are against female exploitation as part of the puritanical set within the religious right. There IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WANTING TO BE TREATED LIKE A HUMAN BEING RATHER THAN A FUCKTOY AND BEING ANTI-SEX. Write that shit down. I’m fucking TIRED of repeating it.
May 3, 2008 at 2:39 am
[...] Nine Deuce’s explanation of feminist anger gets me all, you know, angry. Of course it quickly spirals downhill with a perfect example of Anti-Feminist Bingo trollatry, then back on track with a short continued discussion of feminist anger, and then “BUTTKICKER 69″ sets shit straight in all caps. He relates to women very well because he has a large penis. [...]
May 7, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Omg, this is fantastic. The buttkicker comments are amazing, I actually laughed out loud! When you think you’ve heard it all… and thanks to Hellon hairylegs- I loved your description on the place of anger. Great, great thread :) Oh, and I’m off to get laid to ease some of my feminazi anger, great suggestion.
June 14, 2008 at 7:21 am
Now that I’ve taken the time to read through your about, I’ll have to agree that you are, well, pretty angsty. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The fact that you have strong feelings for the subject is good; it means you’ll have the necessaries to be able to motivate yourself to do more about it than most people who spend 5 minutes considering their role in a society of gender discrimination and then shrug and say “well that’s the way things have always been I guess some things just never chance.” The complacency and noncommittal admition of apathy to the whole situation on grounds that it’s too difficult to change is what really pisses me off.
June 16, 2008 at 1:32 pm
This blog is frikkin awesome. Angry women rule. I especially like the fact that you’re using the space to invite people to change their minds, rather than explicitly preaching to the converted. There’s lots of awesome blogs for the angry feminists. This one pretty much explains why so many feminists are angry, in accessible and sharp language. You’ve already helped me to clarify some arguments in my own head so thanks.
June 18, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Hey Ms. Deuce– I am writing an anti-pornography essay for my summer Comp II class and am using your porn series as a reference. (Yes, I have a totally kick-ass feminsit professor who is cool with me using blogs as a source!) I’m basically telling you this because I was wondering how you preferred to be referred to. Should I just call you “the blogger known as Nine Deuce” or would you like a real name (or other alias) for my works cited, etc? Feel free to email me, and if the essay doesn’t end up totally sucking, I’ll be posting it on my blog. ;)
June 18, 2008 at 4:29 pm
zombie z - Either way is fine with me. If you’d rather I give you my real name, let me know your e-mail address. Good luck on the paper! I’d really be interested in reading it.
June 19, 2008 at 2:28 am
http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3168258
:P I figured you’d appreciate this.
A rather honest depiction of my generation, sadly.
June 19, 2008 at 2:29 am
Aoife
“You’ve already helped me to clarify some arguments in my own head so thanks.”
Is that a euphemism for “reaffirm my own beliefs”?
:P
June 24, 2008 at 7:14 pm
This is satire, right? I mean, what else permits the phrases “most retarded of readers” and “I’m an ethical person who cares about people’s feelings” to coexist? The possibility that either is a joke, as you allude to in your PS, doesn’t resolve the paradox; unless it’s your claim to ethics and caring that contains the humor.
June 25, 2008 at 9:51 pm
There is no paradox. I can frequently be found making fun of myself, of other people (by assuming their writing style or by pretending to be insanely arrogant), and of some of my less thoughtful readers. It seems that plenty of people are unable to pick it up at times, but that’s not my problem.
June 26, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Eye: nah, it’s me saying that Nine Deuce’s articulate writing and well-thought out arguments have helped me to frame my own emotions and opinions around particular aspects of gender, feminism and oppression against a backdrop that I can relate to, and wasn’t previously aware of.
Hey, Eye:
““You’ve already helped me to clarify some arguments in my own head so thanks.”
Is that a euphemism for “reaffirm my own beliefs”? :P”
Is that a euphemism for ‘I’m a smartarse’? : P
June 29, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I like this blog, and I’ll tell you why.
It’s not just because it proposes the most sensible and well researched ideas dealing with feminism I’ve ever come across, or because I tend to agree with a large majority of it. Or even because the focus on media is, I think, the best way for people to actually be able to see practical misogyny.
I like it because of the brilliantly ironic, self aware arrogance. It’s genuine, full frontal confidence, presented with a smirk. And it perfectly shoots down any opposing argument that isn’t meticulously researched and well presented, or laced with a tone of condescension. It’s rare to find in the world of weblogs.
As a note, after I re-read this post, I realised (oops, gave away that I’m not American) that it’s completely devoid of humour. Which is a shame, as the rest of the page is hilarious and I had to go all serious. Carry on.
July 6, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Hey, Nine Deuce. I thought I’d let you and your readers (who aren’t assholes or BUTTKICKER 69!!!1) know about a new radfem discussion/consciousness-raising forum I created this weekend. You can read more about it at my blog or just go over and join here. It’s in the style of the IBTP forum, but I believe it will work out quite differently than that forum. So, I hope you join!
Thanks,
Laceyfish
July 12, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I seriously love, love, LOVE this page. I agree with probably 80 to 90 percent of what’s stated here, if not more.
I wanted to comment on the modesty thing, though: it depends on the reasons stated for encouraging modesty. I am not sure I would veil myself at this point; it’s just too damn inconvenient. But it’s also possible to see clothing as a privacy issue. I mean, if I don’t want some random strange guy grabbin’ mah girls, why would I want to show them to him either, even just the tops of them or what they’re shaped like? It’s not as much of a concern for me as it used to be because I don’t live up to patriarchal standards on boob beauty these days. (Which is interesting in light of the fact that many cultures/religions calling for feminine modesty don’t require it as stringently in older women, who tend to also be post-childbearing.) But I don’t understand women who get all bent out of shape when some guy hollers at them but *at the same time* want to walk around practically naked–if he’s a creep, why do you want him *looking* at you? It’s their right if it’s what they want, it just doesn’t make any sense to me.
As for socio-political movements, you ought to check out the human rewilding movement. I haven’t gotten totally immersed in it yet, but so far I have been encouraged at the way even the male bloggers talk about women’s issues as though they are just an everyday part of life. I don’t mean, “hey, jump into this movement, it’s TOTALLY THERE MAN!!”, but seriously, have a look at what they have to say. It’s pretty amazing. Jared Diamond isn’t a blogger but has inspired rewilders through his essays and books, and he talks about how the evidence points to forager cultures being gender-egalitarian and how the advent of agriculture led to women being treated like beasts of burden. I want to read Daniel Quinn’s stuff too. If you just want to see blogs, the Anthropik Network (anthropik.com, I think?) and Urban Scout (urbanscout.org) are decent places to start.
July 12, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Dana, the problem is that men act like they’re entitled to critique women’s bodies no matter what women wear or don’t wear. Women who “walk around practically naked” have nothing more or less to fear from the male gaze than women who wear veils. Keep the blame where it belongs, on patriarchy and men, not on women.
July 13, 2008 at 8:08 am
Ginmar on A View From A Broad has sometimes said that men are not natural disasters and that women should not have to live as though preparing for said disasters. In the meta-sense she is absolutely right. On a day to day level when you actually have to live with this shit–and she has, and so have I, and I bet you have too–nobody likes to stand out in an empty, treeless field and be hit by lightning. None of us control the lightning. None of us make it hit us. The worst part is we have to be out in that field if we want to have any kind of public life at all–and worse yet, the fucking lightning is intelligent and knows exactly what it’s doing.
So, what to do? Make friends with the folks at the local burn unit and hope you are alive to say Hi to them next time you drop by? Carry a lightning rod out into the field with you? Wear rubber armor? What?
It is one thing to spout theory about this, to say “it’s all men’s fault”–it IS all men’s fault, and the male gaze IS the problem. Quite another to leave it at the spouting of the theory and to ignore the fact that we cannot change men’s hearts and minds for them, and that meanwhile men are still hurting women and we need clear answers for coping with that fact.
For some women coping takes the form of covering up. Not me necessarily, I wear large t-shirts and baggy jeans and sometimes a hat, and I think it’s too damn hot to veil. And there are lots of different ways to be modest, even so–it varies from religion to religion and culture to culture, and even members of the same faith or culture may have different interpretations.
But this is how they cope. And I’m beyond tired of seeing feminists give them crap about it. Especially when no viable alternative ever seems to be offered. It’s never, “You’re oppressed if you have to veil. Here, do this instead and you’ll still feel like your privacy is protected.” I’ve been reading feminist blogs for years now and I haven’t seen anything yet other than “We have to change their culture so they don’t have to do this anymore,” which carries its own set of cultural imperialist baggage, and again, you can’t change anyone’s heart or mind. They have to do it themselves. That’s true everywhere–even when men are pushy and are bullies and try to bend women and minorities to their will, the truth is that they only get us to act differently, not necessarily to think differently. Which is why we have feminist and other liberation movements at all. It works the other way too–you could get guys to act just the way you want them to. But number one, that smacks of women having to take responsibility for men. Number two, they will resent being controlled even if we were to miraculously manage it, and their little acts of subversion would be harmful to us.
So… *throws hands up* I don’t know. I *do* see feminists, especially radfems, often say after some nasty piece of news or another that they no longer want to associate with men. What’s the difference between that and not letting men see all of what you look like, I wonder? It’s still reacting to them. On the other hand, what else can we do? This is an honest question. If none of us can’t answer it–and I sure as hell can’t–then maybe we should give women room to figure out their own coping mechanisms, because when we get on some women’s cases about veiling or wearing long dresses, we’re doing the same damn thing the construction worker does when he whistles at us as we walk by.
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