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History of Feminism

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ismnotwasm

(42,486 posts)
Mon Dec 16, 2013, 10:40 PM Dec 2013

‘Men’s Rights’ and ‘Revenge Porn’ Sites Seethe With Anger Over Women’s Autonomy [View all]

In many ways, the argument that women should be fully equal to men has won in the public discourse. Sure, a lot of people still fight against equality, but they often pretend that it’s about something else—fetal life, religious liberty, women’s “choice” to make less money—because even they know openly stating the belief that women are a subclass of people put here to serve men tends not to go over very well with a general audience. Women’s education rates and income are going up. Violence against women is going down. The attacks on reproductive rights are escalating, but that’s in part in response to the fact that women themselves, especially younger women, are increasingly comfortable with the belief that they are the decider when it comes to what happens to their uterus.

However, there’s one growing trend that, while it’s hard to really get an idea of its size, should be a cause for concern: The number of men online creating communities dedicated to advancing the plain old, unvarnished misogynist belief that men deserve to control women. On “men’s rights” forums and “revenge porn” sites, groups of men are gathering together to find reinforcement for the plain old abusive belief that women who make their own choices about who to sleep with and who to marry are evil, and that allowing women this most basic of freedom is somehow oppressive to men. That there are many men who feel this way is no big surprise, particularly to anyone who knows the extent of domestic violence in this country, violence that is usually rooted in just this belief about male entitlement over women’s bodies. But the fact that they have found each other online and are pumping each other up and feeling more and more empowered by the minute in their ludicrous beliefs should be a major cause for concern.

Two stories from this week show exactly how true it is that these communities are about crafting the belief that women “oppress” men by wanting to be the masters of our own bodies instead of ceding that control over to men. In California, Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the arrest of Kevin Bollaert, who is being hit with 31 charges of conspiracy, identity theft, and extortion for running a “revenge porn” site. “Revenge porn” is a nasty little subset of the Internet where men take naked pictures they usually obtained during the course of a consensual relationship, and they post them against a woman’s will in order to humiliate and harass her. Often, as was the case with Bollaert’s site, the woman’s name, location, and social media information is also provided so that the men who use the site can more effectively harass her.

The name “revenge porn” really points to the fact that this is about establishing the claim that men own women, and women do not get to say no. The men justify putting up the pictures as a form of “revenge.” Revenge for what? Well, usually for something as simple as dumping him. In some cases, the men try to beef up their claim of a right to vengeance by citing cheating or some other relationship infraction. It doesn’t really matter. You have a right to dump someone if they cheat on you, but the belief that you are “owed” the right to “revenge” by stalking and humiliating them is rooted in the belief that you own them and their bodies, and what they choose to do with their bodies somehow is a violation of your rights. While there are (reportedly) a few “revenge porn” pictures of men floating out there, by and large this is a violation enacted by men on women, and reinforced by an Internet community that assures these men they deserve to hurt and abuse women because those women are making choices with their own lives of which the men do not approve.


http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/12/16/mens-rights-and-revenge-porn-sites-seethe-with-anger-over-womens-autonomy/
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I've never seen any estimates of how prevalent this attitude is, have you? I kind if always assume Squinch Dec 2013 #1
A voice for men has over 10,000 alone ismnotwasm Dec 2013 #2
Oh, shit! Squinch Dec 2013 #13
It's growing BainsBane Dec 2013 #4
I hope to God you are right. I am trying to think of times when Squinch Dec 2013 #14
Hell it's happened here as a result of TRAP laws. redqueen Dec 2013 #17
Yes, it is happening here, but as Bains Bane said, in the larger scheme, over the longer term, Squinch Dec 2013 #18
Well Savannah Dietrich was enraged enough at the gag order imposed on her to act. redqueen Dec 2013 #19
But even with her acting, the revised sentences were still bullshit. Squinch Dec 2013 #20
It's way more than that. redqueen Dec 2013 #9
A woman I know was doxxed by AVfM xulamaude Dec 2013 #10
And that's the goal of the bullying and harassment. redqueen Dec 2013 #11
Have you heard about the book "Angry White Men" by Michael Kimmel? Squinch Dec 2013 #16
I think we are seeing them in their death throes. smirkymonkey Dec 2013 #31
they did a misstep and finally getting negative attention. also meet the needs of a lot of pathetic seabeyond Dec 2013 #34
A light burns brightest before it goes out! smirkymonkey Dec 2013 #36
there is always hope. hence why women continue to speak out day after day after day. regardless seabeyond Dec 2013 #37
k and r--bookmarking for later, because I don't feel like throwing things right now. niyad Dec 2013 #3
She summed up the whole MRA in this one paragraph gollygee Dec 2013 #5
What adult man thinks this way? CrispyQ Dec 2013 #6
They make friends with each other gollygee Dec 2013 #7
"These men must be emotionally stunted - stuck at age 11 or thereabouts." MadrasT Dec 2013 #8
on levels, different degrees. i was in a thread, you too. all about women doing what it takes to seabeyond Dec 2013 #12
Sea, taking a moment to say happy banishment, and I'm looking forward to when you come back! Squinch Dec 2013 #15
Good point about the contradiction. redqueen Dec 2013 #21
they mope and say stuff like "women just don't like nice guys, they only geek tragedy Dec 2013 #28
They just need to grow up. smirkymonkey Dec 2013 #32
Some point out common sense measures as some sort of panacea ismnotwasm Dec 2013 #22
Uh oh, this article just got posted in GD. NuclearDem Dec 2013 #23
Heh! ismnotwasm Dec 2013 #24
Aside from a few dumb posts, that thread actually didn't go too badly. nomorenomore08 Dec 2013 #25
Well the GD thread justified some guesses I had made ismnotwasm Dec 2013 #26
See also: the men who can rattle off at least 5-6 cases geek tragedy Dec 2013 #27
exactly. it is not liek we are stupid and do not notice. and ignored when making the point. seabeyond Dec 2013 #29
to some men, the worst thing about rape is that it causes star athletes to miss games. geek tragedy Dec 2013 #30
The lack of empathy among so called liberal men is astounding. smirkymonkey Dec 2013 #33
for the life of me, hitting different direction and angle, i could not get good men, democrats, seabeyond Dec 2013 #35
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