Manarchism
And, though I giggle every time I see a new MRG submission, something is missing. While I have had my fair share of run-ins with violent, aggressive and blatantly sexist dudes within the movement, the manarchism I struggle with most frequently wouldn’t fit into a pithy meme. It isn’t overt or quotable, but I find it pushing me, and many others, out of spaces where we want to be. The sad reality is that the repeat offenders lurking in our communities are read up on bell hooks and probably enjoyManarchist Ryan Gosling as much as I do.
Meetings are often a great bastion of subtle manarchism, particularly in regards to space. Privilege teaches us to find space and fill it. Often, this means taking space from others. Sometimes this looks like a beneficiary of male privilege opining on the greatness of feminism and anti-oppression work for 15 minutes, leaving no time for other voices—often those experiencing oppressions—to speak. Other times, this looks like cis-gender men facilitating meetings, executing actions, leading working groups and doing the glamorous work, meanwhile leaving tasks such as cooking, cleanup, childcare and support work to the rest of us. Manarchism also rears its head when someone—typically not a dude—calls out patriarchal behavior only to be met with resistance. While I have seen old-fashioned name calling, shouting and physical aggression employed by a manarchist getting called out, more often I have been silenced by having my concerns diminished. “I didn’t mean to,” and “You have to understand where I am coming from,” are two examples of how people frequently dodge accountability.The humor of Manarchist Ryan Gosling is that, anarchist or not, most activists know the type. He could be a Bro-gressive, a Mactivist or a member of the Manguard. The problem isn’t the ideology, but rather the contradiction embodied by a person claiming to fight for liberation, yet perpetuating sexism, heteronormativity and cis-sexism so overtly he resembles a cartoon.
Amen.
thankfully when i look at activism amongst younger generations these are things people are taking into consideration. The last meeting i was at was run mostly by women and the conversation and debate between the men and women was really open and when womens perspectives were talked about, no one was shouting or arguing and everyone basically agreed the perpective was important.
I think the younger generations are better at recognizing the importance of groups who are affected by discrimination being the ones to take the lead in discussions/actions aimed at stopping it.
Nice thread, Catchfire. I will be re-posting the link on Facebook.
Hey RevolutionPlease. I read that article when it first hit the news, about the young man from Ajax. I had a few initial reactions. My first was positive, that he went against the dictates of the school and had something to say that was counter to popular culture. While I love that rebellion stuff, this led to my second reaction which was, while he's going against "type" (he likes nerdy and shy girls apparently) he's still telling (young) women how to dress, and what's appropriate. As a young man. That's not so rebellious.
I'm actually puzzled why his school objected to the cogent paragraph since it falls exactly down the lines of what Catholic school administrators support.
As for the overblown prose that Mallick so objects to, he's 17. Hopefully he'll grow out of the stage of "my every word is brilliant and will change your life."
And I hate to admit this, but I do agree with Mallick around "Controlling Man", especially in the realm of what women wear, or what a woman he's dating wears. It's a sign to run away, far away, because there's more where that came from.
So Conservative MP and Veterans Affairs Committee member Rob Anders FALLS ASLEEP during a hearing as veterans are testifying regarding help for homeless veterans. Anders FALLS ASLEEP. I don't know if there is a more contemptuous move in the book. Anyway, he wakes up, lies that he was NOT sleeping, lashes out at the NDP (did we interrupt a bad dream or something?) and offers a pathetic and insincere apology under heavy pressure -- not for falling asleep, but for the comments he made afterwards. The question is: where is the Rob Manderschist meme? Oh, here it is. Here's my part, anyway. The meme is out of my hands.
when we live in a society that presents this fake, one dimensional message that a woman has to fit into some archetype of what a woman is "supposed to be" in terms of emotions, appearance, intelligence, etc . and where so many young women make themselves miserable trying to fit into that, i think it's good to have more men come out and say "it's not true"...and point out what they really find attractive in a person.
because the reality is there is a multi billion dollar industry whose purpose is to tell women "what men want", and although a lot of it is run by men, it bears no resemblance to reality.
i think what this kid was trying to point out was that while there are some men who want the stereotype delivered by the mainstream media of women, there's as many if not more who are not attracted to that image so don't destroy yourself emotionally and physically trying to contort yourself into that. Just be yourself, that's more than good enough.
Sorry, no.
Aside from heterocentrism, the bolded part is just more men telling women what they, men, like. The fake Ryan Gosling site shows an excellent critique of this position, via hilarious mocking.
But for those who are still serious, and who think this is somehow men advancing feminism, it isn't.
Enough already.
Can you imagine a world without men?
The fact that Heather Mallick proceeds, using her power of free speech, to demolish someone 1/2 (1/3?) her age for attempting to use their power of free speech to say things that they think are uplifting, should trip anyone's irony sensor.
i agree this kind of thing could certainly do that or be interpreted that way, but i think there is a difference between men, or in this case boys, who reaffirm the traditional sterotypes and gender roles and those who are trying to point out that it's all bullshit. differenece to me is if the message is one of diversity or respect for all the different kinds of people out there that's a positive contribution to the conversation....
I think Mallick could have chosen a better target than a 17-year-old teenager who could very well be struggling to find his feminist voice in an idiom saturated with heterosexism, machismo and masculine erotic entitlement. Her points are sound, of course, but as an educator I wonder if in the environment in which the boy was operating, he was trying to find an equitable position with flawed language.
That said, boys and men alike, of all ages, could use many more instances of being told that their privileged, self-assumed brilliance ain't.
Do you know Laurie Penny? She's socialist, feminist and amazing. And she literally just got saved from getting run over by a car by Ryan Gosling. No joke.