Manarchism

15 posts / 0 new

Tue, 2012-03-06 13:06

Catchfire

Manarchism

Quote:
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.

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.

Issues Pages:

Feminism

Tue, 2012-03-06 13:08

Catchfire

Quote:
How does an individual or group start an anti-manarchist insurrection? Remember, talk is cheap. We can write statements, read books and discuss anti-oppression until industrial civilization collapses, but until individuals and communities actively engage in dismantling their internalized patriarchy, we are running in circles.

First make space. Take progressive stack in your meetings by giving people from non-dominant identities priority to speak. Dudes, when you go to meetings, stop talking and listen actively. Ask questions, support the ideas that others bring to the table and try to learn something.

If a person from a dominant identity makes a statement or action that upholds power dynamics, speak up. Support people when they call out power and privilege. Fill roles you have never filled before, particularly support roles.

If you get called out—and you will get called out—listen and apologize. Don’t respond. Think about it. Educate yourself and make a definitive behavior change.

Above all, do the hard work to deconstruct patriarchy, particularly internalized patriarchy, within yourself. Do not look to women, transfolks or queers to coach you through your anti-patriarchal journey. Research, read, discuss, learn, teach and always remember that behind every activist with male privilege, there’s a little Manarchist Ryan Gosling.

Tue, 2012-03-06 15:29

MegB

Quote:

Above all, do the hard work to deconstruct patriarchy, particularly internalized patriarchy, within yourself. Do not look to women, transfolks or queers to coach you through your anti-patriarchal journey. Research, read, discuss, learn, teach and always remember that behind every activist with male privilege, there’s a little Manarchist Ryan Gosling.

Amen.

Tue, 2012-03-06 16:05

milo204

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.

Wed, 2012-03-07 01:10

RevolutionPlease RevolutionPlease's picture

Alright. How about a 17 yr old male that Heather Mallick proceeds to destroy? I tried to separate myself, think, learn. How does an adult lay all that on an adolescent? This kid's trying in my opinion.

I'm hoping for some good rebuttal as I know I have much to learn.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1140333--ajax-hi...

And I will school myself if I can but I'd like to proffer that it ain't that easy.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1140333--ajax-hi...

Missing someone.

Wed, 2012-03-07 07:43

Maysie

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.

Wed, 2012-03-07 22:20

RevolutionPlease RevolutionPlease's picture

Thanks Maysie. That's why I asked. I had such mixed reactions. I believe this was also the school involved with possibly eliminating kilts as they were being worn too short, so I think this has affected him. No surprise the teacher tried to warn him off his language. I think he should have heeded the advice but I was also 17 once. Your last paragraph really helps. It was lingering in my head but you got straight to the point of what was wrong with it.

Much better than Mallick does.

Fri, 2012-03-09 07:40

fancy_punk fancy_punk's picture

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.

rob anders

Fri, 2012-03-09 17:37

milo204

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.

Fri, 2012-03-09 18:19

#10

Maysie

milo wrote:
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.

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?

Fri, 2012-03-09 19:53

#11

ygtbk

RevolutionPlease wrote:
Alright. How about a 17 yr old male that Heather Mallick proceeds to destroy? I tried to separate myself, think, learn. How does an adult lay all that on an adolescent? This kid's trying in my opinion. I'm hoping for some good rebuttal as I know I have much to learn. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1140333--ajax-hi... And I will school myself if I can but I'd like to proffer that it ain't that easy. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1140333--ajax-hi... Missing someone.

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.

Fri, 2012-03-09 20:05

#12

milo204

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....

Fri, 2012-03-09 22:13

#13

Catchfire

Maysie wrote:
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.

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.

Fri, 2012-03-09 22:44

#14

RevolutionPlease RevolutionPlease's picture

Sorry for creating the drift but it does interest me.

milo204 wrote:
difference 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....

As Maysie already pointed out, that wasn't the case. The young man chose to go in a direction that was troublesome, the rest of his good intentions noted. This was an immature, naive, young man, at 17, who I think means well but is still sinking in the quicksand of mainstream narratives. Much like myself at more than twice his age.

It's a struggle for us guys to talk about this and I keep scrolling back up and reading the OP to try and make sure I'm listening. I also miss discussion in this forum. My sister and I really love to banter about issues and this particular one generated some good conversation. (We agreed, kid should have taken out paragraph, school should have hired Maysie to explain it to him)

I used to be able to read and learn plenty without saying anything. That's the only reason I'm asking some questions now and would appreciate tips when I'm not doing that respectfully or creating bad diversions.

Quote:
Above all, do the hard work to deconstruct patriarchy, particularly internalized patriarchy, within yourself. Do not look to women, transfolks or queers to coach you through your anti-patriarchal journey. Research, read, discuss, learn, teach and always remember that behind every activist with male privilege, there’s a little Manarchist Ryan Gosling.

So, I'm trying to decompress my internalized patriarchy. I'm enjoying the reading, discussing and learning. Sometimes, I think just putting my thoughts out there openly, really helps me. Forces me to take ownership and then when rebutted the lesson really sinks in. It also can embarass you, but I'm not too worried about that anymore. It's about learning, not me.

I like baseball. Baseball's a game of failure. The average batter is only succesful 30% of the time.

Now see, in the past, I'd write a superfluous comment about baseball I thought relevant, but on second thought, baseball=sport=men, would just delete. But I know lots of women like baseball too-see, gets confusing. And I'm assuming things, we know what that does.

Perhaps more thoughts to come...

Lolz...I thought, hey, I can relate to the women here with my cooking skills.

[img]http://thailand.progoth.com/images/duck.jpg[/img]

Wed, 2012-04-04 15:31

#15

Catchfire

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.

Quote:
Everybody needs to calm down about Ryan Gosling saving me from a speeding car.

It was a curious thing that happened to me on the way to somewhere else. I had just bought a nice pink wig to wear to a friend's party. I was thinking about an article I'm writing about birth control and the importance of reproductive freedom to women's rights, and I didn't remember to look the right way. An actor happened to be passing and stopped me from getting run over by a car. I said "thank you." And that was that.

The actor happened to be Ryan Gosling.

I am grateful to the dashing and meme-worthy Mr. Gosling, just as I am grateful to every other kind New Yorker who has saved me from oncoming traffic in recent weeks, good citizens making the streets of this fine city that much safer for random British writers who can't remember to look both ways. It was a little bit like being in a cheesy film, but every day in New York is like being in a cheesy film. I've been here two months, and I'm still not sure this place really exists.

Look, I am kind of an idiot. I am constantly walking into things, losing my phone and keys, and wandering into traffic because I'm thinking about something else or have spotted something interesting in the sky, and that's when I'm not in a country where all the cars come in the wrong direction. Friends and complete strangers prevent me from taking the fast-lane death walk in New York City on a regular basis, and the reason that this happens is that people are actually surprisingly decent when you get down to it. If Ryan Gosling hadn't happened to be the nearest person at the time, I'm sure the girl standing next to me, who confirmed Gosling's identity, would have prevented me from meandering into an early grave.

As it was, the entire encounter lasted about five seconds.