Writer T. James' Exploration of Words, on the Internet.

Tag: feminist

Feminism: Etiquette for Men in the New Millennium

 

When at work or in any social situation with women — to avoid upsetting them, accusations of misogyny and potential arrest — men should always do the following:

Stare at the ceiling. Never make eye contact. Never allow your gaze to alight anywhere, especially below the neck, even if she is wearing a skirt up to her backside and shirt open to her crotch. Several million years of evolution is no excuse for even glancing at a woman’s body. Objectification has no biological basis or procreative use. There is no scientific evidence of women objectifying men.

Never speak. Any male expressing any slightly controversial or contradictory opinion is guilty of mansplaining, which as we all know is a form of harassment by an oppressor and therefore misogyny, which will soon be illegal.

Never sit comfortably. Park bench, tube or bus seat, it doesn’t matter. The fact you have sensitive testicles and larger upper-leg muscle mass than most women is not an excuse. Close those knees, crush those nuts and stop manspreading. An additional benefit for white men is a lower sperm count. Play your part in reducing the number of white people, thereby reducing colonialism and oppression of minority wimmin. Continue reading

Star Wars: Kylo Ren, the Return of the Social Justice Warrior (#SJW)?

Miracles do happen: I finally managed to get to a showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens without being exposed to any major spoilers , despite my young son having watched the film before Christmas. What I’d seen were articles online claiming the film was a social justice/’progressive’/diversity/feminist tour-de-Force Awakening and avoided reading every one. It was clear that many in the regressive left wanted to claim the movie as their own, even going so far as to state Kylo Ren is the ultimate white, dude-bro geek, the last gasp of a dying breed of archaic white, patriarchal male gamers. But, predictably for ideologues, what they saw was filtered through the lens of their ideology. So, who is Kylo Ren, and what does he represent?

*MAJOR SPOILER ALERT, OBVIOUSLY* Continue reading

A ‘Neutral’ Mansplains Gamergate, Social Justice and Radical Feminism

‘Mansplaining’, One Definition: a word often used by social activists and radical feminists to label someone’s opinions in such a way that they can be disregarded, based solely the gender of the holder.

Being neutral is about either not caring or it’s about asking questions. Why is there a fuss about a Storm Trooper’s colour? Why should Katniss Everdeen have been black? Why are the current sexualisation and depiction of women in games ‘bad’? And why are those who support gamergate feeling under attack from some radical feminists and social activists when it’s women who’ve been abused and threatened?

Gamergate was birthed as conjoined twins: the harassment of some women and the issues around game journalism ethics, or lack thereof. One side wants to say it’s all about the former, that the gamergate tag has no legitimacy except as another label for misogyny. The tag should be condemned and buried. The other side are crying out to be heard as they use the moniker ‘gamegate’ as a touchstone for the shared values of gaming culture, and even community. On both sides there are those who say their gamergate is the definitive one. I’m neutral and have to disagree. Gamergate is as messed up and mixed up as discussions about the value and nature of religion, and arguing exact definitions as pointless as debates over which gender is better. Continue reading