Perpetuating the Misogynistic Mindset

I suppose it is human nature to prefer to read that with which we (mostly) agree, while avoiding that with which we (mostly) disagree.  I believe that because there are people who believe women must be controlled by men, sites like this one get traffic:

http://www.theabsolute.net/misogyny/index.html

I was shocked when a Christian woman I sometimes read, quoted from this site.  She found a book review about sex differences in the human brain and quoted extensively from it as though it proved that feminism is wrong and patriarchy is right.  After reading her quotes, I followed the link myself, which led me to the  umbrella site.  I poked around, following various links, and found a great many ridiculous things set forth as misogynistic "proof" that feminism is to be "debunked" and women are to be distrusted and must be controlled through a return to patriarchy.  Due to concerns of copyright, I have decided not to quote from it at all.  It qualifies as one of those sites that fuels the war against women quite effectively: pseudo-pithy quotes that "prove" women are the enemies of men, that patriarchy is necessary to preserve Western society, that feminism is the root of all evil, and that men are beseiged at every point by women who seek only to rob them of their children, money, homes, and power.  In short, it is a treasure trove of ammunition for patriarchalists, religious so-called complementarians, and the Men's Rights movement to continue their declared war on equal human rights for women.

It has been said that only in the affluent West is there leisure sufficient for women to seek equal human rights.  I don't disagree.  Seeking survival, when that is in jeopardy, will inevitably take precedence over seeking liberty.  As a woman blessed to live in the affluent West, I believe it is my responsibility to use my equal human rights to assist all people in seeking their own.  There is not much that I, as an individual, can accomplish in this endeavor.  However, shining light on the activities of those who seek actively to undermine those rights for me and for all women IS something that I can do. It is my hope that people will examine this collection of websites and warn people who quote from them just what they advocate: denial of equal human rights to women in the name of "patriarchy."  Yes, some people know precisely what is being advocated en masse on these sites and quote them for that reason.  However, I hope that at least some people, finding something to tickle their ears and their imaginations, will come to realize the evil that underlies such sites.  For every demonstrable act of war against women, there is a philosophy of male superiority or privilege that justifies such behavior.  Behind such philosophies are myriad documents and quotes that fuel them.  If enough people see sites like this one for what they are (i.e., based on hatred and fear of women), it is possible such venues will lose their influence and eventually stop fueling a war that, if sucessful, threatens to destroy nothing less than the entire human race.  (Jesus' warning that a divided house cannot stand comes to mind.)

Mary Rarden

Comments

[Kathryn Hogan]

I recently came across a terribly misogynistic Yahoo group with this name: Christian antifeminists. It's awful. They're buying the lie that feminists are communists. They even have a post that says the civil rights movement is to blame for men's rights being trampled. It's all about men and how feminists hate men and so forth. Ugly stuff. What's terrible to me is how they say theirs is a Christian point of view. It seems a lot more like a sinful "blame the woman" point of view and taking God's name in vain to give the sin more respectability.

[JEB]

I may be speaking of a blog that you're already aware of but, just in case, I thought I'd mention it here. My friend, Vyckie and her friend Laura came out of the patriocentric/quiverful movement in the not too recent past. They tell their story on the blog, No Longer Quivering They've attracted quite a group of strong, thinking women on the forum Vyckie set up and I'm sure it would be of great interest you many of your readers. Thanks John

[Headless Unicorn Guy]

I'd like to see the extreme comp/patriarchs (which you write of on this blog) and the extreme femmies (the ones who Limbaugh originally coined the word "Feminazis" to describe) locked in a closet somewhere with each other while all the rest of us just go on with our lives. Let the two funhouse mirrors of each other carry on their precious blood feud to the death without dragging the rest of us into it.