Why Feminists Are Humorless

[PolWatch]

Totally agree that every movement has people who are annoying. And they are usually the ones the media covers.... Again, back in my NOW days: media would take pictures of the women who were most flamboyant, ignoring the fact they were a small percentage of the crowd... Now don't get me wrong - those women were powerful and fun and help move the movement forward. But because all feminists were portrayed that way, when I would tell someone I was a feminist they would be all "but you don't have purple hair! you shower! you wear shoes!"

you forgot the first remark: Did you burn your bra? I still have people asking me that when they found out I was in the early NOW movement.

[PattyHill]

you forgot the first remark: Did you burn your bra? I still have people asking me that when they found out I was in the early NOW movement.

Oh yeah! that old comment!!

Pretty funny what people thought/think about us! but hey - we don't have a sense of humor, so guess I can't laugh about it (smile)

[IMPress Polly]

PolWatch wrote:
you forgot the first remark: Did you burn your bra? I still have people asking me that when they found out I was in the early NOW movement.

Do you shave your pits, PolWatch? Are you bald? Do you weigh 45 metric tons? I'll bet you've never had sex and are just jealous, aren't you? Never got invited to parties back in high school and college, did you? Probably never been able to get a date.

[IMPress Polly]

I feel the need. The need to maliciously post another pic making fun of MRAs because of how annoying I find them. Cannot...resist...

men's rights activist 2.jpg

I feel guilty of participating in the lowering our of debate standards as a community now. (Not really.)

[PattyHill]

I feel the need. The need to maliciously post another pic making fun of MRAs because of how annoying I find them. Cannot...resist...

Attachment 11143

I feel guilty of participating in the lowering our of debate standards as a community now. (Not really.)

Oh, I think you could have done much worse! you showed amazing restraint!

[The Xl]

While it does seem that females do get it harsher, threats and insults, all that jazz, seem to come with the territory of being famous and on the internet. It sucks, but that's what it is.

As far as banned words on the forum go, $#@! isn't one, but I believe c*nt is the only banned word here, and it's a derogatory female slur. Worth noting.

[IMPress Polly]

The Xl wrote:
While it does seem that females do get it harsher, threats and insults, all that jazz, seem to come with the territory of being famous and on the internet. It sucks, but that's what it is.

What's interesting is that, if you look at Feminist Frequency's first annual report on their traffic levels and number of followers over the course of 2014, bearing in mind the time frames that certain events occurred, one discovers that were it not for the wave upon wave of death threats and resultant media coverage that began in earnest in August and ran properly through October, Feminist Frequency would just be a fringe web site and YouTube channel followed by only a few thousand people rather than the 100,000+ they have now. They didn't even ask for the fame they've gotten. It just happened because the over-the-top reaction to their videos has made their point for them: that the game industry and community has a real problem with women, or at least with those who speak out. I'd triumphantly laugh and thank the GamerGate movement for their invaluable contribution to the advancement of the women's movement on Feminist Frequency's behalf if it weren't for the very real human toll that these threats (posting people's home addresses in public and such) have taken on the hitherto very normal people who work there, and most of all on one Anita Sarkeesian. She's become kind of my hero. I'm not as brave as she is. I couldn't live like that.

But anyway, to your actual point, there's a degree to which, yes indeed, the anonymity of the Internet erases the social consequences people would face doing the same things, saying the same things, in real life, I agree. However, I also think that that "It's just the Internet being the Internet" is too often used as an excuse for doing nothing in response; for game communities not creating policies against this sort of thing or not enforcing them. The world can't be made perfect, but it can be made better.

What's more, the "women aren't funny" gender biases and the "humorless feminist" image both predate the Internet by a lot.

As far as banned words on the forum go, $#@! isn't one, but I believe c*nt is the only banned word here, and it's a derogatory female slur. Worth noting.

I actually didn't know that!

[IMPress Polly]

PattyHill wrote:
Oh, I think you could have done much worse! you showed amazing restraint!

Have you seen how I'm treating Peter?

[PattyHill]

While it does seem that females do get it harsher, threats and insults, all that jazz, seem to come with the territory of being famous and on the internet. It sucks, but that's what it is.

As far as banned words on the forum go, $#@! isn't one, but I believe c*nt is the only banned word here, and it's a derogatory female slur. Worth noting.

but if you look at studies, women - whether famous or not - DO get it worse. There are some sites that hound them. Or if a female posts a blog, the comments are horribly harsh, at times threatening.

I realized a few sites ago that I don't need to let that crap into my eyes. If a site I'm on gets too nasty towards women or people of color, and if there doesn't seem to be any willingness on the part of other posters to call it out - I leave the site.

I really do believe most men are not that way towards women in their daily life; and so far on this site you all don't seem to be going after women just because they are women and dare to speak up.

But sadly, the $#@!s are numerous out there, and anonymity certainly aids them. I don't want to leave the internet to the jerks; it's too valuable a tool; but I would hope over time we can educate them and use peer pressure to get them to back off on nastiness, threats, and whatnot.

Gamergate is totally disgusting. I don't know how to shut that down. But it's disgusting.

[PolWatch]

The internet provides cowards with a place to act like Billy-Bad-Azz. They can threaten, talk dirty and make themselves feel like Rambo. At least until their mother catches them....