Let’s Respond to 20 Things Men Can Do to Support Women (according to Medium)

I haven’t done one of these in forever.  After I got through all of BuzzFeed Yellow’s insipid catalog of crap, I haven’t had one of these to do.  Well, a woman who isn’t know for anything outside of being a glorified blogger decided to go to Medium and make another list.  I decided to respond to it and see if I fit the terms of a person who supports women, according to the criteria that she laid out.  Here’s a link to the article, now let’s see how I do.

Overcome your own transphobia. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Accept the lived truth of NB and GNC people, whether or not they are women.

Nothing to overcome.  I treat people as they come.  I don’t care about trans people any more or less than I don’t already care about anyone else.  I’m a misanthrope.  Granted, I believe in treating all people with basic levels of respect, so long as they treat me in kind.  That seems like a good criteria.  Unless of course that person is Riley J Dennis, in which case she can fuck right off because she is a prick who has the same beliefs about sexual preferences as pray-the-gay-away preachers.  So I got this first one down.  Excellent.

Be pro-choice and be vocal in support of reproductive rights. (And generous! Give to the National Network of Abortion Funds!) Understand that the opposite of reproductive choice is forced childbearing.

I have made donations in the past to Planned Parenthood, which I trust infinitely more than your charity because it is known for the results it gets and the transparency which it operates.  I have always been pro-choice.  Got this one too.  Damn!  I am on a roll!

Support subsidized birth control. Support women’s healthcare. Support women’s preventative healthcare. Support medical trials that include (or even prioritize) women.

I’ll do you one better, cupcake.  Instead of just supporting women’s healthcare, I support universal healthcare.  That way, everyone can have the healthcare they need without worrying if it will put them in bankruptcy.  So I am actually one-upping you here.  Nice!  I think I may be a very good “ally” for women, according to this woman’s criteria.  But I won’t be supporting medical trials that prioritize women.  If it’s for a drug or medical procedure that’s for both genders instead of just being a drug for women, then there’s no reason for me to support prioritizing women.  None.  So you got me there.

Support nontaxed menstrual products. Ask your workplace if tampons and pads are free. If they’re not, advocate for them to be free. Get over any embarrassment you may have about menstruation.

Don’t care about menstruation.  It’s all just biology to me.  As for supporting non-taxed, why would I support a product being given out for free?  Condoms aren’t free.  If it’s a product made by a company, why would I support them not charging money for it?  Companies can have whatever policy they want in regards to selling this stuff, but as for me, I don’t support us just giving shit away to people if it cost money to produce.  So I can’t support this part.  Guess my ally cred is slipping.

Vocally advocate at your workplace for longer and more egalitarian paid parental leave, whether or not parenthood is part of your life. Advocate for lactation spaces. Advocate for on-site or subsidized childcare.

Here’s a question – do you believe this should be applied equally to men.  Some countries have paid paternity leave.  That seems fair.  But here’s the thing – people leaving on maternity leave is an imposition on a company.  I’m not about to sit here and pretend that a corporation whose only concern is making money should just totally wave off the fact that losing an employee to have a kid is a problem for them.  Is that fair?  No.  But it’s the risk women taken when they choose to have children.  I’m sorry, but most women understand that risk when they take that step.

Tell your elected officials that you are a man who votes and you prioritize women’s issues when you decide who to vote for. Then actually prioritize women’s issues when you decide who to vote for. Understand that women’s issues are your issues.

I don’t prioritize women’s issues.  I prioritize issues that affect my life.  Like when my state chose to legalize pot.  I vote in that election.  I voted in the primary for Bernie Sanders, then wrote in Harambe in the general election because I didn’t (and still don’t) support either of those ass-clowns.  If that’s a problem, sorry-not-sorry.  Issues for other women are not necessarily my issues.  I’m not a feminist.  I’m an egalitarian.  In that same election where we voted to legalize pot, I voted to raise the minimum wage because the girl I was dating at the time was making that and I supported that issue.

Whenever you are in a group composed of only men (whether it’s social, work, church, or whatever) ask yourself why there are no women present. Then ask out loud why. Force an honest answer.

I have no groups I am a part of that only have men.  I’m not really a group person.  I don’t believe in Gawd.  My office has a ton of women in it.  My immediate supervisor is a woman, and she is viewed as the mom of the office for being so good at whipping it into shape.  She’s a hell of a woman and has years of status under her belt showing she’s earned her place.  So yeah, this question has no relevance to me of any kind.

Cultivate genuine, intimate, nonsexual friendships with women.

Got a ton of those.  No problem whatsoever.

Seek out women to be your heroes and mentors.

My heroes are George Carlin and H.L. Mencken.  Find me a woman who can compare to them and I’ll let you know what I think.

Any time you see a building, street, institution, etc. named for a man, see how long it takes you to spot another one named for a woman.

What the fuck do I care what a building, street, or institution is named after?  Nothing.  Why do you care?  What effect does this have on your life?

Ask yourself what things you don’t do, for whatever reason, that you also think of as something women tend to do. (Sew? Send birthday cards? Care about skincare?) Try doing it for a while, just to see what it’s like to be a person who does the thing.

I love to cook, I take care of my sad apartment by myself.  I’ve sewn buttons back on clothes.  Went shopping for lotion with a girly-mate and was cool when she bought some for me.  There’s nothing to think about.  What is this idea that all men seem to believe that there are some tasks that only women are supposed to do?  I guess only women can have lesbian sex.  There’s a task.  I found one.  Happy now?

Talk less. In all spaces. At all times. At a lower volume.

Um, no.  So long as I’m not hurting anyone or being rude and interrupting, I’ll do whatever the fuck I want when I’m not at my job.  Don’t assume you have ANY right to tell me how to conduct myself.

When you need support, reach out to men as well as women. Work to be a person your friends of all genders can reach out to when they need support. Create a culture of openness around yourself.

Nobody wants me around when I need support.  See, I’m kind of a negative person suffering from hardcore depression.  However, because of my depression, I keep an open door to all people in my circle of friends who need to talk.  That’s important to me.  Because I am the kind of person who is easy to forget, I will never let anyone in my circle who wants me there to feel they are forgotten.  So got the openness status all locked down.

Consume media marketed to women. Don’t perform your consumption.

I don’t care who media is marketed towards so long as it fits in my view of things I like.  My favorite film of all time is a hardcore love story (5 Centimeters Per Second).  Does that count?  I’ll consume whatever I like.  I like and dislike a lot of things.  My likes and dislikes run the gamut.  But I don’t think about it as something marketed towards women.  I think about it in terms of – do I think this product looks good?  If yes, then I consume it.  It’s why I drink fruity drinks and not whiskey shots.  Why are you working so hard to divide media when you should be taking my approach and encouraging people to create media that is meant to be marketed as broadly as possible?

Deprogram your beliefs about thinness being an optimal state of feminine beauty. Deprogram your beliefs that your desire matters in determining a woman’s worth.

No.  Fuck you.  What I want in a partner is my business.  It’s not yours or anyone else’s.  Same with what you want.  Since I’m bisexual, my desires for men and women are my own.  And yeah, I’m never gonna find a landwhale attractive.  I’m sorry.  I don’t mind women with a few extra pounds.  I like a girl I can eat a pizza with or get a burger and not have her going on about how bad it is.  A totally platonic girly-mate occasionally comes over for dinner and she goes to the gym but also likes the food I make.  I just won’t find attractive a quality in a person that I believe is detrimental.  If someone is eating themselves to death, I find that unappealing.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  Obese has NEVER been the standard of beauty.  It never will.

Jerk off without porn for a while. EDIT: This really should be “Pay for your porn.” In particular, seek out (and pay for) porn that’s made by women, queer people, and people of color, and that’s produced ethically. Consume sexual culture as thoughtfully as you would consume any culture.

I jerk off without porn all the time.  I have a very vivid imagination.  I don’t care who porn is made by.  I care about the content.  Don’t even bother to look into who made something.  It’s almost like I’m just trying to get off and then go about my day.

Learn about racism and intersectionality, and do everything you can to empower and amplify black women and NBWOC.

Not into the social justice scene.  Not even a little.  I fucking hate this victim culture people in the first world have.  So yeah, can’t get on-board with that even a little.

Detach yourself from straw-man definitions for hot-button issues (intersectionality, cultural appropriation, political correctness, preferred pronouns, etc.) and learn what they’re really about. Unpack the real meanings behind phrases like “SJW” and “feminazi.” Believe people when they say they’re in pain.

I have detached myself from straw-man definitions.  See, part of why I respond to posts like these is so I can make sure I don’t leave out context.  For many years I have responded to posts like this and made very clear my disdain for a large swath of people within the social justice community because of the things they say and the ideas they propagate.  So yeah, not gonna get behind this either.

Prioritize kindness.

Decent advice, I guess.

Befriend children.

I hate children.  I will never like children.  The job I have right now is the greatest form of birth control in the universe.  So yeah, never gonna do that either.

All things considered, this was pretty standard feminist advice bullshit for men.  Seen shit like this before on BuzzFeed.  Honestly surprised she didn’t say to stop looking at lesbian porn or something like that, but whatever.  How did I do?

Until next time, a quote,

“I won’t bore you with the details, but after reading these articles I discovered three modes of excuse-making – I mean thinking! – 1. pointless list-making, 2. dumb observations, and 3. overly intellectualizing” – Harry Ass Plinkett

Peace out,

Maverick

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The Merits of Years of Cooking

I haven’t posted very much lately.  There isn’t much that I have wanted to talk about.  Politics has sucked the life out of everyone.  Social justice just isn’t that interesting anymore.  What more can be said?  Hell, now it is turning on itself.  I like to do reviews.  So close to the release of Horizon: Zero Dawn.  Though, I get the feeling that that review will come out a long time later, because I am going to play as much of that game as I can before I put out my review.  I want you all to know if it’s good or not.  All the reviews i am seeing thus far are giving me lots of hope.  However, something recently came to my attention today.  Something that worked the cockles of my little black heart.

My cousin believes that men and women can’t be friends.  He’s stupid like that.  The proof came from nowhere else than having a girly-mate over to my old place for one last good meal there before I leave it to its folly.  In my new apartment, and it is fantastic.  This girly-mate of mine is married, quite happily.  We worked together at my job at the college library.  There is absolutely no sexual tension between us.  We make each other laugh, and have fun just talking and enjoying one-another’s company.  Since it was the send-off to my shitty old place and the shitty “kitchen” that I had, I wanted to go big.  Decided to make something really special.

On Facebook, I follow a TON of the pages that have the little cooking videos from an overhead angle.  I love that shit.  Since I love to cook, it appeals to me.  And now I FINALLY have a kitchen to do it!  You all have no idea how happy this makes me.  Already got a ton of ideas.  And since I am now interviewing for a job that is a step up from where I am now, my hope is to get ahead.  Needless to say, things are pretty alright.  My new place doesn’t have a microwave.  That is a problem.  One I will solve on Craigslist, eventually.  Along with a mixer and other things.  And a slow cooker.  Definitely that.

Back to my story, I had this friend over, and I made something really unique – Tuscan chicken in angel hair pasta.  Here is a pic I took of it.

It was a giant pain the ass.  It took a lot of patience and being willing to test myself.  I didn’t measure things out specifically.  I winged a lot of it, and you know what – it was worth it.  The final product was one of the finest things I have ever made.  It was a fantastic night.  The two of us were stuffed to the point that we couldn’t even have the fantastic dessert I had planned.  No complaints.  Was awesome.  However, I am going somewhere with this.

The thing I have learned after years of making food is that nothing makes a social gathering come together more than homemade food with good conversation and laughter from people.  Just getting to talk about the process of making and sharing in the meal that I made with another person was some of the most fun I have had in years.  With a proper kitchen, I truly want to see if I can make something fantastic with as many people as I can.

Over the years, I have watched my cooking talents go from strength to strength.  Sure, there have been mistakes along the way.  Some truly amazing fuck-ups that blow my freaking mind.  But in the midst of all of those have come experiments in taste that blow my mind.  The first time I made bagels from scratch.  Laborious, time-consuming, but getting to bit into the final product made that all worth it.  Every holiday I make a new kind of cheesecake.  Last year it was pumpkin cheesecake.  Okay, but not great.  I am planning on doing stromboli, one of these months.  As I sit in my new place, and eat a fresh naval orange, I am inspired to see what I can come up with next.  Experimenting with fruit salad, the kind of salad I actually like.  Making pan-fried potatoes for a guest, something that I am so fucking good at.  Just ask my old man.  He likes my kind of pan-fried better than my mother’s, and that’s saying something.

Good food is a gift.  One that I want to share with as many people as I can before my death wish comes for me.  And for all you guys out there, if you’re single, there is no excuse.  Learn to fucking cook!  Women will swoon if you can make their taste buds ring.  Then you might be able to get their pussy to follow suit.  I got a cousin to prove wrong, and all the time in the world to do it.  What are you all’s thoughts?  Let me know down in the Comments.

Until next time, a quote,

“Much like traveling, meals eaten alone are dull and without flavor.” – The Count, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Peace out,

Maverick

The Most Insulting Thing Ever Said to a Waitress

I have made no secret of the fact that I consider myself an anti-feminist.  At least where the First World is concerned.  Here in the West, the pet issues of feminism are a bad joke.  The punch line is that while they are bitching about sexy women in video games there are women in the Middle East being sold as sex slaves to ISIS.  Oh, right, Islam is totally fine and nothing bad has ever come from them.  Because that’s totally not spitting the face of victims of Islamist violence, right?

However, all of my issues with them aside, there are times when I am able to find common ground with these people.  Like when I come across something I came across today, which is the most insulting thing that I have ever seen directed at a woman.  Let me show you, and then we can talk about it.

Where do I even begin with how utterly abhorrent this document is?  This was left at the table of a woman in lieu of a tip, and my blood boils like you wouldn’t believe.  Let’s take this apart piece by piece.

First, where does this cunt get off saying that this woman’s role is in the home?  What century do we live in?  They then go on to say that her working is the reason that her husband is sleeping with somebody else.  Did you ever stop to consider that she isn’t married?  Let’s assume that there was some obvious sign that she is, like a wedding ring.  So her being at work and helping to contribute to the home means that the husband is off fucking some other woman?  What kind of disgusting bullshit is this?  Because all women who work have husbands who cheat.  That’s right.  Groj knows, I was cheating on every girl that I have dated because all of them worked.  That’s totally like me.

Second, does this asshole have any idea just how expensive it is to live anymore?  The cost of living has sky-rocketed, while wages have stagnated.  Not to mention, she’s a waitress.  They are often paid well-below minimum wage and have to subsist on tips.  I have a lot of problems with that, but let’s set that aside and look at this another way.  Let’s say that she has a family.  Let’s say that she has a kid or two.  Going with the assumption that she’s married, and has children, then she has a huge financial obligation that she may not be able to afford alone.  So this cock-sucking shit-heel is going to come here and then make it seem like she is committing some kind of affront to “manhood” and the “American family”?  Fuck that noise!  Manhood is just fine with a chick working.  Every girl I have been in a relationship with or just run with has had a job and I didn’t feel that my manhood was even slightly attacked.

Third, let’s say that she isn’t married.  What if she’s a single mom?  What if she is all alone taking care of a kid on wages from this job?  What nice thought you just presented telling her that she is doing something wrong by doing everything she can to make sure her family has a home and food on their table.

We then have the biggest asshole in the history of the world telling this woman that instead of going to her “job” (they put that in quotations, not me) and trying to help provide for her family, she should be at home cleaning and making her husband a hot meal.  Fuck that noise!  Thinking back to my last relationship, the kitchen was the last place I wanted my ex.  Loved the girl, but she couldn’t cook for shit.  We both understood that that was where I was at my best.  Jokes aside, I refuse to believe that the hypothetical husband of this woman is going to  be mad that she is helping to secure the family’s finances.  If he is, that says a lot about him.  And how fucking dare you say that this woman is wasting her time busting her ass for asshole like you who call her tips “hand-outs” and make it sound like it is an inconvenience to you that she gets them.  Fuck you!  I want to find this person and beat some sense into their skull, with a hammer.

They close out the letter saying that she should do all of this because it is what “god intended.”  If your god is a sexist asshole who wants women to be in the home making hot meals for their man, then he’s a sexist pig too and fuck his almighty non-existent ass for demanding this.  But, to the person’s credit, there is plenty of biblical evidence pointing to that.  The Bible does say that a woman is not to have power over a man and that a woman’s role is to serve her husband.  I gotta give credit where it’s due.  The god of the Bible is a sexist prick, and the New Testament didn’t make that go away.  I honestly have more issue with the liberals who try to pretend shit like this doesn’t exist than conservatives who are faithful to it.  Jesus said that he didn’t come to abolish the Old Testament laws, but that he came to fulfill them.

In closing, fuck this person.  They are an amoral, reprehensible, unrepentant hyena and if they get hit by a bus tomorrow, I feel no sympathy for them.  What a complete piece of shit.

Until next time, a quote,

“Cruelty, like every other vice, requires no motive outside of itself; it only requires opportunity.” – George Eliot

Peace out,

Maverick

Let’s Respond to 33 “Fat Phobic” Comments

A YouTube channel called Wear Your Voice Magazine (a publication that I’m sure will take it’s place right alongside The Mary Sue) decided to post a video where they address 33 “fat phobic” comments.  I hate this term.  It’s just as stupid as “Islamophobic.”  That’s not a real thing.  I’m not afraid of Islam.  I find it repulsive.  I’m not afraid of fat people.  The chub on my belly would be a little weird about that.  I just don’t find obese women attractive.  The girl that I’m kinda-sorta in a thing with now has more than a few extra pounds on her.  She is very critical of it, but it is motivating her to work out and get healthy, because she wants to be fit.  I applaud her.  Still, I think she’s dead sexy as she is now, extra weight and all.  It isn’t a phobia.  I just don’t want to be with them, sexually.  Anyone who has watched BuzzFeed’s questions videos will be familiar with how this works.  Here’s a link to their video, now let’s talk about it.

Do you think you keep weight on to intentionally avoid intimacy?

The lead-in with this line is that I guess it was this girl’s shrink who said this.  While that is a really weird question, it is legit.  So many of the SJW landwhales are so scared of sex that I honestly think that they do keep the weight on to not be attractive to the opposite sex.  Or their own, if that’s what they’re into.

Even your voice sounds fat.

There are rude people in the world.  Something that gay people and any other group of people have figured out is that you have to be pretty thick-skinned to get through life.  The thing is, you women (oh, I’m sorry, womyn.  Because if they are associated with men, then that’s just evil) get to have all sorts of shoulders to cry on.  Meanwhile, the short, chubby balding dude has to suck it up and deal with it.  Funny how that works.

Wow, you really work out?

The problem with these comments that these women supposedly have gotten is that because there is absolute-zero context given, I have no idea where this remark came from.  Let’s assume that all of these comments are real, because it makes this easier, moving forward.  Was this from a friend?  Maybe they were actually glad that you are.  I don’t know.  But you seem the type who wants to assume the worst.  So yeah.

If you were skinnier, you could TOTALLY be a plus-sized model

What’s the problem there?  They are saying that you are attractive.

Wow, you can’t choose to be black, but you can choose to be fat.

Not with everyone.  Some people have gland problems and things like that.  But those people are rare.  The simple reality is that the reason that the bulk of America is fat is because of a problem that Doug Stanhope so eloquently pointed out – they need to plug up the top hole because they’re eating too much.  I’m actually so much better about eating too much.  I am so regimented in my dining habits.  But I still like crappy food.  Pizza is my jam.  I love to cook, and guess what my favorite thing to cook is – desserts.  I make these choices.  So do most of you.

You should try the Zone Diet

What’s that?

People like you aren’t supposed to wear bold colors that call attention to your body.

If you want to look slimmer, yeah.  Dark colors are slimming.  There’s real science behind it.  Some kind of trick in the eyes.  The people telling you there are right.  This person is rude, but they aren’t wrong that wearing brighter colors does make you look fatter.

You don’t have the body type for a dancer.

Shows what that person knows.  There’s this S&M club that I frequent where one of the women who I enjoyed talking to the most is a stripper who is all about being a plus-sized dancer.  Given how much she takes home each night, there’s clearly a market for that.

Everyone wants to be skinny because there are NO benefits to being THAT FAT.

Yeah.  Being fat is a horrible thing.  It is murder on your body.  You are doing so much harm to your body by being fat.  Your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions skyrockets.  Both of the first two run in my family.  As does obesity.  On both sides.  Another reason why I like to go out for walks every night after work.  It helps me burn off the sedentary calories from my desk job and helps me avoid something that is a real risk.

I wonder what you would look like thin.

It is an interesting thought.

I’m just worried about your health.

As they should be.  Obesity is a horrible thing and it does horrible things to you.  If this person cares enough about you to want to help you live a better life, what’s the problem?  They are worried about you.

Is your partner fat too?

Shows what they know.  Remember that woman I mentioned earlier from the S&M club?  Her guy is the skinniest little dork you’ve ever seen.  He is her bitch, in more ways than one.

I really love what we got going on, but I’m just not into…big girls.

I see what happened here.  You are into somebody, and they are pretty tight with you.  You tried to go the distance with them, but they aren’t attracted to you.  Well, sorry, buttercup, but life isn’t fair.  Sometimes things don’t work out the way you wanted.  Sometimes you are just a friend to someone.  Deal with it.

You’re so brave to dress like that.  I wish I didn’t care what I look like.

Without any context, this could mean anything. She could have gone out dressed in a clown suit, for all I know.  And this makes me think back to that bit on Family Guy about how women don’t know how to be friends.

Having curves is not the same thing as being fat.

It’s true.

It’s hard to believe that someone like you exercises.  I bet you can’t even run one mile.

Yeah, this person’s a dick.  Life is full of dicks.  Interspersed among the comments that are clearly taken out of context or not as bad there are genuinely rude things.  As I said, mean people exist.  That’s life.

There’s no point in losing weight. You’ve already ruined your body.

That’s blatantly not true.  Entering a healthy lifestyle can always do good things.  Granted, the longer you maintain a lifestyle where you treat your body like the frat in Animal House, the harder it will be.  But if you were to start exercising and truly do find a healthy habit to do, then I guarantee that you would be better off than living the way you are.  The person who said this is retarded.

You’re gonna wear Spanx (is that right?) with that, right?

Don’t even know what that is.

I don’t understand.  How can your blood pressure and cholesterol be way lower than mine?

It’s a valid question.  Got a family member who I don’t get how her cholesterol is so low.  The thing is, cholesterol isn’t just affected by eating, but also by what you eat.  If you gorge on certain foods to absurd excess, you are still can be fat, but it can be not nearly as bad for you.

Are you sure you wanna wear a bikini?

Also a valid question.  There are some women that I imagine in a bikini and I’m legitimately freaked out by.

You get cat-called?

Part of me thinks that they trolled the YouTube comments sections for some of these.

Some people are fit and they prioritize their health.  But some people don’t, and you aren’t, and that’s okay.

I don’t even get where the problem here is.  This person has told you that they accept how you live your life, but imply that they don’t respect it.  I would be much the same.  I have obese family members.  I still care for them, but I don’t respect how they live.  If this sort of statement bugs you this much, then clearly you are covering for some DEEP insecurities.

Do you even know what vegetables are?

Jerks exist.

Are you pregnant?

Suddenly thinking about the line in that movie with Hugh Grant.  What was it?  Two Weeks Notice, I think.  Yeah, it’s rude to assume.  That’s on them.

You know, if you were stranded for six months, you would survive because you have enough fat to feed on.

Assuming that you had access to water, shelter and some basic nutritional items to keep you from falling apart (like nuts and berries), yeah.  You are much more likely to survive if you have fat stores.  That’s why fat exists.  We are supposed to burn it as fuel.

I would kill myself if I got fat.  I mean, no offense, I don’t think you should, but it would ruin my life.

Hate to break it to ya, honey, but it is ruining your life.  Being obese is destroying your body.  That’s a biological fact.

Thunder thighs!

Jerks exist.

If you lost a bit more weight, you’d be hot.

Might be true.  Try it and find out.

Put some clothes on, you busted-open can of biscuits.

Jerks exist.  Not apologizing for them.  That is rude.

Would he love you more if you lost weight?

Probably not.  Clearly he cares about you for who you are.  Hence why he’s with you.

I would date you if you weren’t fat.  You’re a very pretty girl.

All the tact of a freight train, but yeah.  Being fat means that less people are attracted to you.  Complain all you will, but I guarantee that you don’t want every man or woman that you see.

You’re the model?

Zero context.  How did this line come up?  Were they wanting some super-skinny woman for a modeling shoot and they sent you?  Did you show up for a shoot expecting them to want you?  Without some kind of context, I can’t respond to this in a reasonable way.

If you want to be successful in your career, you have to lose weight.

Hard truth moment – yeah.  It is infinitely easier to get ahead, especially in the corporate world, if you’re pretty to look at.  Life is a beauty pageant.  An unfair, unrelenting beauty pageant.  Those who look good are clearly at a better place than those who do not.  I work for the state, so I got lucky.  I’m in a profession that is pretty chill.  However, in the dog-eat-dog world that is corporate America, being attractive is a boon.  Sorry if the truth hurts.  Not really.  It’s time somebody told you.

And that is the end of that list.  Were some of those comments rude?  Absolutely.  No question.  I don’t apologize for rude people.  But they exist, and you have to deal with that.  Make peace with it as best you can.  Otherwise, you are in for one rude awakening after another.

Until next time, a quote,

“Life isn’t fair.  It never will be.  Quit trying to make it fair.  You don’t need it to be fair.  Go make life unfair to your advantages.” – Robert Kiyosaki

Peace out,

Maverick

The Final Result of Ghostbusters Drama

After all of the stupid drama that was trumped-up from people who choose to take the people who said, “this looks really stupid” at the original trailer and elevating it to a full-on culture war, the film has finally been released.  And the verdict?  It’s okay.  It’s not good.  It’s not bad.  It’s just…okay.  It is a film that will be forgotten in a month or two.  Another boring reboot to put on the pile of boring reboots that nobody watched..  If only that were where it ended.  If only the drama hadn’t been what it became.  However, this film has turned into a place where feminism pop culture went to die.  It was a hill that they believe they held from the evil trolls who just hate women.  Instead, it was a hill that served no purpose for any larger military campaign, and they held it for nothing.  I still remember that article that said, “please let it be good.  Please just let it be passably good.”  If only that writer could see where we are now.

So, what can learn from all this?  What important lesson can we take away.  Here’s one – don’t market a film based on bad perception.  I am desperately hoping that Sony learned their lesson from this.  Turns out, the Anita Sarkeesian tactic of marketing doesn’t work for a film that you want to turn into a franchise.  Who knew?  Oh, right, everyone who has cultural perspective.  We know that the reality is that these people don’t actually want to watch these kinds of movies.  Just like the feminists who claim to want to make gaming more inclusive, and then we find out that they don’t actually play games.  Like when their hero and savior pimps a game that is a financial train-wreck, and it is still a financial train-wreck.  When a YouTuber with hundreds of thousands of subs recommends a game, you’d expect the sales of that game to increase.  I know for a fact that if Angry Joe or Total Biscuit told me about a game that was good, I’d look into it.  PewDIEPie doesn’t sing a game’s praises only for nothing to happen.

I learned about marketing.  It was my focus in college.  Public relations is an art.  When you are marketing a movie, you want the marketing to be positive.  You want to give people a good feeling about seeing the movie.  Since people already didn’t want to see the new Ghostbusters, Sony had their work cut out for them.  Instead, they decided that they were going to make it about the hate the film was receiving, and pretend that this was a good marketing strategy.  Except it wasn’t.  Because when you tell people, “go see this movie because people hate it!” that leads people to start asking questions.  Such as, “why do people hate it?” or “why should I see a movie that no one likes?”  There’s a lesson to take from Inception – positive emotions trump negative, every time.  Sony chose to make all the marketing about the negatives, and their shitty sales reflect this.

We can also learn that the press needs to stop virtue signaling for movies.  It has atom-bombed all sorts of things, and Hollywood needs to learn to reign these people in.  Though, maybe they don’t have to.  The Mary Sue is doing so poorly, financially, that they are asking people to subscribe and pay them $5 a month to read their click-bait crap.  Watch as that doesn’t work out for them.  Still, Hollywood needs to tell the SJW part of their tabloid news to cool off.  The entire industry is looking bad when you have films as mediocre as this become a hill for their “revolution” to die on.  Meanwhile, we have a movie coming out in August that has an amazing female character that everyone is stoked to see – Suicide Squad.  People haven’t been able to sing the new Harley Quinn’s praises enough.  She is clearly going to steal the show, along with Leto’s Joker.  Oh, but she is sexy, so feminists don’t like her.  Isn’t it ironic how these people are all for female empowerment, until she’s someone who isn’t ashamed of her body?  That’s interesting.

Oh, and there is also the fact that we need to accept that Paul Feig and his hatred of men needs to stay away from mainstream movies.  So many critics have, quite rightly, pointed out that this film’s negative view of men is more than a little distracting.  But I guess Feig wasn’t alone in this.  The main producer of this movie is also a man-hater who has made no secret of her disdain.  These two’s hatred culminated in a vision that made every single male character as ugly a stereotype as possible.  We also get to have Bill Murray get killed.  Because fuck the fans of him in the original film.  Though, from what I understand, he didn’t even want to be in this movie.  Sony had to put SO much pressure on him to show up.  Telling about how much he respected this production.  Can you blame him?

But the biggest thing we should take away is – stop making these stupid fucking reboots!  They suck!  They all suck!  Without exception!  They are all terrible!  The Red Dawn reboot?  Sucked.  The Conan the Barbarian reboot?  Sucked.  The Evil Dead reboot?  Sucked.  Not one of these films has been good.  It’s all crap, and it needs to stop.  This film is clearly doing so poorly that the chances that a sequel is going to be made are pretty much non-existent.  Good!  Let this end here.  It can only go downhill.

The truth is that this film would have been better served it it had been worse.  I know that sounds odd, but if this movie had been outright terrible, at least it would get a cult following for being so bad that it’s good.  Instead, this “girl power” movie will be forgotten because they got a mediocre director who has the biggest chip on his shoulder that I’ve ever seen to make a reboot that not one person asked for.  Not one.  They can blame all the trolls and “haters” until they’re blue in the face, but this isn’t on us.  It’s on you.  Congrats.  Your empowering movie sucked.  Take from this knowledge what you will.

Until next time, a quote,

“Are you happy now?!” – Joker, Batman: Arkham City

Peace out,

Maverick

When a Feminist Says that Women Don’t Want to Be Sexy

I did a Critical Examination where I talked about how dumb the latest video of Anita Sarkeesian is by pointing out that any expression of sexuality of a character in an art form is open to interpretation.  However, there is one thing that was glaringly bugging me.  Something that I couldn’t just leave alone.  Mostly because it highlights a dichotomy between sex negative and positive feminism that is just so amusing to me.

A long time ago, the YouTuber Shoe0nHead did a video where she made sport of the things that feminists have talked about.  She said that it is one of her least-favorite videos and that she would delete it if it wasn’t so popular.  The reason why is because she makes a statement poking fun at the whole thing about feminists being so butthurt about women showing skin in video games, and then poking fun at the women who get butthurt when they walk outside in their underwear and people are off-put.  She didn’t understand that there were two differing points of view on the subject.  The first is Sex – feminism, that says that female sexuality is icky and any depiction of it is wrong.  The kind of thing that Anita Sarkeesian falls into.  Unbelievably-squarely.  Not even kidding, she hits the mark so fucking well.  The second is Sex + feminism, which says that female sexuality is supposed to be loud and proud and fuck the haters.  That’s where we get the things like Slutwalk.  If that’s still a thing.  Haven’t heard much about it in some time, but still.

What I think Shoe missed is the fact that these two dichotomies and the contrasting thoughts between them is worth pointing out.  Why?  Because this discrepancy is interesting.  Anita Sarkeesian, in her “Lingerie is not Armor” video, says that one of the arguments that people make for why female characters dress the way they do is because the character wants to do that.  She claims that that is the most ridiculous argument of all the one’s she’s heard (all of which are bullshit, and one of which is so weird that I have NEVER heard it said by anyone).  Did you all catch that?  She said that no woman anywhere wants to be sexy.  Wow…

It’s statements like that that make me wonder how other feminists can listen to her.  There was a video she made about “Women as Background Decoration” where she made a point about sex workers in video games being exploited and how no woman would want to be in that position in real life.  Naturally, that ruffled people’s feathers.  Because no woman anywhere wants to do things like porn or has chosen of her own free will to hook.  Right?

But I haven’t heard much about this video.  Why?  Ladies, this woman is literally saying that no woman wants to be be sexy for her own gratification.  That is the most patently-absurd thing I have ever heard.  Let me get any of the lady-friends I know who follow me on Instagram and ask them if that’s the case, with their selfie output.  Or perhaps I could go to a beach and ask one of the women wearing a two-piece if she wants to look sexy for her own gratification.  I bet the answers would be pretty much unanimous – yes.  How do women not find this sort of thing unbelievably-condescending?  A woman who claims to speak for you and your gender as an advocate is saying that you do not want to be sexually-appealing.  Ever.  I would think women who work very hard at fashion or other things might want to smack a bitch in the face.  Very hard.

Okay, just did an impromptu poll of my lady-friends.  Almost-universally the response was that anytime they dress up, sexy or otherwise, it is so that they can feel good about themselves.  It is self-aggrandizing.  So I just blew the brains out of Sarkeesian’s argument.  I blew it’s fucking brains out all over the floor.  Why do I talk about this stuff?  Honestly, I think the reason is because I am just so fascinated by the fact that there are women who take what this bitch says seriously.

More than that – why does Anita feel this way?  Well, part of it is because she’s a con artist and she has a narrative to pander to.  But assuming that she’s not, and she actually believes any of the words that come out of her mouth (and there are plenty of women who do think this way, so it still works), I can’t help but think that she is sexually repressed.  She is so afraid of her body and her sexuality that she can’t imagine an idea where someone would be happy enough with how they look to want to show it off.  Again, this is taking what she says at face value.  We all saw that picture of her in a dress at a Time Magazine event.  But for those who actually do buy this (because they’re REALLY dumb), it must mean that they are so scared of how they look that this is the only way they can justify a woman dressing in a sexy way.

Oh, and she again ignores that lesbian and bisexual women exist and find women sexually attractive.  What else is new?  So, I still have responses from girly-mates coming in on my social media about this, so now I will ask the women in my audience here – do you ever dress up in a way that shows off your body or flaunts your sexuality for your own sense of self-satisfaction?  Just so you can feel good about yourself?  Let me know in the Comments.

Until next time, a quote,

“Enjoy your body.  Use it every way you can.  Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it.  It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.”  – Baz Luhrmann, Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen

Peace out,

Maverick

Let’s Talk About Guys and Chicks with Periods (A response to Lindy West)

This isn’t exactly a new article, but I just saw a very good video by The Wooly Bumblebee (linked here) where she responded to an article in the SJW rag, The Guardian.  It was written by an idiot named Lindy West, who has this idea about periods that are frankly baffling.  I can’t speak to the biology stuff of the article. Wooly does a damn good job, given that she’s a part of the female perspective, so she would get this.  However, what I can speak to is the idea that men find periods so repulsive, and in turn find women’s bodies repulsive.  There are a few choice examples that I mean to pick out of this load of shit, so let’s get to it.  Here’s a link to the article if you want to be “enlightened” yourself.

Let me start this off by saying that I was living with a girl I was dating for a while.  Those months we were living together were some of my favorite months of adulthood.  I’ve recently found a way to get back on the horse, but it is still proving REALLY difficult to break this slump.  However, when my ex and I were living together, the fact that she’s a woman did come up.  I never had an issue with this.  Any guy who has been in this position, I would love if you told your stories in the comments, so it isn’t just me having anecdotal evidence about how I didn’t treat my ex’s femininity like it was some kind of dark curse of the pirates (been playing Uncharted 4.  So sue me).

The most significant source of my adolescent period anxiety was the fact that, in the US and much of the west, acknowledging the completely normal and mundane function of most uteruses is still taboo.

Citation, please.  There were several times when I was living with my ex and when I was dating another girl a couple years before where I would get a call or a text and they would ask me to get them tampons.  It wasn’t a big deal.  Nobody gave me a weird look when I would be buying some.  They all assumed that I was a good boyfriend being a good boyfriend.  Who are these people who treat this like it’s some kind of dark secret never to be talking about?  Yeah, I am not eager to get all up close and personal with it, but I still acknowledge it for what it is and go forward.  My first ex ended up not needing tampons once she was on birth control.  Her periods disappeared.  Given the intensity of them for her, she was happy as a freaking clam about it.  I had another lady-friend who had a similar problem.  Her periods were so intense that she would be almost debilitated with cramps.  She started taking birth control for reasons totally outside sex.  And it worked.  Last I heard, she was a happy camper.

The taboo is strong enough that a dude once broke up with me because a surprise period started while we were having sex and the sight of it shattered some pornified illusion he had of women as messless pleasure pillows.

Okay, bullshit.  Read more of the article and you’ll see that this woman is clearly a mental case.  A bloody Section 8, if I do say so myself.  I don’t believe for a moment that he broke up with her because of period blood.  However, let’s take her ridiculous canard at face value.  Let’s pretend that she was dumped because of the fact that she had period blood leak out during sex.  That’s just a sign that he is a scummy guy.  It has no bearing on men or society in general.  You’re taking this one example (whose validity is HIGHLY suspect) and applying it to all men.  Not only is that unfair, but it’s downright stupid.

The active ingredient in period stigma is misogyny.

Here’s where I am going to have me a little rant.  It’s one that I’ve wanted to have for a long time, but now I am able to really flush it out because of this one stupid woman and her stupid article.  Guess you could say that I’m about to do some “mansplaining.”  Yeah, and she has been doing womanplaining (a portmanteau of woman and complain) for an entire article, so let’s deflate that a bit.

The ONLY people that I hear perpetuating this idea that there is some huge hatred of women is feminists and SJWs.  In the First World, anyway.  I am the first to talk about how there is REAL hatred of women in places like the Middle East.  Oh, right, we can’t talk about that.  Because anytime someone says thing one that doesn’t kiss Islam’s ass, we’re labeled racists.  I did a post about an incredibly brave Saudi woman who went on the news and told the truth about how violent and sexist Islam is.  I still think that that woman is one of the bravest people I have ever seen.  She’s risking her life to speak the truth.  These SJWs are getting “PTSD” from Twitter.  The poor things.

These people’s idea of hatred of women is to look at the Comments section of a YouTube video and pretend that that is somehow indicative of all of society.  Meanwhile, people who actually know something about the world know that YouTube comments are cancer.  There’s a reason that I never read the comments of my own videos.  I let people post whatever they want.  I just don’t read it.  Why?  Because between Godwin’s Law and the endless series of trolls there are online, it’s a waste of time.  Sure, some comments are insightful.  But why slog through it if you don’t have to?  These people’s idea of hatred of women is mean things being said on the Internet.  And to take whatever bullshit, non-issue that they can find in the news and blow it up to epic proportions.

Like how Matt Damon said in a recent episode of Project Greenlight that the person chosen to direct a movie should be chosen based on their merit and not their racial biases.  That seems like a reasonable thing, doesn’t it?  Meanwhile, SJW rags like the Huffington Post and The Young Turks all went to bat with the comments about how he’s sexist and racist and all sorts of other things.  Not one time arguing against his position.  Because why do that when the personal attacks are much easier?

I am getting so sick and fucking tired of this idea that men in the First World absolutely hate women and treat them all like dirt, when the truth is that men in this country practically worship the ground that most women walk on.  Women have pick of the litter with men, and we have news outlets complaining that not enough men are going to college so that college women don’t have to lower their standards when they are the majority in college and the pickings of well-educated men are getting slimmer all the time.  It amazes me how conceited these people are.  I guarantee you that if I put some of these women in the Middle East for a few months and then brought them back, they would tell me all about how life here is better for women than they ever took credit for.

As for you, Lindy West, you’re an idiot, crazy, and morbidly obese.  Two of those things can be cured.  Take your pick.  And for those who say that that is misogynistic of me, notice that I didn’t talk about her gender ONCE in my list of her problems.

Until next time, a quote,

“Women in the United States and Western Europe are the freest and most liberated in history.  And in many ways, they aren’t merely doing as well as men.  They’re doing better.”  – Christian Hoff Sommers

Peace out,

Maverick