communication – Prawn of the Patriarchy

Since when did it become acceptable for publicly-funded desk jockeys to block people on social media in the absence of threats or abuse? Since now it would seem

Most public sector agencies, and no doubt many other organisations, develop and enforce policies to guide their employees in the appropriate use of social media. The focus of most such policies is to reduce the likelihood that employees will post something that compromises the organisation that they work for. Conversely, the main criticism of social media policies is their potential to muzzle employees from communicating freely with the public.

A study commissioned by the Australian Electoral Commission recognised that “social media afford(ed) new opportunities for engaging citizens in democratic processes” (p8), but warned that sites can “become ‘digital enclaves’ or ‘echo chambers’ for small groups of like-minded citizens who dominate discussion.” (p29)

Social media policies may make provision to block members of the public who post spam or abusive or threatening messages onto the Facebook page/Twitter stream/etc of the organisation in question.

Few social media policies, however, seem to address the issue of whether staff are allowed to block/ban or remove posts in relation to members of the public who post material that is not offensive, but which may embarass the individual/organisation and/or promote or reflect alternative ideologies or belief systems.

Granted, my research has been limited, but the sole exception I have come across thus far in the public sector is the ‘ACT Government Social Media Policy Guidelines‘. That policy includes the following clause:

“Openness and transparency should be the defaults, meaning blocking users on Twitter and locking Facebook groups designed for public interface is not advisable” (Source – refer page 27)

This topic recently reared its head as a result of my interaction with a government agency known as the Australian Human Rights Commission (‘AHRC’).

As readers of this blog would be aware, I maintain an ongoing interest in the operation of the AHRC (example). That being the case I periodically check the relevant social media accounts to maintain an awareness of what is being said and done, and occasionally to comment.

The other day I was surprised to discover this notice upon attempting to view the Twitter stream of the (now former) Sex-Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins:

I looked at my most recent tweets to Ms Jenkins to see if I had inadvertently stepped over the line re: civility. This is what I found:

Fairly tame stuff, huh? As I expected. I challenge Ms Jenkins or anyone else I have communicated with to produce anything that they consider to be so offensive as to justify punitive action. I mean aside from generalised hurt feelings arising from transgressions against cherished ideology.

I’m both a tax-payer and a former public servant, and I would no sooner have binned correspondence from the public/hung up on people/etc than walk to work naked. And make no mistake, blocking constituents on social media is the current-day equivalent of such actions. How things have changed.

I wonder if such action is permissible for federal public servants under the existing legislative/regulatory framework? I wonder how commonly it occurs, and whether anyone actually knows?

I also wonder if the staff who engage in this type of systematic disengagement are more or less likely to hold particular ideological views? This PEW Research article, for example, found that the people most likely to block others on social media held consistent leftist/liberal views.

As I discussed in another blog post, this default position of silencing rather than engaging dissenting voices has become a hallmark of gender feminists.

It must be quite intoxicating to believe that your position is so right, and others so diabolically wrong, that dialogue with unbelievers is not just redundant but seemingly an affront to decency.

General guidelines for public sector staff, in relation to engagement with the public including via social media, are set out in ‘APS Values and Code of Conduct in practice‘. It contains a number of provisions relevant to this issue such as:

2.2.3 The Directions about this Value require APS employees to engage effectively with the community, working actively to provide responsive, client-focused service delivery. <snip> Employees must also ensure that decisions and interactions with clients are objective and impartial, and in accordance with government policy.

4.5.7 <snip> employees should avoid partisan comment and ensure that their approach to speaking publicly about policies supports public confidence in the capacity of the APS to be impartial.

5.1.3 A real conflict of interest occurs where there is a conflict between the public duty and personal interests of an employee that improperly influences the employee in the performance of his or her duties.

(Postscript: Revised public service social media guidelines were released in August 2017)

The Australian Human Rights Commission comes under the oversight of the Australian Attorney-General. That being the case I approached that Department (the ‘AGD’) as follows:

“Today I noted that I had been blocked from accessing the Twitter stream of a senior member of staff of the Australian Human Rights Commission. Prior to this occurring I can confirm that I did not communicate in a manner that was abusive, threatening, etc (nor make an excessive number of posts for example) … actions that would reasonably justify being blocked or banned.
Such an action on the part of a senior public servant appears not just unprofessional, but amounts to censorship being applied to stakeholders simply on the basis of holding a dissenting viewpoint.
I am writing to you now to request details of the guidelines under which staff (or agencies themselves) within the AGD are permitted to ban or block members of the public from social media streams or pages. Specifically, is such an action even permissible in the absence of bad language, threats, etc?
I look forward to receiving your timely advice regarding this matter.”

The AGD subsequently replied:

“Thank you for contacting the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department (the department). The department is not able to directly assist you. Your enquiry would be more appropriately directed to the Australian Human Rights Commission … “

The social media policy for the Human Rights Commission is provided here. The policy does not clearly state whether staff members are empowered to block people for reasons other than those specified therein – which I did not contravene.

I then directed relevant questions to the Australian Public Service Commission (‘APSC’) and the AHRC. In their initial response the AHRC directed me to their social media policy, which I had already indicated I had read. I replied:

“I am seeking an indication from you as to whether the Commission has either a policy or accepted practice whereby members of staff are empowered make
unillateral decisions to place blocks or bans on members of the public
seeking to access and engage with various online portals estatblished
by the AHRC.

As I indicated in my initial email, my focus is on situations where
there has been no clear contravention of the standards of behaviour
set out in your policy. I look forward to receiving your further advice on this matter.”

The subsequent response from the AHRC again directed me to their Social Media Policy. From that I think we can assume that they have either not understood the nature of my concern, or that such concerns are only to be addressed on an ad hoc basis.

In contrast I received useful feedback from Paul Casimir, Director Integrity, Employment Policy Group at the APSC:

“The Australian Public Service Commission has not developed guidance for APS agencies about the circumstances in which it would be appropriate for an APS employee or an APS agency to block access to a Twitter feed or similar social media platform. This is a matter for individual agencies to consider in each case having regard to a number of factors including, but not limited to, the obligation under the Commissioner’s Directions to engage effectively with the community.

Where an APS employee has acted in a manner inconsistent with the APS Values or Code of Conduct that matter may be referred to the head of that agency for consideration as a potential breach of the Code of Conduct.

However, it may also be relevant to you to know that the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Kate Jenkins, is a statutory officer appointed under the terms of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. As such, she is not an APS employee and is not bound by either the APS Code of Conduct or the APS Values in the way that APS employees are. The excerpts of your blog post from the APS Values and Code of Conduct In Practice do not apply to her.”

My own position on this matter? I don’t take Ms Jenkins gesture personally in the least. I do find it ironic, however, that someone whose job it is to protect rights should be so amenable to the removal of rights. Indeed the Commission is on record as asserting internet access to be a fundamental human right. The possibility that Ms Jenkins action was tainted with a degree of misandry is similarly repellent.

I believe that the sort of waspish and self-indulgent behaviour common to online feminist echo chambers is completely inappropriate when transposed to the digital portal of a public sector agency. In the latter situation the priority should not be shunning and shaming, but rather sharing and engaging. Such as approach should be consistently applied to all interested stakeholders – regardless of their ideological preferences and/or the extent to which their views align with those of the relevant agency or individual managing the account.

(Postscript 7 June 2024: The AHRC blocked me from accessing their Twitter account, with zero communication with me (then or since). You can read my final (benign) posts to them by word-searching on Twitter using my Twitter handle and theirs)

(Postscript July 2023: I note the following statement in the AHRC Submission Policy dated January 2020 – “The Commission also encourages informal submissions via its social media and other online forums“)

Take a look at ‘5 Current issues of ‘Internet censorship’: bullying, discrimination, harassment and freedom of expression‘. So the people that AHRC themself block … are they restricted to those who commit one or more of these five ‘crimes’? That would be *No*, right? The hypocrisy is astounding

(Postscript 7 December 2022: Another now-common practice by woke politicians/bureaucrats/NGO reps is to elect to prevent Twitter readers to submit comments unless authorised to do so (example provided by Queensland politician Shannon Fentiman)

(Postscript 13 October 2018: ‘Should politicians be allowed to block voters on social media?‘)

(Postscript 10 July 2019: ‘Ocasio-Cortez Sued for Blocking People on Twitter‘)

Postscript 7 August 2019: ‘High court rules public servants can be sacked for political social media posts‘. Interesting

Here’s an emerging initiative in the UK – a proposed petition to have their parliament consider this issue of citizens being blocked by public servants on social media. To access the petition related to the text below please click here and here (31 May 2022)

Free Speech Union Wins Six-Figure Settlement For Sacked Civil Servant (28 May 2023) And here’s how things look a further further steps down the pathway we are now on here in Australia

A feminist laments: “Why do so few men turn up to hear women speak?”

An article by Ruby Hamad has leapt to the front of the field in my ‘Foolish Feminist Articles of 2016’ competition. It’s entitled ‘Why do so few men turn up to hear women speak?’. That’s the question, but we don’t have to read too much before we realise that Ruby already knows the answer … men don’t attend because they are disinterested or even contemptuous of women’s issues.

I beg to differ as I think that many men are keenly interested in women’s issues, if only because in most cases these are actually shared issues. It might surprise Ruby to learn that many advocate s for men’s rights were originally very supportive of feminist principles … prior to realising the chasm between dictionary feminism and feminist strategy/priorities IRL. In terms of showing contempt for the opinions of people of other genders, well with feminists I’d say that’s very clearly a case of ‘pot-kettle-black’.

The focus of Ruby’s article was a particular event, the All About Women Festival. “It’s a full day of talks and discussions about ideas that matter to women and provides an important platform for women’s voices … So, invite your friends, your colleagues, your best friend or your sisters.”

Ruby notes “It is astounding to me that men think they have little gain from an event such as this. Men need to hear first-hand what the world is like for women. Men need to listen while women speak.”

Anyhow let’s move on to consider the real reasons why men might have avoided this event, and other similar events in general. I’d also heartily recommend that readers consider the opinions of others as expressed in two related Reddit discussion threads here and here.

The first and most obvious answer is that men/men’s groups weren’t specifically invited to attend the event, a feminist event which is clearly presented as being about women and women’s voices. It’s hardly surprising that men might be disinclined to attend for fear of causing upset by intruding on a womens safe space. In other words some men may not have attended the event out of respect for women.

Secondly, feminist’s have a history of telling men who attend their events to keep their mouth’s shut, even in the case of men who identify as feminists. Why then would men wish to attend an event where they would be denied the opportunity of full and active participation, or perhaps even singled out for abuse?

Here’s one of countless examples of that occurring:

“Professor Tompkins praises Jill Johnston (author of the 1973 classic Lesbian Nation: The Feminist Solution) for being “what was then called a ‘ball-buster’: a take-no-prisoners, man-hating dyke”:

There’s even a key scene in the film when she gets really mad at a man in the audience and gives him an intense ball-busting dyke response to what simply seems to be his presence. She says: “Like, I feel a hostile male element in here and it’s bothering me…I don’t mind guys being here but I feel a hostile male element and, um, that’s making me, that’s making me agitated.”

When the young man attempts to engage her she explodes at him: “You better get the f–k out of here or I’m going to kick you right in the balls and get you out of here so fast man…. I don’t like your generalizations, man…. So sit down, shut up, or get out. I feel a hostile male vibe in here, and I don’t like it….You don’t feel it and I feel it. You feel something different than I feel!” (Source)

Thirdly, feminist’s themselves rarely attend events discussing mens issues unless to deliberately disrupt the proceedings, and usually after their earlier attempts to have the event cancelled failed (using lobbying and misinformation campaigns). Go ahead and google on ‘feminists disrupt mens event’ to rustle up some examples (here’s something to get you started). Clearly the notion that ‘women need to listen while men speak’ doesn’t fly. Can’t feminists just be grateful that men don’t stoop to reciprocating feminist’s own actions?

Fourthly, feminists, both individually and collectively, routinely use many and varied forms of censorship to block and silence men who endeavour to reach out to women to tell them what the world is like for men. Details in this blog post.

Does anyone else think the underlying message of this article is that feminists have ‘all rights and no responsibility’ when it comes to presenting their case?

And in case anyone thought that only Australian feminists would be sufficiently detached from reality to complain about men not wishing to attend feminist events, here is an example from the northern hemisphere:

SXSW’s Online Harassment Summit was just one more place for men to ignore women – Good solutions found a small audience (13 March 2016)

“Soraya Chemaly of Women’s Media Center remarked toward the end of a panel about women in the media: “It’s mainly women in this room. Probably we don’t need this information.”

Yes, I’m sure women know it all already. Gee, I bet that event would have been loads of fun if the other attendees were all as arrogant as Soraya.

In closing Ruby, maybe this article provides all the answers you need.

See also:

Football star calls out men for silence on abortion rights (25 June 2022) “American football star Megan Rapinoe has called out men’s silence following the US Supreme Court’s decision on abortion rights”. And thus suddenly men are criticised for *not* expressing their views on women’s issues.

From Sex War to Family Union: an interview with Neil Lyndon (6 January 2022)

AGAR: A man disagreeing with a woman isn’t always mansplaining | Toronto Sun (9 August 2021)

We should have the right not to like men (10 September 2020) and The Woman who hates men so much – she wrote a bestseller about it (11 September 2020)

Men, please stop hijacking women’s issues (18 October 2017)

The Feminist Far Left Is Making More Enemies Than Allies, by Claire Connelly (16 March 2017)

‘Sydney Girls High School prefects hit back after Sydney Boys’ viral video‘ (13 March 2017)

Dear men: Here is your engraved invitation to join the Women’s March on Washington‘ (14 January 2017) See related Reddit discussion thread here

Munk Debates: The End of Men, by Leslie Loftus (21 November 2013)

How a feminist debate was derailed by asking all men to leave (4 December 2012)

Don’t talk to me! No wait. Talk to me!

Those of you who have spent time in Asian countries might have noticed a lot of western women reading books in cafes and looking somewhat bored. In various web sites and discussion forums one may read their plaintive cries about feeling “invisible” (e.g. Japan/China) and having trouble finding guys who will give them the level of attention they feel is warranted.

It would appear that most western guys in Thailand, for example, have little time for western women. Instead they appear to prefer the company of more feminine, laidback (and yes, often more attractive) Thai ladies. And cynics note that I am referring to Thai ladies in general, and not simply bar-girls.

I even read a post the other day where a female expat stated that she was tired of western men in Thailand “disrespecting” western women in the way they pointedly ignore them. Tragic, just tragic.

In my blog post ‘I thought women were meant to be more empathetic‘ I talk about the issue of western women in Thailand flaunting local dress standards. Is this ‘look at me! look at me!’ behaviour in response to the ‘attention deficit mode’ that many western women appear to descend into within days of arrival in Asia? Or is it simply a reflection of a broader attitude of ‘my need to indulge myself trumps your right to have local social mores respected’?

Moving across to India, read about ‘The woman who says that it’s not only men who like to look‘ (24 August 2016)

Why don’t Western men in Asian countries lift their game and jump at the opportunity of approaching western women? Oh wait, they have already tried that back home and were rewarded with looks of disdain or contempt – or even accused of harassment. I can see this is going to be a tough sell.

So what then, you might ask, is the current situation in western countries such as USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia?

Well in the West men are confused, for they are routinely dragged over the coals for alternately either paying too much attention to women, or not enough. Or about the right amount but they are doing it wrong. Oh, and the goalposts regarding the ‘right’ way are continuously being moved.

On that first point, readers would be aware of the surfeit of publicity regarding the unwanted looks and attention that women attract from men, and how such behaviour threatens and disgusts them (example here).

And then every now and then there is an incident that serves as a lightning rod and focus for demands for action. Let’s look at the example of THAT infamous New York street harassment video …

Why I’m Not Buying That New York City Street Harassment Video (30 October 2014)
New York Times: Should Black And Hispanic Men Be Banned From Chatting Up White Feminist Women? (3 November 2014)
Dear Sydney men, you’re no New Gawkers — you’re just very spoiled (arrogant and rude too!) (4 November 2014) Article is rubbish but some interesting comments
Keeping It Topical: That Catcalling Video (5 November 2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwdoXbxFwuY and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75aX9mlipiY&feature=youtu.be (See also http://i.imgur.com/BXvmuYa.png) Both videos feature guys being ‘harassed’ as they walk the streets)
Christina Hoff Summers on ‘What the Catcalling video gets wrong‘ (10 November 2014)
Many months later Australian feminists were still trying to milk this video in their never-ending quest to demonize men (17 March 2015). The video was cited again in this December 2016 article on catcalling. And again in this June 2017 article in The Conversation.

In February 2017 another fake street harassment video emerged … ‘Video of raging female cyclist lashing out at van full of catcalling builders ‘revealed as FAKE’ as company pledges to launch internal probe’

In November 2017 another such fake street harassment video emerged … “Woman attacks man with her breasts for ‘staring at her’”

In early December 2018 an article appeared entitled ‘Is Australia sexist? Documentary asks if men and women are equal in the 21st century‘ – and of course there’s a video of Aussie guys looking at, and calling out to, Aussie women. Bettina Arndt had earlier written an article about the set-up that was the original ‘study’ in The Australian. Now take a look at this video critique of the SBS program.

I’d suggest now reading the two articles below, which set the scene quite well for the additional sources that follow:

The Sexodus, Part 1: The men giving up on women and checking out of society (4 December 2014) with related discussion thread here, and The Sexodus, Part 2: Dishonest Feminist panics leave male sexuality in crisis (9 December 2014) … and here is a link to a related YouTube video

And now feel free to peruse these further sources regarding the increasingly fraught issue of public interaction between the genders:

Bizarre Australian dating trend that is making young people want to head overseas (19 November 2024) A ridiculous take on the situation … young women twist the issue to make sure that men – and only men – are made to blame.

And don’t send cards to me either! (October 2024) Video

Society’s nightmare: Men are avoiding modern women like the plague (September 2024) Video. I see videos like this and I’m staggered at the ignorance and/or misguided attitudes displayed by so many women regarding men and the issues they face.

Men Are Sharing Difficult Parts Of Modern Dating, And As A Woman, I Never Thought Of Some Of These (9 September 2024)

‘Not OK’: Fitness influencer Laura Henshaw calls out ‘icky’ car act (7 August 2024)

Modern women are upset because men keep avoiding them at work (2 August 2024) Video (see also the viewer’s written comments)

I raised my son Winston as a feminist. It breaks my heart that today’s young women treat him as toxic for just being male – while men are cancelled and belittled (1 August 2024)

Are many/most men worried concerning communicating with their wives/partners? (26 July 2024) Video

Expat reveals why dating in Australia is so different (22 July 2024)

‘Who approved this?’: Dating app Bumble cops backlash over new billboards (14 May 2024) Expecting women to make the move is downright unacceptable, because …

New Zealand woman slams Aussie dating culture (27 April 2024) Entitled? Not much

‘You need to start talking about it’: Erin Molan calls on Australian men to speak up about domestic violence (26 April 2024)

British expat’s ‘problem’ with Aussie men (25 February 2024)

Harry Connick Jr’s daughters reveal the problem with Aussie men (11 February 2024)

Man’s gym act exposes ‘insane’ problem women face while working out (19 January 2024)

Manchester bar reveals set of quirky rules that bans men from approaching women – and advises female customers to ‘lift their chin and ignore’ anyone who tries to chat them up (30 November 2023)

Response to video of man ‘admiring’ woman reveals wider issue (27 November 2023) A man doesn’t even need to speak to be of concern. Utterly ridiculous

Horrifyingly common act against women exposed by text trend (26 October 2023) OK, so this one isn’t about talking – it’s about texting. But your face will be in your palm in 3-2-1. Say anything bad about women and you’re not just a misogynist – you’re frightening! Nothing even vaguely uncomplimentary is said about women … presumably perfect already.

(Source of the study extract noted above)

Street harassment: A missing piece in measuring women’s public safety (26 February 2024)

What women define as sexual harassment or catcalling is often biased, studies show (13 October 2023) Reddit MensRights discussion thread

It’s over. I got expelled for approaching girls (14 October 2023) Video

Woman shares clever reverse psychology trick to get guys to leave you alone in bars (21 July 2023) USA

Commuters send 1500 alerts to sex crime, abuse service (11 July 2023)

Woman’s note to ‘cute’ plane guy goes viral (4 July 2023) “The bold flier told her followers that the sky-high story was proof that people should go after what they want”. No, not “people” … just women.

‘He just kept going’ – why you might snap back, freeze or ignore street harassment (16 June 2023)

Sad reason women are wearing a baggy T-shirt on public transport (24 May 2023)

A man spoke to a woman in a car park. The horror. The horror (30 March 2023) Video

Men in Scotland who loudly boast about sexual conquests in public could face jail (8 March 2023)

A colleague at work (27m) of 1 year refuses to socialise with me (24f) or any of the women in our office (11 February 2023) Reddit ‘relationship advice’ discussion thread – good reader comments! Plus here is a link to a related Twitter discussion thread.

The toxic women of gym TikTok (7 February 2023)

Twitter thread concerning a girl attending a gym who claims some fellow is watching her. Read the thread and you’ll note that the two main female characters featured in it – complaining about being harassed/objectified – both have OnlyFans accounts #FacePalm. Here’s the original MSM item (23 January 2023).

Assessing #MeToo, Five years on (28 November 2022)

Women gets angry when man speaks to her in the queue for the supermarket checkout (25 September 2022) Video

Half of single men avoid interacting with women out of fear of being seen as ‘creepy’ (28 September 2022)

What guy wouldn’t want it? (2022) Journal of Social Issues. Recommended reading

Brisbane women stunned by ‘persistent’ US men while travelling (15 September 2022) Men criticized for approaching too much and not enough – all in the one article

Why It’s Never a Good Idea to Demonize The Consumer (13 September 2022)

‘Never OK’: Fury at ‘disgusting’ response to supermarket assault (26 August 2022) Another bogus video to stir the anti-male pot and generate traffic to her social media site/s? Time will tell

Sydney nightclub bans staring without getting prior ‘verbal consent’ (25 August 2022)

Watch Woman Falsely Accuses Blind Surfer Pete Gustin Of Staring At Her In The Gym, Video Goes Viral (15 August 2022) OK, so it’s about looking, not talking

Men who sexually harass women in the street with unwanted sexual comments could face up to two years in jail under proposed new offence (13 August 2022) UK and Blind man kicked out of a gym for ‘staring’ at a woman (20 June 2023)

Woman left shaken after being chased by man during her run (10 August 2022)

Aussie men seriously lack game compared to American men (4 August 2022) And here’s one for the ‘men should talk to women’ camp. But only if they’re cool.

Tory leadership: Liz Truss promises new offence of street harassment (28 July 2022)

Creepy way man got woman’s number off her dog’s collar (8 June 2022) Again, only creepy when a man does this. Especially a poor/unattractive man.

Catcalls, homophobia and racism: we studied why people (and especially men) engage in street harassment (2 June 2022)

Male customer’s surprise reaction after waitress makes move on him (28 May 2022) Contrast this with the 19 March article listed below

Woman admits she regrets her ‘d**k magnet’ tattoo (18 May 2022)

Woman kicks sand in man’s face after ‘invasive’ beach act (11 April 2022)

Woman orders coffee at Starbucks and finds creepy secret note on the cup from barista (19 March 2022)

Instagram ‘socialite’ and OnlyFans star Casie Caldwell drunkenly spat on police (12 March 2022)

Former Ms Great Britain reveals she can’t get a date (27 February 2022) She never gets chatted up. 100 dates were unfruitful. It’s all men’s fault.

Honey Badger Radio: Why Men Won’t Approach Women & What We Need To Do About It (18 January 2022)

The yin of being looked at and the yang of looking. — The Centre for Male Psychology (2 September 2021)

Is Flirting the Next Victim of Millennials’ Metaphorical Murder Spree? | Opinion (newsweek.com) (29 June 2021)

The four words all women have used to get rid of unwanted advances (24 March 2021)

6 Reasons men need to stop making the first move in dating (7 March 2021)

The pandemic of male loneliness (24 February 2021)

Men going their own way: the rise of a toxic male separatist movement (26 August 2020) You’d think they’d be happy if men went away, but nah. Funny thing that.

Are masks giving men a license to leer? Women report a rise in ‘aggressive eye contact’ (28 July 2020)

Police issue warrant for Louisiana woman, 29, who ‘shot her boyfriend because he refused to argue with her’, leaving him in critical condition (20 July 2020)

Women are fun (July 2020) Video

‘Shy and awkward’ student, 19, who googled ‘how to make a friend’ assaults schoolgirl, 17 (11 October 2019)

Men: Before you tell a joke/give advice/pay a compliment. A twitter stream from a woman with advice for men (4 September 2019)

Danish women prefer wolf-whistles to feminism (11 May 2019)

The Victorian Government (Australia) has issued a video highlighting the horror of women receiving unwanted attention on public transport, and – surprise surprise – calling on men to step in and deal with other men (9 April 2019). ‘Independent Man’ responds to this rather well with his own video.

Of course governments never step in and ask women to deal with other women who transgress one ‘rule’ or another, err like sexually abusing students for example. Because that would be hateful or misogynistic or something bad. Or something.

Unsafe in the City – A Tale of Five Cities, by Plan International (October 2018) This pro-feminist ‘study’ unsurprisingly completely ignores not just all the people who manage to remain safe in the city, but also both male victimisation and female violence.

Young woman was handed a note on the train (October 2018) Video

Flight etiquette: I broke the one rule of long-haul flying (5 September 2018) But of course the guy in the plane seat next to you wants to get to know you

#MeToo Backlash In Corporate Canada Sees Women Locked Out (2 August 2018)

Judge approves lawsuit against Mizzou for punishing student who asked woman on a date (17 July 2018) USA

Men, take heed from the Victorians: don’t hound women in public (31 May 2018) Clearly no need to consider inappropriate behaviour by women, or the steps needed to address this.

Confusing sexual harassment with flirting hurts women (14 November 2017) by Cathy Young

Op-Ed: Is ‘Weinsteining’ getting out of hand? (1 November 2017) by Cathy Young

Man jailed for creepily staring at Glasgow pharmacy assistant through window (27 October 2017) UK

Be sure not to initiate a conversation with a woman you don’t know on the bus (13 July 2017)

In the U.K, women more than men perceive wolf-whistling as a compliment (7 July 2017)

Trump did to Merkel what men do to women all the time, by Jessica Valenti (March 2017)

Australian Bar Prohibits Men From Approaching Women, Must Speak ‘As They Would to Their Mother’ (23 February 2017)

Sexless in Silicon Valley: why nobody’s getting laid in America’s tech hub (19 January 2017) Not much sex or dating taking place and, of course, the blame is placed at the feet of socially inept men because …

Harassment of women by men at Summernats cannot be excused or ignored, by Clementine Ford (16 January 2017) Australia. This article includes the statement:

“Why are the events like the mass groping at Cologne used as an example of how immigrant men pose a threat to “our women”, yet white Australian men acting in a similar fashion at a car show is dismissed as “boys being boys”?”

And this with no evidence provided – aside from two vague anecdotal accounts – that any man laid a hand on a woman at Summernats 2017. No mention, for example, of any actual police reports. In fact, I have been advised that in the entire 30 year history of Summernats there have been only two reported sexual assaults. And yet this being, allegedly, in a “similar fashion” to the outrage that occurred on NYE in Cologne? Talk about a reach!

These two pictures were both taken at Summernats, guess which one featured in Clementine’s article?

Longing for the male gaze (21 September 2016) with related Reddit discussion thread here.

I’m a feminist who’s attracted to ‘manly men’ (13 September 2016)

Lads! Britain needs you to do your duty and get flirting (24 August 2016) UK

Reader’s Comment: Nottinghamshire men must stop looking at women (17 July 2016)

A life time of leers (5 June 2016) Reddit discussion thread with linked article

Where Did All The Chat Up Lines Go? Why We Miss Them… (27 November 2015)

“The days when men could be bothered to try and muster any sort of conversational gambit are gone” (6 December 2015) Reddit discussion thread and linked article

Model has ribs removed to transform into real-life Jessica Rabbit (27 November 2015)

Black Man Asks Woman For Phone Number In Oakland, She Posts Flyer About It And Calls Cops (19 October 2015)

Disgusted father tells woman on train to sit down (24 February 2012) Video Canada

Barrister names and shames senior lawyer who sent her a ‘sexist’ LinkedIn message (8 September 2015) Quite barking mad. And here is some ever-articulate commentary on the matter from ‘The Other McCain‘ (12 September 2015)

Chrissie Hynde was right about rape. Now feminists want to silence her (31 August 2015)

‘Ghosted’ by my boyfriend: After four years together he left and I never heard from him again (28 August 2015) Stick around after break-up (creepy stalker) or move on and start a clean page (ghoster/thoughtless cad)

Feminists, and how to avoid them (12 August 2015)

Young women need to ‘tone down’…really? (1 August 2015) See readers comments

“In honesty, I didn’t make my sign”: SlutWalk revisited (Edmonton edition) (12 August 2015)

Guardian Author Who Called for End of Catcalling now Regrets she is not Catcalled (21 July 2015)

OK Cupid Data on Sex, Desirability, and Age (3 July 2015)

Finding a boyfriend cured my crippling loneliness, but left me feeling a bad feminist (23 June 2015) and related reddit mensrights discussion thread

The trials and tribulations of a token pretty girl (28 December 2014) and related reddit menrights discussion thread

Alex from Target: The other side of fame (12 November 2014) Objectified and harassed, but wait! How can this be? (Alex is a boy)

She explains why so many women don’t say ‘Hello.’ The reason is absolutely chilling (1 November 2014)

Rise of the Feminist Tinder-Creep-Busting Web Vigilante (27 October 2014) Read those comments and feel the frustration and anger. Next stop MGTOW

Boycott college women while in college (24 October 2014)

HuffPo and Salon slut-shame men (14 October 2014)

Vancouver men, please stop harassing women (12 October 2014)

On Not Approaching Women At All (9 September 2014)

Fallout from campus sexual assault hysteria: College men now suspicious of women (22 August 2014)

Read transcript of an item on a US TV show entitled ‘Libs want men to stop looking at women‘

Feminism versus Miley Cyrus (20 April 2014)

Getting over feeling invisible after 50 (23 December 2013)

Breast enlargement remains the most popular procedure (UK) and in the United States too (2013). In fact if you want a good chuckle then google on ‘feminism and breast augmentation’ and see the fur fly as feminists who have had their chests packed with silicon try to rationalise their decision (“I did it for myself, really”). Of course you did.

See the readers comment by ‘Okrahead’ about the spandex ‘lady’ in the gym in this article

Learn how approaching women in a nightclub is “harassment” perpetrated by “creeps”. Seriously guys, why bother? Interesting related discussion can be found here

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2602965/Men-try-kiss-10-minutes-meeting-Meet-tattooed-stunner-whos-popular-date-OKCupid-having-choice-men-ruining-love-life.html

In-depth: How We Waded Into The Sexual Harassment Quagmire — And How to Wade Out: One Man’s View (11 December 2011) Recommended reading from a big-picture viewpoint

The new math of campus (5 February 2010) Aw gee, not enough guys to go around on campus … and that was 2010 and there’s even less guys on campus now! ROTFL! Take a bow, feminism

And check this out too: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/topless-women-protestors-surprised-upset-as-men-show-up-with-cameras/story-e6frfku0-1225850121971

Read article entitled “Men here, they don’t even turn their head to look at you.” Awww. Gee, I wonder why this would happen … maybe because of attitudes like those expressed by the wimmin quoted below …

And here we read that British women don’t want to look at themselves in the mirror

Conclusion

Men and women are individuals whose position with regards to interacting with other individuals is influenced by many variables including age, relationship status, sexual orientation, cultural background, etc. There is no ‘one size fits all’.

Men are criticized both for approaching women, and for not approaching women. Some women live for male attention, others want none, with the remainder happy to engage at the times, and in the manner, of their choosing. Oh, and an individual woman’s position may change on a daily basis and/or depending upon the perceived attractiveness of the male who approaches her.

As women do not hold up signs advising of their own particular preferences, even well-meaning men – who comprise the overwhelming majority – are in a constant state of uncertainty, unease and frustration. Maybe if all women could organise themselves onto the same page, and circulate universal guidelines, things might be different. But we all know that’s not going to happen.

Feminists stoking the fire of misunderstanding and paranoia between the genders sure doesn’t help things, and only serves to propel ever more men towards a MGTOW lifestyle.

Elsewhere in this blog you might be interested in reading:

Girls showing their bits = empowerment? patriarchal exploitation? self-indulgence? other?
The ‘Marriage Strike’ and MGTOW
On privilege, respect, and entitlement
Fembots may prove to be a game changer
Harassment and discrimination in business and the workplace: Surprise, surprise, it goes both ways
When men have a daughter (another tale of male-blaming and silencing)