Feminist Tumblr Syndrome

Posted on | January 9, 2016 | 197 Comments

Kylo Ren is the name of the villain in the latest Star Wars movie. You may wonder, “What does that have to do with feminism?” Honestly, I don’t know, but Lis is a feminist Tumblr blogger:

I’m a 20 year old dfab white demigirl living in the United States with my parents. Currently, I’m in college and am looking for a job. I enjoy a lot of things and have a lot of friends, and talk a lot about video games and am very opinionated. I’m bisexual, and living in a very hostile environment for a person such as myself so I use tumblr as an outlet for various frustrations I feel because of that.

Got that? OK, so now you may be ready for this from Lis:

Kylo Ren, cishet white male, 30. I hope I offend you. Try and argue with me, your ignorant anger is the reason I get up in the morning. Triggered yet?

It is perhaps necessary, for readers not familiar with Third Wave feminist jargon, for me to explain that “dfab” means designated female at birth — biologically, she’s female — and “demigirl” is “a gender identity describing someone who partially, but not wholly, identifies as” female. Whenever I encounter bizarre jargon terms like this (which are very common in Feminist Tumblr) my first impulse is alway to wonder, “Has she consulted an endocrinologist?”

This is not merely sarcasm. Because I intend to include a chapter on Feminist Tumblr in the second edition of Sex Trouble, I’ve plowed through enough of these blog profiles that various patterns and clusters of symptoms have become apparent to me. “Feminist Tumblr Syndrome” typically involves a combination of mental illness and abnormal sexuality. There may be feminists who are both (a) sane and (b) heterosexual, but none of those women are running Tumblr blogs.

These women are a non-random set — there is a pattern, as I say — and in many cases, the Feminist Tumblr blogger will describe herself in ways that seem symptomatic of endocrine disorders. I find myself wondering, “Has your doctor checked your thyroid function? Do you have any problems with your metabolism? What about your hormone levels? Is there some kind of underlying gynecological problem? An undetected cyst somewhere? Could you maybe ask the doctor to run an MRI?”

It is difficult to believe that an entirely healthy 20-year-old would be spending all her time on Tumblr, describing herself as a bisexual “dfab white demigirl,” claiming she is the victim of a “hostile environment” and ranting about Star Wars characters.

Crazy is as crazy does, I guess, and the fact that I consider these weirdos on Feminist Tumblr to be a subject for journalistic research may not say much for my own mental health. Yet if “the personal is political,” as Carol Hanisch says, we cannot understand feminism without examining the demography of the movement’s rank-and-file, and in the 21st century, one way to do this is by examining the movement’s online presence in free-for-all venues like Tumblr. And let me point out something you may not have noticed: Lis’s denunciation of Kylo Ren (which got nearly 12,000 notes on Tumblr) labeled him a “cishet white male.”

OK, what is “cishet”? This jargon term combines the prefix cis– (which is the opposite of trans-) and “het” which is short for heterosexual, so that “cishet” just means a man who is sexually and biologically normal, and Feminist Tumblr demonizes “cishet white males” as the Worst Thing Any Human Could Possibly Be.

Young feminists evidently believe it is wrong to be male, wrong to be white, and wrong to be heterosexual. The rhetoric of the feminist movement, day in and day out, looks very much like hate propaganda against anyone who fits the category of “cishet white males,” and yet nobody ever seems to question this type of categorical hatred.

To understand this hatred, perhaps it might help to take a look at the feminist “humor” of The White Dad Magazine.

Feminist Tumblr: Daddy Issues Much? https://t.co/F9aJPYAEUv pic.twitter.com/aK2eFaOa1v

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) January 9, 2016

Feminism seeks to eliminate “male privilege” by preventing men from having any opportunity for success. https://t.co/1CAOkDEPea

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) December 31, 2015

"Feminists are dishonest, selfish and cruel. … Feminism is irrational, because hate is always irrational." https://t.co/kbV6lbr4Bj

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) December 26, 2015

Once we understand feminism as organized irrationality — the political mobilization of mentally ill women — we can recognize their rhetoric as symptoms and their ideology as a disease.

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Category: Sex Trouble

Comments

197 Responses to “Feminist Tumblr Syndrome”

NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 7:34 am

I’d say that feminism has been hijacked by people who want to impose their notions on everyone else. They don’t want people to choose for themselves.

Otherwise, you’re spot on.

The issue isn’t the “weird ideas,” it’s if people can make their own choice.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 7:35 am

I’ll even third it.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 7:44 am

And “poof,” an amazingly good conversation is turned into a proclamation of Christian theology.
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 7:49 am

Yes. Unfortunately for those of us who identify less with spectacle and victim hood than with personal accountability are still lumped together with these ignorant liberal progressives who do there best to segregate women. In my opinion they do more harm than good for women’s rights.
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 7:52 am

That is exactly what progressives are best at. How do you think a country such as ours could pass such insane legislation without the people completely crushing them?
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 7:58 am

Unfortunately for feminists such as ourselves, we can prove the existence of intelligence, compassion, empathy, and rational function, but we will still be lumped together with these crazy third wave simpletons.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 8:36 am

By guilting them into it?

I think that’s the angle progressives usually go for. No questions about if something might work or do even more damage, but if victimhood deserves more privilege.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 8:43 am

Honesty requires me to tell you that I don’t consider myself a feminist.

I have this terribly bad habit of speaking up for folks who don’t always speak up for themselves. Usually because they aren’t there. I call it “almost the last advocate.”

It’s not a right unless everyone else has it too. Otherwise it’s a privilege taken at someone else’s expense.
From Around the Blogroll | The First Street Journal.
January 10th, 2016 @ 9:18 am

[…] Robert Stacey Stacy McCain on The Other McCain: Feminist Tumblr Syndrome […]
Quartermaster
January 10th, 2016 @ 10:36 am

And “poof” it’s turned into another post about your opinion.
Quartermaster
January 10th, 2016 @ 10:50 am

There are some trolls he has tolerated in the past. Animika and Neowayland are two examples.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 11:01 am

It wasn’t necessary to make this about Christianity and Christian purpose.

I’d say there was more happening here without religion defining the discussion.
Fail Burton
January 10th, 2016 @ 12:13 pm

Or occupy a draft office.
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 12:39 pm

What exactly is that supposed to mean? I was in agreement with you to a degree…
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 12:42 pm

Almosr advocating is still appreciated. And yes, rights are something had by everyone. Privilege is held by a few.
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 12:46 pm

In our country, the group that makes the least sense and the most noise is the one that gets the most attention which is why the progressive left are the ones getting all the attention. Those who actually work and advocate for real and lasting change that makes sense aren’t heard.
Valerie Stewart
January 10th, 2016 @ 1:37 pm

Wait a second: shouldn’t the radfems be happy that the female lead is fighting the ciswhite hetero male–’cause, you know, “resisting the patriarchy?”

Well, not that we expected any real logical consistency for those infected with Chronic Whining Disease.
Valerie Stewart
January 10th, 2016 @ 1:42 pm

I’ll fourth this.

A while ago, I showed my brother a radfem page. At first he laughed, but then he thought about it for 10 seconds and became horrified by the sheer hatred, insanity and fanaticism.
Fail Burton
January 10th, 2016 @ 2:26 pm

You don’t have to be a lesbian or even a woman any more than Marlon Brando had to be black to march with M. L. King. You only have to take on the cause.
Fail Burton
January 10th, 2016 @ 2:28 pm

You have to love an insane asylum which uses terms like “the tyranny of the heterosexual norm” or the “heterosexual agenda.” By that standard a matched mating pair of Scarlet Macaws are propagandist ideologues.
Quartermaster
January 10th, 2016 @ 3:07 pm

Oh puhleeze! At the time I’m typing this, it has been 12 hours since concren00 made his, and no one else said a thing to him other than you. You whine about live and let live, and you can’t let live. Your hypocrisy is glaring.
Prime Director
January 10th, 2016 @ 3:24 pm

sounds like someone got burned.
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 3:30 pm

Im not sure what you’re referring to since it was not me who was called on. In any event, if name calling is a thing instead of intelligent conversation then they lump right into the group they claim to hate so much.
Toodles.
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 3:40 pm

My cause and theirs are obviously not the same.
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 3:49 pm

Im not sure what you’re referring to.
Joe Guelph
January 10th, 2016 @ 3:55 pm

Understood, and agree.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 4:45 pm

Did you read that bit I wrote above about imposing notions on everyone else?

It’s the same issue I have with the climate change crowd, the RadFems, and yes, certain Christians.

If it’s wrong for the RadFems to do it, then it’s wrong for Christianity Triumphant too.

People deserve to make their own choices. People should take responsibility for their own choices.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 4:48 pm

Your issue with me isn’t about what I say. It’s that I don’t recognize Christianity as the “obviously superior” choice. It’s that I won’t give Christianity the hand up you think it deserves. It’s that I don’t think Christianity is the “universal” choice.

Am I attacking you? No. Am I attacking Christianity? No. Am I suppressing Christianity? No.

If Christianity is what you believe, then it should be able to hold it’s own AND MORE against any other set of ideas with no special advantage.

Which means there’s no need to explain human behavior because of Divine intervention or devilish activity.

It’s choice.
Valerie Stewart
January 10th, 2016 @ 5:09 pm

Yet despite these facts, no one (AKA the Left) calls them out on their potential biases or conflicts of interest.

Double sstandards, indeed.
Valerie Stewart
January 10th, 2016 @ 5:19 pm

Because to radfems normal is bad, and they must tack on a scientific-sounding word to make themselves feel smarter.
Patrick Carroll
January 10th, 2016 @ 6:39 pm

It’s not an “apparently” thing. It’s exactly how the world works.

Look, for example, at the currently decadent Roman Catholic Church.
Kerry Anne Davenport Dalton
January 10th, 2016 @ 6:49 pm

Oh. So what you’re saying is that I have to use terminology that suits you, even if we are in agreement about something. Gotcha. 😉
As far as the Romans Catholic Church is concerned; they are corrupted by more than just progressivism but i get your point.
Quartermaster
January 10th, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

concern was imposing nothing, except in the universe you’ve constructed in that infinite space between your ears. You’re simply being a stupid ideologue who can’t pass up such things.

I’ve ignored a number of people that say stupid things. I’ve even ignored a large number of your moronic posts. You seem unable to let anything that smacks of Christianity to go by without you posting something utterly ignorant about it.

To you, simply posting it is imposing it.
Quartermaster
January 10th, 2016 @ 7:04 pm

You need to give serious thought to what you post. You’re nothing if not inconsistent.

You do attack Christianity. You attack its presuppositions, its facts and observations. If it were simply a matter of not accepting it, then one could simply state that and walk away. You’re utterly unable to do that. To you, simply posting something like concern00 posted is an imposition.

I suggest you take a hard, a very hard, look at the people that run this blog, and what their positions are. You’re attacking them as well.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 8:26 pm

Parity.

If I had used any belief system except Christianity and made the same type of all-inclusive statements that concern00 made, you’d be up in arms.

And so would concern00.

Christianity shouldn’t need an advantage other than what it’s followers do and say.

And if you believed in it, you wouldn’t try to give it one.

Christians are better people when Christianity isn’t the only game in town.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 8:36 pm

I don’t attack Christianity. I do criticize certain Christians who insist their beliefs control people who have not chosen Christianity.

You would do exactly the same if a Sikh insisted his beliefs controlled you. Or a Buddhist. Or an atheist. Or even my brand of paganism.

One reason I am still here is because I deliberately avoid attacking Christianity. I just say repeatedly that it doesn’t apply to people who have not chosen to be Christian.
Finrod Felagund
January 10th, 2016 @ 8:56 pm

NeoWayland isn’t a troll, he’s just a libertarian. Animika, well, I’m not going to defend.
Joe Joe
January 10th, 2016 @ 9:14 pm

Of course it’s all fake. But it’s necessary window dressing for an academic storefront.
NeoWayland
January 10th, 2016 @ 9:15 pm

Now that I’ve thought about it, I want to point something else out.

If I were to accept Christianity’s “presuppositions,” wouldn’t that mean that I would be placing my beliefs under the umbrella of Christianity?

Would you accept my “presuppositions” and place Christianity under my faith?

Parity.
Robert What?
January 10th, 2016 @ 9:37 pm

I wonder if she realizes that Kylo Ren is a fictional character?
News of the Week (January 10th, 2016) | The Political Hat
January 10th, 2016 @ 10:09 pm

[…] Feminist Tumblr Syndrome Kylo Ren is the name of the villain in the latest Star Wars movie. You may wonder, “What does that have to do with feminism?” Honestly, I don’t know, but Lis is a feminist Tumblr blogger […]
BobSmith101
January 11th, 2016 @ 1:49 am

How do these intellectual minnows find so much time to dwell on the absurd. And what is the end game for all the gender mental masterbation?

Equal pay, equal rights, for all and move on to something productive.
Valerie Stewart
January 11th, 2016 @ 2:14 am

Maybe not. Those inflicted with mental disorders have a difficult time distinguishing fantasy from reality.
moraywatson
January 11th, 2016 @ 9:03 am

“Third Wave”? Seems more like “Undertow”.
Quartermaster
January 11th, 2016 @ 4:11 pm

Your posts are little more than mental masturbation from a position of gross ignorance. Your last paragraph is a good example. You have no idea what a Christian is because you have no idea of what Christianity is.

“Christianity shouldn’t need an advantage other than what it’s followers do and say.”

This is simply clownish and shows that your stuff is simply mindless raving. Learn actual history, and the accomplishments of Christianity jump out at you, and it takes little to see that those accomplishments were made without what you so stupidly call “advantage.”

“If I had used any belief system except Christianity and made the same
type of all-inclusive statements that concern00 made, you’d be up in
arms.”

You also have utterly no understanding what concern00 was saying. He wasn’t saying what you think he was saying. It wasn’t at all inclusive.

Parity doesn’t exist, and never will.
NeoWayland
January 11th, 2016 @ 4:34 pm

Hey, I get it. You think Christians share terrific virtue and are Super Special with Extra Amazing Insight just because they are Christians. You don’t think Christians should be judged by what they do and say, because, after all they are Christian and they answer to a different standard. Especially when non-Christians are involved, because they don’t really matter in the vast scheme of things.

Not particularly Christian, but hey, I’m not the one who has to justify it.

Oh, and parity does exist. Or have you forgotten your own Golden Rule?
Quartermaster
January 11th, 2016 @ 4:46 pm

You get nothing. You are, as is your wont, raving again. You have no understanding of the issue, nor will you as long as you allow your own ideology to blind you. You’re simply an ideologue.

The “Golden Rule” is not about parity and no one is forcing you to justify anything. But, if you quit making things about yourself, then other will not have the need to call you on your idiocy. Your choice.
NeoWayland
January 11th, 2016 @ 4:50 pm

Now neighbor, I’m going to share some things with you.

I’m very good at the insult game. I choose not to play it except under extreme circumstances. I didn’t like the person I was when I played it all the time.

The game I play now is Veritas. It challenges me because I can only play it by sharing truth. It also means that I do not go on and on unless someone disputes something I’ve said or written.

You have noticed that in all but one of these exchanges, you’ve just dug yourself in deeper and deeper, haven’t you? Blazes, on this thread you managed to attack every single faith except Christianity with that presupposition bit.

If you don’t like what I say, you don’t have to answer it. If you do, I will debate you.
NeoWayland
January 11th, 2016 @ 4:57 pm

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

How on Earth is that not parity?

Of course, I still prefer another version.

“Be excellent to each other. And PARTY ON, DUDES!”
Quartermaster
January 11th, 2016 @ 7:05 pm

You don’t deal with truth except in a relativistic fashion. to wit: “…on this thread you managed to attack every single faith except Christianity with that presupposition bit.” I had to chuckle a bit over that because of the ignorance that stands behind that statement. I stated what you were doing, not dealing with me.

Truth is not something that is true for me and not for you.