I’m currently reading Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates. It’s a harrowing exploration of the misogynist online “manosphere” and its offline counterparts. I can’t imagine dong the research for this one, spending hours on incel and pickup artist websites, hiding behind a male alias. (Blogger Dave Futrelle used to regularly monitor these sites and mock them in “We Hunted the Mammoth,” but finally had to step away, finding it too relentlessly depressing.)
The incel sites, in particular, are incredibly nihilistic. Guys will openly fantasize about suicide and encourage each other to do it — side by side with fantasies of violence and cruelty toward women. (For anyone not familiar with this stuff: “incel” is short for “involuntarily celibate.” These are guys who are furious that women are allowed to reject them, and they alternate between self-pity and frothing rage.) It’s easy to see how a guy who’s had bad luck with dating might wander onto one of these sites and feel like he’s found a community with guys reassuring him that it’s not you, it’s women. Combine that with patriarchy’s endless messages that he’s entitled to women’s attention and obedience, and he becomes radicalized.
The book addresses the whole rogues’ gallery: “men’s rights” activists, online trolls, and Men Going Their Own Way — who, strangely, never seem to go away. The author also notes that there’s a legit men’s movement that actually addresses issues that affect men, such as the stigma around seeking help for mental health. Unfortunately, the “manosphere” has too many men whose only interest in such issues is to use them as a rhetorical club to derail any discussion of sexism.
There have always been men who hate women, but social media has made it easier for them to recruit men and adolescent boys — and even preteens. And not coincidentally, Laura Bates has been harassed and threatened for addressing it. The book is a grim read, but it’s important to know what we’re up against.
As always, WOW is a group effort. Thanks to elenacarlena, mettle fatigue, and the WOW crew for links and discussion.
Reproductive Rights:
Birth control pills are now available without a prescription: here’s what people taking it need to know. And in New York, pharmacists can now dispense a year’s worth of birth control without a prescription — useful information for those living in states trying to restrict it.
Appeals court in Texas upholds allowing parents to deny birth control to teens.
Anti-choicers are now referring to nonviable pregnancies as “disabled children” to justify forcing women to carry to term — even if the pregnancy threatens her life or health.
Via Jessica Valenti: Last week pop star Olivia Rodrigo had an abortion fund handing out free emergency contraception at a recent Missouri concert. After a backlash that included conservative pundits calling the singer “a satanic industry plant,” and a Missouri state senator claiming that Rodrigo was dispensing abortifacients, Rodrigo’s management team is now prohibiting groups from handing out emergency contraception at future concerts.
Also via Jessica Valenti: Since last year, a Nebraska group called Protect Our Rights has been pushing a pro-choice amendment that would protect abortion rights in the state constitution until ‘viability’. But now a new group—with a deceptively similar sounding name, Protect Women and Children—is proposing a different amendment, one that would enshrine abortion rights up until the end of the first trimester only (Nebraska already bans abortion after 12 weeks; this would put it in the state constitution).
Arizona state Sen Eva Burch, currently pregnant, talks about why she needs to terminate her nonviable pregnancy.
In Louisiana, doctors are performing risky caesareans for medical emergencies and nonviable pregnancies, increasing the risk to patients in order to avoid the “appearance” of an abortion.
Mississippi is an example of how “exceptions” to abortion bans only exist on paper. Despite the anti-abortion law’s exception for rape, just four abortion were performed in the state in 2023.
Violence:
Gambia is debating becoming the first country to reverse the ban on female genital mutilation.
Addressing femicide in Australia.
Survey finds harassment of female cyclists is depressingly common in Portland.
Amelia Mavis Christnot: How predators like Brock Turner, Brett Kavanaugh, and TFG are made.
Health:
Biden signs executive order promoting women’s health research.
Workplace and Economic Issues:
60% of people with multiple hourly jobs are women.
Breaking the barriers for women in STEM.
Amazon co-founder Mackenzie Scott donates $640 million among more than 300 nonprofits.