This is a follow-up to the previous post, where I spoke of being contacted by a representative from a major news network. As said, I declined the offer of a televised interview. However, since my correspondent sought further information about what she termed "the Manosphere", I tried to be of assistance. The material given below is from an e-mail which I sent for that purpose:
Hello ______:
There is a complex, international grassroots social movement existing in the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, India, Japan, the Phillipines, and other countries. This movement is not easy to describe, and it is not really a "movement' at all, but a lot of different movements which more or less flow together.
Two major tendencies (or sub-movements) emerge from all of this activity.
First, anti-feminism - which means political opposition to feminism as an ideology and as a social construct. At the core of anti-feminism is an effort to capture the cultural narrative and public discourse, so as to control the actual meaning of the term "feminism" (which is presently controlled by followers of that ideology). The official feminist position is that "anti-feminist" equals "anti-FEMALE", and feminists themselves have encouraged such a conflation in the public mind.
I count myself part of the anti-feminist tendency, but to avoid the difficulties of the anti-feminist / anti-female conflation, I have adopted the term "counter-feminist", which is not so easily branded. (What could "counter-female" possibly mean?)
The anti (counter)-feminist position is that feminism is perncious and largely fraudulent, and populated by a.) people who are corrupt and vicious, and b.) people with good intentions who are the dupes of the first group.
There is a spreading global network of thinkers and writers dedicated to deconstructing feminism as a cultural narrative, and exposing the true face behind the mask, as it were. The amount of brainpower invested in this enterprise is quite considerable.
Next, the Pro-male Movement. This movement is dedicated not so much to tearing down feminism as to building up men, and male solidarity, on a global scale. The persistent theme is "male human rights".
The pro-male movement consists of scattered groups, individuals, political parties and schools of thought which are now in the process of becoming more networked.
I would include the Father's Rights movement under the broad umbrella of "pro-male". Most of the people in that sector would more-or-less concur with what I have written in this message.
At present, the global hotspot for pro-male activity is India, where the movement has a membership of 100,000 and growing fast. There, they have a sophisticated lobbying machine and a strong "boots on the ground" street presence.
The separation between "pro-male" and "counter-feminist" is pretty much artificial, and more like a difference of focus or emphasis. The broad consensus is that in order to help men, you must weaken feminism, but that helping men is also an excellent way to weaken feminism. So, the two things are part and parcel.
The term "manosphere", which you mentioned, is quaint and outdated. I don't use it much myself. But it seems to refer to a loosely related group of websites which are loosely related to some of the themes which I have sketched above. Also, due to quarreling factions and suchlike, there is disagreement about who is or isn't a part of it. At any rate, things are now changing almost at light speed, and as the action shifts increasingly out of cyberspace and into real space, I reckon this word will go the way of the dinosaurs.
One more thing. You may have heard about a group known as the "PUAs", or "pickup artists". Basically, they're a bunch of guys who like to talk about ways of seducing women. They have developed quite a presence in cyberspace, and quite a following in general -- and they make a lot of money selling DVDs, lessons, etc. Also, they like to hover in the vicinity of pro-male / counter-feminist communities in the hope that some of the "aura" will rub off and give them a look of gravitas. These fellows are generally not well regarded in the circles where I hang my hat; they are considered pests, like mosquitoes.
Very well. What I have said here doesn't even scratch the surface of what is happening. But hopefully it has been of some help. If you would like to ask more focused questions, I am at your disposal.
Regards,
~Fidelbogen~
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