OK. I was willing to ignore it all, mostly because I have a lot going on in my life. But when Jim posts a bit of Kim Du Toit's piece of his version of Pinnocchio's "I wanna' be a real boy!" rant on his site, then I know the world has gone too far.
I like Jim. I usually agree with Jim. But if I get confronted by another guy who swears up and down that they have been "pussyfied" again, I will make sure I send penile erection spam their way. You guys are upset about being called "pussyfied"? Why? Don't you realize that you are just rising up, part of a mass hysteria? Do you think we women have ever felt the need to start a movement, based on the thousands of times we hear, in our lifetime: "Honey...are you on the rag?"
For Christ's sake, Kim-it's a cereal ad. You know what the message of it is? Buy cereal. If you see the message "you have no penis", then perhaps you are watching the wrong channel. I didn't see any of you "real men" complaining when the Swedish Bikini team commercials were on. Nor did I see any problems arising from the "real men" over Hooters commercials. Is it because you do realize you have a penis when those shows come on? Must commercials cater to your itty bitty egos?
Your section of your rant about rape:
"You know why rape is such a problem on college campuses?...It's a reaction: a reaction against being pussified. And I understand it, completely. Young males are aggressive, they do fight amongst themselves, they are destructive, and all this does happen for a purpose.
Because only the strong men propagate."
You know what? You can take all those young aggressive males and rope yourselves off in a separate territory if you want. And once you get there-you bend over and let them fuck you without your consent. You take one up the ass and then turn around, pet their heads, and say "Yup. As long as I am doing what's best for the men of this country, then all is well."
Your other statement:
"...the Press in Europe, because the process of male pussification Over There is almost complete."
If you're going to make statements like that, mate, you're going to need some hardcore facts to back it up. I live "Over There". I live, in fact, with a Real Man from "Over Here". He chops wood with an axe, even though we have a chain saw. He cuts down trees. They play aggressive sports over here, and fist-fights are far more common on the streets late Friday nights here than in the US because you can't sue people over here. In fact, my Partner Unit has far more right wing politics than his American partner (me).
Yup. You read that right. I'm more to the left than a European. And you know what? I do know what flight wings look like, and I will be damned if I EVER support the right of Dubya wearing them. My father wore them and EARNED them. Dubya will be the last fucking guy left on the planet and I will STILL turn to my battery operated toybox to get my rocks off instead of turning to him for some Georgie love. So you see...all of us weak-willed women are not always turned on by power.
Most of us go for personality. And most politicians, including Georgie, have had a personality bypass.
I'm sure you're a nice guy (Serenity thinks so, and I like Serenity's site), and a hell of a laugh to drink with. You seem to be moderately intelligent. I support your right to rant and that you want to get some views off your chest. But I think your post was full of useless crap and I don't support any of it, and I really get annoyed that you are presenting your post as some kind of unified male view. You get hot and bothered by a Cheerios ad? Sounds like you have your own issues to deal with. And your wife, who goes by "Mrs. Du Toit" stated on Kate's site that of course she backs you up. You're her husband.
Well, if my Partner Unit ever spews really narrow-sighted views like you just did, he would be on his own. I am not going to contribute to tearing him down, but I sure as hell am not going to pipe up and defend his views. He better be ready to do that himself.
If you will excuse me now, I hate being riled up, and I guess since you seem to think it is such a worry, I have to go safeguard my house against the Romany peoples. But my advice for you: it's a Cheerios ad, man. Pick up the pieces of your shattered life and move on.
That is ALL I am going to say about this.
-H.
Posted by Everydaystranger at November 12, 2003 09:49 AM | TrackBackI read Kim's rant a few weeks ago. What struck me most about it is that he does go on and on... an on... and on. He lost me about halfway through it; I got bored and left when I started chanting "yadda yadda yadda" to myself.
Ok, yeah, ads use stereotypes. Duh. Welcome to television.
Posted by: jean at November 13, 2003 07:09 AMMen being depicted as dumbos obssessed with beer and sex kind of irks me. I don't think that I'm being feminized through some vast conspiracy, but I do worry that the media is doing some damage.
In most of these commercials or TV shows single men are depicted as cool. They're all having lots of fun, getting drunk all the time, scoring and generally living it up. The married men are stuck at home with the old "ball and chain" and the kids. They aren't having any fun. Both men and women should be somewhat offended by a depiction like this. Not only does it depict men and neanderthals but it depicts women as ice cold spoil sports.
Its a small thing, really, but a valid point.
Posted by: Rob at November 13, 2003 05:53 AMHot damn, girl! You better go read Somnolence of Clouds again to calm down. No, wait. That would just get you excited in another way. Reread it anyway, you know you want to. ;-)
Just to set things straight, I don't claim I've been pussified. I had a problem with those commercials long before Kim's rant. I really don't care for any adverts or entertainment offerings that use idiocy and/or stereotyping. The ones that zero in on my slice of the demographic (male, husband, dad) particularly irk me.
You are very correct about one thing though. I've never been able to muster antipathy towards commercials featuring half nekkid chicks. I think it's because my brain disengages and thought processes are performed by a different organ. On the other hand I haven't the slightest recall of any of those actual products even though I remember the babes pretty well so I don't know how effective the marketing technique really is.
Posted by: Jim at November 12, 2003 06:26 PMHmmm... Maybe they let the woman's snide remark go unchallenged in the commercial because it's a cereal commercial, and mostly it's women who do the grocery shopping for the family, and women want to identify with the product they're buying. Maybe...
Posted by: amy t. at November 12, 2003 03:42 PMI repeat... remarkable. Clapping!!
Posted by: zeno at November 12, 2003 03:29 PM