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Why don't we nominate girlwriteswhat to be a speaker on TED?

[deleted]

February 5, 2012

125 upvotes

/r/MensRights

Application

What is TED?

Who is girlwriteswhat?

This woman is not only an amazing speaker, she really does have some unique ideas that are not currently popular in society. Which is something that TED thrives on! unique ideas!

I know this will be very hard and will most likely not go anywhere, but if there is a small chance that we can get her to talk in such a public forum then I am willing to try it.

I am sure if let's say 1000 of us submit this application, then at least something might happen.

We do not need all the information that the application asks for FAQ but please when applying please write well and eloquently into why she should be a speaker.

Thanks,

RSG2134

EDIT: however if anyone can get her real name, it would be nice. I think it would look better since I only have her youtube channel...I have tried finding out her real name but no luck. I know she is from Canada. Also once we have all the information, maybe we can get more than reddit to support her? other blogs/forums/societies?

We should probably get a bit more info about her? I have sent her a message on youtube, asking about it. I'll get back to asap

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Post Information

Title	Why don't we nominate girlwriteswhat to be a speaker on TED?
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	125
Comments	90
Date	February 5, 2012 4:57 PM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/pbycj/why_dont_we_nominate_girlwriteswhat_to_be_a/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/why-dont-we-nominate-girlwriteswhat-to-be-a.1028176 https://theredarchive.com/post/1028176

Comments

[–][deleted] 37 points38 points39 points 14 years ago (26 children) | Copy Link

[–]nignag 2 points3 points4 points 14 years ago (24 children) | Copy Link

[–]girlwriteswhat 35 points36 points37 points 14 years ago (23 children) | Copy Link

That's not going to happen. Just so you know.

I'm less concerned with the "pestering of drooling fans" (and yes, there are some folks who are quite effusive), than I am with all the men who've messaged me to tell me their stories and thank me for doing what I'm doing.

For every "You are awesome!" I get, I probably get at least as many messages saying, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saying what needs to be said. I cried when I watched your video. You give me hope."

And I feel enough of a sense of urgency, in that I can see where things are headed if we don't wake up (and it will be as bad a place for my daughter as it will be for my sons), to keep at it.

As far as a TED talk goes, that's probably not something I'm ready to consider. Speaking in front of a camera is not the same as speaking in front of a bunch of people who are staring at you. We'll see how I do in Montana this week, and how I do in an interview with freedomainradio, and how I do when I do another radio show. Even if I don't totally bomb, I'm going to need to have a lot of ducks in a row before I do something like a major talk.

My biggest fear is fucking up, being unable to substantiate something or leaving a hole for someone to dive through and rip me (and therefore you guys, through me) apart. I really don't want to make things more difficult for the movement than they already are.

I mean, sheesh, I know for a fact that me not having a university degree is going to be a major issue for anyone who wants to mess with me. Who the hell am I? A waitress, for crying out loud. I'm not really technically qualified to be speaking for a movement.

So a lot of things to consider. But none of them will make me stop talking or writing about it.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points 14 years ago (4 children) | Copy Link

I dunno what all is going on with your other interviews, but please don't fret about FreeDomainRadio. Stefan is one of the easiest people to talk to, and he doesn't ever try to trip up his interviewees. His method of conversing with people is to first try to understand where they're coming from, then use that as a way to build coalitions with people to promote positive ideas.

In other news, I really, really would like to see you do a TED talk. And I understand that it will take a huge amount of preparation, because the tiniest factual inaccuracy or any comment that is perceived as rude or insensitive could become the main focus of the talk, for critics. But there may be ways we can help you. You could PM partial drafts of things you are planning to say (not the whole, finished speech) to trustworthy members of /r/MensRights. They could double check it for buzz words and problems. That would lift a lot of the pressure off of you.

Also, I hope I'm not alone in saying I'd even go so far as to offer compensation for your work. I think if we pull together we could at least make it worth the time.

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I was trying to make a bit light of the subject actually. Most of the Armchair Quarterbacks around here have no idea, at all, how much work goes into this stuff.

Frankly, I think you, Typhonlue, Kim, and a few other women are doing an admirable job of answering the question a lot of women really have:

"What am I supposed to do?"

We used to hear that a lot..."You guys don't like this, don't like that, and view the other as injustice. I'm just trying to get by...what are women supposed to act like" sorta stuff.

MRAs, like myself, are NOT the right people to ask about such things...I'm a guy, and I have no idea. All I know is what I'm willing to put up with, which these days doesn't amount to much. Frankly, I have almost no interest at all in how MRA goals will affect women as a whole, and given the female concern for men, I don't feel women have a right to complain about this stance.

That doesn't mean that someone shouldn't point things out for them, just that I don't personally give a fuck if every woman alive today lives a life of misery, any more than the average woman cares about men.

I believe you will do fine. And frankly, whatever you accomplish will be much more than any potential 'losses'. But I do find it kinda funny how many people here are 'your biggest fan', while they push you towards responsibilities THEY can easily take up, but don't.

Keep up the good work, but don't let the hangers on give you ulcers.

Frankly, they're not worth it.

[–]girlwriteswhat 4 points5 points6 points 14 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

LOL, I know you were trying to make light of it.

If it was just me, if this was just me doing a reading of one of my dirty books or something, I'd be nervous, but not this nervous.

As for your attitude about "how will helping men affect women", I agree. Why should we care? It's not like feminism bothered to ask men how they felt or were going to cope when they decided to change society and the law--they just said, "Either help, adapt, or get out of the way."

I do think that you're maybe a little off with your criticism of people pushing me toward taking this on. You say they can easily take up these responsibilities, and yes they can. But it's different.

I get less abuse than they would. I just do, because I'm a woman.

I can do more with less effort. My host here (I'm in Montana) has told me that he'll talk about something with someone for half an hour, and nothing but skepticism. Then his girlfriend says the same thing in half the time, and they're agreeing. And part of it is gender--it sounds less potentially scary coming from a woman--but another part is that she's not speaking out of self-interest. She's just speaking about fairness.

I'm probably not going to be interviewed by police or arrested or have an event shut down, no matter how unpopular my views are, because I'm just not as intimidating as a man would be. I'm not going to get fired because someone makes trouble for me at work, I'm not going to be accused of rape or something horrible to shut me up.

I can put in half the effort with half the risk, and get more done. If I faced the same barriers, toil and risk these guys did, I might be in the cheering section instead of the front lines, too.

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[–]DavidByron 18 points19 points20 points 14 years ago (13 children) | Copy Link

I am actually pretty sad that this comment was made. It suggests that you're less interested in equality in civil rights and societal expectations and more interested in a sort of sex divisive attitude that sets men and women against each other.

Can you explain why you have this view of things and is this view more broadly representative of MRAs?

if you wait for a women to acknowledge and give you rights, they're not rights at all, but permission.

I'm not sure what this statement is implying about men and women? Are you against women being advocates for sex equality for men? It sounds like some fucked up 19th century feminist shit reversed frankly. It doesn't make any sense to me -- rights are rights because they are recognised by society as such and society is 50% women. You can always argue that makes rights simply permission.

Anyone else agree with this view?

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[–]girlwriteswhat 2 points3 points4 points 14 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

MLK did not live in a culture where the term "black privilege" had become a worldview among the mainstream.

Mainstream culture tells everyone men have things awesome. Men speaking about these issues are characterized as whining about losing privilege and self-serving. And while it's okay to be self-serving when you are oppressed, to try to lift that oppression, when everyone believes you're privileged, they don't want to hear you talk about your problems. They see you as a rich kid who's whining about how bad he has it compared to the poor ones.

I hate that it takes a woman to reach some people, but I've had people mention to me on YT that if it had been a man saying these things, they'd have stopped watching almost immediately and chalked it up to embittered ranting.

That's sad, but it's where society's at.

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