I'll make this my last post on any MGTOW forums for the foreseeable future. I've always said that if the label no longer applies, I'd drop it. Looks like that point has been reached.

The thread "MGTOW rules" (https://old.reddit.com/r/MGTOW2/comments/k3m4cq/mgtow_rules/) is just horrible. It's like nearly everything that MGTOW is not, in my opinion. All those 10 rules centre around women, and that isn't MGTOW. MGTOW is taking a common sense approach to self-improvement, with a small part of that being avoiding marriage and cohabitation. That's because marriage/cohabitation has legal implications that are detrimental to men. It's not the core of MGTOW. It's one of a number of cost/benefit analyses that men should do based on red-pill knowledge. I'm not MGTOW because I reject women; I'm MGTOW because I reject society's expectations around me as a disposable cog, so I'm going my own way. One of the expectations I reject is marriage/cohabitation/having children.

Now it seems that MGTOW is all about women. That the "MGTOW rules" was massively upvoted suggests that defining MGTOW around women is now the accepted norm. That's not the MGTOW I joined. I joined MGTOW1 when there were few posters. I would enjoy opening each and every post, and most of them were around the positives of being MGTOW. Sure, there were a lot of "this is my car" or "this is my house" memes, but I didn't mind that.

When MGTOW1 went down the "women are evil, amirite" hole and I was banned, I came to MGTOW2. The mods here have done a wonderful job keeping a lot of the blackpill nonsense from here. (Guys, show the mods some love some time. They do a thankless job that is often invisible, so thank them when you can!) But still, people thinking that MGTOW is all about the women (rather than being all about the individual) continue to grow here.

I'm part of the problem, to be honest. The mods have often called for more positivity in the posts, and I haven't really stepped up. It's not the mods' fault. They can only work with what we give. I've focused on trying to give positive advice to people posting problems -- sometimes with a bit of tough love -- to go beyond the "women have cooties" ideas. Because women aren't evil. Women -- mothers, sisters, good friends, good colleagues -- can add value to your life. I know, because they've added value to mine. I'll never marry, because I will never make a contract with someone who can benefit from breaking that contract. But if a woman earns my trust, I'll trust her. Making rules like "Never trust women" is psychotic. Saying "Never take care of another man's child" is monstrous. And the thread has around four hundred upvotes. Sickening.

Incels define themselves in relation to women. That's how they get their validation. PUAs also. Now it looks like people are happy for MGTOW to define itself that way, if the upvotes on that thread is anything to go by. So it is time for me to leave the label behind.

For what it's worth, here are my own MGTOW rules:

  1. Maintain good physical health by investing time into exercise.

  2. Maintain good mental health by investing time into family, friendships and hobbies.

  3. Maintain good financial health by investing money and resources, and not getting married/cohabitating. Don't make a contract with someone who can benefit from breaking that contract.

  4. Maintain good overall health by investing time into your community.

  5. You are not a disposable cog. Don't seek society's validation. Get validation from yourself.

Guys, keep working on yourselves. Don't feel you have to defend any statement just because someone slaps a "MGTOW" label on it.

Best wishes, brothers.