Man Up

rogersmith25 · 2012-04-02T06:06:52+00:00

This video is an attack on men as much as it is an attack on the condescending ad his poem ostensibly attacks.

One notable example: his argument about how the phrase "woman up" isn't used because women have learned that ads ordering them around is degrading. That "women learned along time ago that being directly ordered around by commercials, magazines and music is dehumanizing; when will men learn that."

He's dead wrong. The majority of advertising is targeted at women and much of it panders to them. There is a reason that there is a massive spending gap - that women spend and consume way more than their male counterparts.

I know it seems like he has some pro-male content, but I see this speech as blaming men as well. I feel like this sort of content is analogous to that divisive type of feminism that shames women who want to inhabit a traditional role. Some women want to be housewives; some men want to be breadwinners. Let them.

The way he speaks about the traditional male as if it is derogatory is depressing. That eating "eating steak and having lots of sex with women" is somehow kowtowing to backwards gender norms; that being a traditional man is negative and "listening to Lady Gaga, wearing skinny jeans, and rocking eyeliner" is positive and progressive.

Fuck this guy. I am being myself when I have sex with my wife or have a beer while cooking a bbq'd steak. I am a traditional man; I am not just conforming to 'gender norms' because I'm afraid to let my true self shine through. I fucking hate Lady Gaga's music and I would look fucking ridiculous in skinny jeans.

If you want to be something else, if you want to deviate from the 'gender norms' you've outlined, that's your prerogative; but don't shame me for being who I am because you don't like it.

Who's the bigot now?

PlainPlane1 · 2012-04-02T04:09:58+00:00

This is some heavy stuff... I'm pretty speechless right now

Wordshark · 2012-04-02T04:18:01+00:00

Excellent stuff, good find. Watched, Favoritted, Facebooked.

My only quibble (and it's a minor one), I didn't really like the part about the hypothetical adman. Challenging a man's sexual or seductive prowess to make an unrelated point, it just doesn't sit well with me. Like I said though, it was a small thing, and it didn't spoil my appreciation for his work.

Title	Man Up
Author	NiecesPieces
Upvotes	16
Comments	10
Date	April 1, 2012 11:04 PM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/ron6y/man_up/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/man-up.1024847 https://theredarchive.com/post/1024847

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