A woman named Mary took the open microphone. "Hello, my name is Mary
Man-Hating-is-Fun," she explained. "Ever since I learned to embrace my
feminist nature, I found great joy in threatening men's lives, flicking
off frat brothers and plotting the patriarchy's death. I hate men
because they are men."
The 40 women in the audience, many wearing scissors around their necks,
laughed and clapped, then broke into a light-hearted song about
castration.
This event, advertised as the
Patriarchy
Slam, took place at the
University of New Hampshire on March 10.
Some might be tempted to explain away this event as an aberration,
perhaps some strange Wiccan initiation ritual performed at the end of a
long New England winter.
For years, disdain for men has been nurtured in Women's Studies programs
around the country. Required reading for these courses typically
includes the works of Andrea Dworkin, and such books as The SCUM
Manifesto. SCUM is an acronym for "Society for Cutting Up Men."
How's this for warm-hearted commentary on gender reconciliation: Every
man is "the inevitable rapist or exploiter of another woman" and "Hatred
of women is a source of sexual pleasure for men in its own right." Those
insights earned Dworkin the status of a feminist cult-hero.
But on April 9 Andrea Dworkin unexpectedly left this earthly existence.
Five days later arch-feminist Catherine MacKinnon, grief-stricken over
the passing of bosom-buddy Andrea, showed up on the Stanford University
campus. There MacKinnon launched into a paranoid rant about the
ever-lurking patriarchy: "Just like terrorist attacks, acts of violence
against women are carefully planned, targeted at civilians, and driven
by ideology."
Under normal circumstances, anyone making such irrational claims would
be quietly led away to a padded cell.
But Stanford Law School dean Kathleen Sullivan only saw fit to add to
the loonier-than-thou atmosphere: "There are many other prominent
feminist theorists in our times, but none of their philosophy is as
sweeping and profound as MacKinnon's."
Then on April 16 MacKinnon published
an
article in the New York Times in
which she extolled the mentally-deranged Dworkin as "an inspiration to
so many women." Seeking to turn her into a feminist martyr, MacKinnon
argued, "How she was treated is how women are treated who tell the truth
about male power."
But Boston Globe columnist Cathy Young took sharp exception to
MacKinnon's fig-leaf eulogy. "To put it plainly: Dworkin was a preacher
of hate," Young
countered, and "if she deserves 'credit' for anything,
it's helping infect feminist activism.with anti-male bigotry and
paranoia."
Anti-male bigotry and paranoia can have harmful consequences for women,
as well.
Last November 17 Desiree Nall, a student at Rollins College in Winter
Park, FL was cornered in a campus bathroom and raped. The police placed
the campus on "high alert," warning female students to stay indoors.
Women were in a panic. An investigation ensued, eventually costing
$50,000.
But the case began to unravel when Nall, a local women's rights
activist, gave inconsistent details about the incident and refused to
assist with the composite sketches. Two days later, Nall called the
police and admitted the
whole
thing was a hoax. Police officers later
speculated that Nall was trying to "make a statement" about sexual
violence.
Equally worrisome is how some persons dismiss feminists' malicious
antics as harmless fun.
A few days ago Jeffrey Zaslow wrote an article in the Wall Street
Journal about girls who wear T-shirts with the slogan, "Boys are Stupid,
Throw Rocks at Them." Festooned with the light-hearted title, "Girl
Power as Boy Bashing,"
the
article implies that hate speech is somehow a
legitimate expression of female empowerment.
Sometimes I feel a little silly stating the obvious, but girls wearing
clothes that preach violence and hate is not normal.
It's no coincidence that feminist hate speech revolves around the issue
of domestic violence. That's because years ago the rad-fems highjacked
the federal Violence Against Women Act, and have relentlessly milked the
issue to inflame the fears of women. This, despite the fact that women
are just
as likely as men to commit domestic violence.
The Violence Against Women Act, which underwrites the radical feminist
cause to the tune of $1 billion a year, is set to expire on September 30
of this year. As of this writing, no renewal legislation has been
introduced, and time is running short.
Is it possible that the end of feminist hate speech is at hand?
