Sexism

Using "bitch" in its original sense — meaning a female dog — generally isn't seen as offensive, but isn't commonly done outside of actual breeders. I have family who breed and raise dogs for a living, and they use the word in the technical sense all the time, but they don't just casual refer to their female dog as a bitch in normal conversation.

edited 18th Jun '15 12:01:59 PM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

Makes sense, so if witch was used as an insult in that it implies someone dabbled in dark magic it would be gender neutral?

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

"Whine" and "Gripe" are good replacements for "Bitch" in a complaining context.

Put me in motion, drink the potion, use the lotion, drain the ocean, cause commotion, fake devotion, entertain a notion, be Nova Scotian

I think the ones making those words up were probably prohibition-era Christians, trying to make wine and grapes sound bad.

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Yes. It should be noted that men have been accused as witches during witch hunts. Fantasy settings like to use the term "warlock" to denote a male witch, but as far as witch hunts and witch trials go, a male witch is just a goddamn witch.

"Witch" becoming a gendered term has more to do with an aggregate development, I think; female witches and/or accusations of witchcraft towards women were more common than male witches and so the visibility of male witches faded from the social consciousness.

Alternately, it may always have been a gendered term and has simply been applied to men as suited the situation; historically, "female = bad" isn't a new development, and witch is rooted in a perversion of the roots for wizard, which denotes a great man of wisdom.

edited 18th Jun '15 12:36:04 PM by TobiasDrake

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27 Gendered Products That Prove Masculinity Is Incredibly Fragile.

Oh my God. Man's greatest, pants-wettingest terror. Women laughing at him.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Oh God, the "gendered products are proof that men are just so insecure, unlike us". If I had a nickel for every time I saw one of those on Tumblr I'd have a given amount of money since I don't actually know how much a nickel is. Five cents?

Also warlock has the added bonus of sounding badass.

Dopants: He meant what he said and he said what he meant, a Ninety is faithful 100%.

Five cents.

Also, that particular phrase has suffered price inflation. I believe the going rate is a dollar for every time X happens. Some people settle for a quarter, but pennies and nickels are rare these days.

Also also, that article is hilarious.

I’m sorry, but I can’t use your suntan lotion. It doesn’t have enough masculinity in it, and mine is in such short supply that it must be supplemented by everyday products.

Look at this Q-Tip, for instance. Holding this Q-Tip allows me to experience artificial feelings of manliness, and that’s more important to me than a quality ear-cleaning tool.

edited 18th Jun '15 1:36:16 PM by TobiasDrake

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Most of those products are just standard "for men", which you can find for either sex for a wide variety of products. Some are just stupid, which you can also find for either sex. Most of the masculine insecurity is tacked on by whoever wrote the blogs or wherever it came from. And most of it is probably thought up by some marketing department who couldn't care less about who it offends, as long as their products stand out more and therefore sell more. But that's not as funny of a joke.

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The insecurity isn't in what's written on the package "MEN'S ULTIMATE MULTI-TOOL" Q-Tips. The insecurity is in the fact that men need their own q-tips because regular q-tips are too girly.

I hope those q-tips are more expensive.

EDIT: Also in phrases like "MAN SIZED". Feminine insecurity in product advertising, curiously, plays out the exact same way without even flipping the genders. Things like, "Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman."

edited 18th Jun '15 2:02:15 PM by TobiasDrake

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So if these products didn't exist, men wouldn't buy these items at all? Or send someone else to buy them for them.

edited 18th Jun '15 2:04:03 PM by AnotherDuck

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If they make it more expensive than regular Q-tips I'll just buy regular Q-tips.

Fuck the looks, price and function are what it matters.

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That's the point: it's an Insecurity Upcharge. You can buy dainty, girly homo toilet paper, OR you can pay extra for a MANLY MAN'S toilet paper.

That's more or less the entire point behind most of these: slapping a "FOR MEN" onto the same goddamn product women are buying because masculinity is so fragile that men will buy the standard ones if they have to, but would rather buy a product that doesn't leave them paranoidly wondering if others will question their sexuality for buying this basic f*cking item.

Next time anyone wants to ask the question, "Why do women complain about not having enough protagonists of their own? Why can't they just use men's protagonists?" I want them to remember that Men's Ultimate Multi-Tool Q-Tips, Axe Detailer Loofas, Man-Sized Soap, and Mangria are all things that exist.

edited 18th Jun '15 2:12:18 PM by TobiasDrake

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In all honesty, I find them novelty items at best. I don't think anyone seriously think they'll be thought a pussy if they buy regular toilet paper, but between pink and camo-patterned soap, a guy might choose the latter because he finds it funny or likes the color better or just feels it's better for him because he likes camo and not pink.

Dopants: He meant what he said and he said what he meant, a Ninety is faithful 100%.

I don't think these products don't exist because men feel insecure about their masculinity. They exist because someone, somewhere thought they'd sell better than regular products. I mean, they stick out from more generic products, which is usually good. If you can earn even one cool point that's better than nothing.

Joking about how fragile masculinity is because of the existance of these products is on the same level as girls are bad at math.

Also, when I read "Mangria", I thought it was something mango related.

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I bought MEN'S shampoo a couple years back, mainly because I was out of shampoo and wanted to make a joke to my BFF about how my shampoo is better than her girly shampoo. It's the exact same shampoo, but it comes in a gray, lifeless bottle and when you squirt it into your hand, it looks like manspooge.

We both stared at it for a few seconds, then I looked up at her and went, "...I think this MANLY SHAMPOO makes me gay."

Men buying these products because of masculine insecurity is not mutually exclusive with the idea that they continue to exist because they sell really well. They're actually related concepts. One is a cause, the other is an effect.

Fragile masculinity is a booming business market.

edited 18th Jun '15 2:25:59 PM by TobiasDrake

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The Art of Manliness says Real Men Wear Pink.

Reading between the lines, "you can do anything and come off as manly, so long as you give zero fucksdo it with deliberation and confidence". Which could be reworded as, "worrying about manliness is unmanly" and maybe even "as long as you're a man, just Be Yourself, and manliness will occur naturally".

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Personally I find the manly stuff smells nicer. I love my Old Spice.

But the lady stuff is so much better for my hair.

Oh really when?

Would you like to smell like the man who would build his lady a kitchen with his own hands?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Hell no. That much manual labor works up a deep, intense body odor that is offensive to everyone in a three-mile radius.

I want to smell like that man after he's taken a shower, when his woman is willing to go near him again.

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Hey, some people dig hard-earned musk.

Dopants: He meant what he said and he said what he meant, a Ninety is faithful 100%.

My problem with that is that it makes the men who buy these products (who obviously have serious issues with self worth and insecurity) into the butt of the joke. That's kinda punching down, you're going after someone who has such crippling insecurity issues that they need to buy a stupidly marketed product that appeal to toxic masculinity (whcih is different from masculinity in of itself).

We shouldn't be laughing at these people on twitter, we should be pitying them and helping them get better.

Now if we were mocking the companies that make these products I'd be all for it, that's punching up and that's fine.

Plus how popular even are these products? Because the way they are being talked about is as if they are a thing that represent most men and that most men buy. I suspect that they are in fact a novelty product by companies who are deluded enough to think that most men are into that shit.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

Yes. Smell like a man, man. Which is to say, smell like yourself.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

I like fruity smells. Sue me.

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes

Bah, fruity stuff. Vanilla is the best smell.

Oh really when?