So, I have this friend who is, though left leaning, not always exactly feminist friendly. It's not that he completely objects to the idea of equality among the sexes, but (despite lots and lots and lots of evidence given by me and some of our other friends) he has a hard time believing things are as bad as we insist that they are. He also tends to think that a lot of us take our selves too seriously - mostly because we refuse to laugh at anti-feminist/misogynistic jokes. So, you can imagine I a little less than delighted to receive "Feminists Say the Darnest Things" by Mike Adams. From the backcover endorsement from Concerned Women for America to the fact that he insists on calling himself "Politically Incorrect" the book reeks of misogyny, and in fact that's what it is - a repulsively whiny slew of insult after insult and complaint after complaint about how vulgar and mean and ugly and stupid feminists are (oh, and how much they hate - but secretly wanna be nailed by - the mythological White Christian Conservative Male, which is of course exactly who the author is).
I guess my discontent at receiving this book as a gift was pretty apparent because my friend took a minute to laugh before he explained to me just why he bought it in the first place. He had indeed at first bought is a joke and an attempt to convince my feminists take ourselves to seriously and are really just silly women. Funny thing happened when he started reading it though - instead of laughing with the author, he started laughing *at* him. And sure enough, inside the book was this note:
"After reading this book (sorry for using your Xmas present before I gave it to you) I've come to the conclusion that you're right about a lot more stuff than I give you credit for. If being a feminist means opposing this guy [the author] in every way, count me the fuck in. Consider this a peace offering."
Huh. Mike Adams converted some one to feminism. I guess anti-feminists can do some (okay, one single act) of good. Pity my friend gave him money by buying his book. Maybe we should call him to let him know....
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I gotta read this book now. But I better wait until I am in the mood to get pissed off.
Well either when you're in the right mood or when you need paper for your woodstove
So I just went to the Google book preview of this book and I can't believe this guy is a professor. You cannot imagine my amazement when I found out that I hate all men, Christians, Republicans, and "traditional" women (especially the pretty ones!!). Oh yeah, and babies. AND I (along with ALL feminists - cause we are all the same!!) have NO sense of humor, am RACIST and cannot think for MYSELF. All this after only the introduction!
Your friend sounds cool. I could only hope that if my husband or any of my male friends read this garbage they would feel the same way.
Peace. :)
Yay for your friend! I personally think feminists are the most hilarious group of people ever! We're pretty awsome!
Odd. It reports that this post has 5 comments, yet I can only read my own.
Ok, now I see them , sorry.
Honestly he sounds a little passive-agressive to me. Instead of just respecting that you don't care for anti-feminist humor, it seems like he keeps pushing the issue with his jokes and now this "gift", all under the guise of "trying to get you to not take things so seriously."
From what you described it sounds like he may be kind of not respecting how you feel on the subject of feminism, and you may need to confront him that even if it's not important to him it's important to you, and to respect that you do not appreciate this type of humor.
Ok, please disregard my last comment. I'll confess, I posted before reading through to the end, having known guys like this before and getting aggravated by what was described! But re-reading, I'm glad your friend came around when he saw how actually ridiculous the book was!
Happy Christmas! To be enjoyed with friends :))
I think this is a wonderful story :). Thanks for sharing! And tell your friend I said congratulations... haha.
I had that asshole for a professor for Intro to Criminal Justice my freshman year of college. He was so arrogant and constantly made me feel awkward (this was a few years before I became feminist). He has a reputation for dating students much, much younger than him.
I just read a little bit of that book on google...what's up with the author's entire ideology based a few personal experiences? He's talking about feminists, not feminism, which is what bothers me the most.
Yep, I went to UNC-Wilmington for undergrad, and after hearing about his reputation, I steered clear. A few years later he tried to sue the school/department for discrimination because he wasn't getting promoted and thought it was because he was conservative. Dumbass