"Women's studies" didn't exist back when I was in college. However, I can definitely see a guy taking it - it's probably a good way to get laid, and that is one of the highest priorities of late adolescent guys.

That said, it is definitely a waste of valuable college time. Replace it with a solid course on everyday statistics, so that people can evaluate risks, medical studies, and other things they run into all the time.

Women's cleavage: I knew a woman who had a tattoo strategically placed between her breasts. She wore tops cut so that the tattoo just peaked out. Total eye magnet - she would move, you would catch a glimpse of the tattoo and automatically look. Since she was also cute, guys pretty much always had conversations with her breasts.

At some schools, I believe that a gender studies course is mandatory.

I've actually been tempted to take or survey a mooc offered women's studies course, because I find it hard to believe that the idiocy of online feminism is truly being taught at universities. It must, it simply must be some sort of weird tumblr internet effect on certain susceptible female brains. So I've been tempted to take one or more women's studies courses to see if there are ph.ds that spew this nonsense with a straight face.

In that vein, I encourage everyone to take gender studies courses.

Re: Hugo, I'm dropping a deuce in your linky thread.

@ARG" "Women's studies" didn't exist back when I was in college. However, I can definitely see a guy taking it - it's probably a good way to get laid, and that is one of the highest priorities of late adolescent guys.

I could see a guy going into the class thinking it might be a good way to get laid, but I could also see the other women in the class whispering back and forth, "See that dweeb over there? What'll you bet he thinks he's gonna get some in here?"

But who knows? It might work, one time in a hundred, and for most college-age guys, that passes the cost-benefit analysis.

I'm a straight as a nail female and I appreciate a good set of knockers. And a nice ass. So does my husband.
I'm not sorry about it. Neither is my husband. Because, you know, he still has a set of balls.

In my day, we were privileged enough to donate a few years of lives to the government. Not all of us survived the experience. Excuse me for not pretending to care about your lack of privilege, and good luck finding a job that will pay the student loans you took to acquire this valuable knowledge.

My understanding from various online forums (okay, FARK) is that at many schools, students do have a mandatory gender studies class, or at the least are very strongly encouraged to take them. And many schools definitely have a very feminist oriented freshman orientation.

And I think these orientations or mandatory courses do a great job of inculcating feminist thinking (and male self-loathing) into young adults. (Great in the "terrible but great" voldemort sense.)

As an old fart, I may not believe it could really work, but I am prepared to believe (because I like science fiction, and truly this is straight out of late 1960s era Bradbury, Heinlein, and Niven) the feminist message that "Enthusiastic consent is sexy", and I truly appreciate the message it gives to young women that they should enthusiastically consent and that sex is empowering for them.

So it might just be that us old farts that don't consider "Baby it's cold outside" to be a rape song, or that fondly remember how Uhura and Mirror Sulu interacted and how 99% of literature, poetry, and movies portray how homo sapien men and women interact are totally wrong and will and should just die off, for a new species of homo enthusiasticus where women *enthusiastically* consent without having to play games, and "force" men to engage in a "pursuit".

I can believe that the past 200,000 years of Homo Sapiens culture is just fucked up stuff from literally the stone ages and that the feminists are bringing on a new world order of women that enthusiastically consent and don't play games.

I could believe that.

Considering how successful feminism seems to be in taking over society, I have to believe that, if I am at all optimistic for my kids and future grandkids.

Seriously, thank the stars for the new sex positive feminism that teaches young women how cool it is to shave their pubes, suck cock, and take it up the ass. It's awesome sauce and I wish there was more feminism like that when I was in college, instead of the slut-shaming anti-porn feminism (and gay bashing and transphobic feminism). I do wish they would work on swallowing, but so far, it's looking good, two thumbs up.

If a little bit of (perhaps additional) self-loathing could have gotten me laid in college, well, sign me up retroactively.

Contemporary Feminism is really cool, and I urge all of Amy's female readers to embrace it and take it up.

Then again, I really don't think Baby It's Cold Outside is a rape song, and I worry I am just not cut out for this new world order.

(Does anyone else remember how Michael Valentine Smith had to place a sign on his door reminding people to put their clothes on?)

Submitted for great lulz:

Hugo Schwyzer has melted down.

He claims to have had a mental breakdown due to how mean the Internet and feminists have treated him since it came out he tried to kill his girlfriend.

And it has just gotten worse in the past six months when it was revealed he had at least one online sexting penis photopassing affair with a 27 year old (at a time when Hugo was telling people how horrible it is for older men to pursue younger women.)

He has just gotten out of a psych ward that he placed himself in, but there is some speculation he did this in order to defend his tenured professorship at PCC.

He has literally proclaimed himself to be a fraud.

He is blaming feminists and a very mean old Internet for his troubles because he is fundamentally a sociopath that can never take responsibility for his own actions.

He is implying he is or was suicidal and is now on heavy medication to cope with the world while he tries to repair his marriage.

So he wants to let you know in two blog posts at his eponymous blog, and an interview in NYMAG, that you won't have Hugo Schwyzer to kick around anymore.

We blew it guys. He is gone. Out of here. Because we are mean, and snarky.

The NYMag interview: (Total bullshit puff piece)

http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/07/male-feminist-hugo-schwyzers-early-retirement.html

The actual backstory (NSFW):

http://therealpornwikileaks.com/hugoleaks-male-feminist-hugo-schwyzers-sexting-scandal-exposed-nsfw/

Don't go away mad, Hugo, just go away.

If you go to Hugo's blog, http://www.freezepage.com/1375449688CNVVMFOLBB (freezepage link because he likes to delete things) you can find what appears to be murder-suicide apologetic erotica, though I believe he thinks it's an expiation/explanation of his behavior.

This is his second goodbye, because his previous goodbye wasn't goodbye enough, not even when he considers the NYMAG interview goodbye. So he just had to clear some things up, so it warranted a second goodbye.

But he's really going, I mean, he's gone. We'll be sorry we drove him to this, just you wait and see.

Jerry, I have to admit that I did in fact LOL at all three of your last posts. Well played, sir. When I was in college, there were some guys who would do absolutely anything to get laid. The rest of us regarded them as scumbags. Because for the most part, they were always the guys who wanted to "borrow" money all the time; the guys who showed up at BYOB parties empty-handed, the guys who offered to pay someone to do their homework and then didn't pay the poor clod who accepted the offer. Women who actually slept with these guys got a reputation pretty fast, although most of the women on campus had better sense. (And my "reputation", I don't mean in the cliched sense. I mean in the sense of how you feel when you look at a picture of Carmen Electra, think for a moment that she's pretty hot, and then recall that she did Dennis Rodman.)

This Blog Item Encouraging Male Self-Loathing About Made Me Throw Up Three Times

There you go again, Amy, doing the work that I'd never do for myself.

Oh, wait, am I supposed to reflect on my male privilege - excuse me, my white male privilege? I get so confused. I never took "wymyn's studies"[*], I was too busy trying to comprehend calculus[**].

[*] as Beavis and Butthead famously observed: dumb chicks who can't spell must be easy

[**] only middling success, enough to get by on, but don't ask to explain it to you

While I don't see any reason anyone needs to delve into self-loathing (unless they are loathsome, in which case, have at it), I think it's valuable to recognize where we have advantages other people don't.

Being white and raised middle class gave me huge advantages over someone born poor and black. My husband was raised upper middle class, and the advantages he has had over me are impressive. He doesn't need to feel bad about that, though.

Briefly Monica,

"He doesn't need to feel bad about that, though."

So that's fine in theory,

Invariably though, feminists and social justice warriors use privilege as a way of dismissing arguments, and belittling people, devaluing their arguments and ignoring them.

And then toss onto that that while privilege makes some sense in terms of groups, it makes much less sense in terms of individuals, most of whom as they go through life pick up various advantages as well as disadvantages (aging, health issues, etc.)

So Michael Urbina noting his group's general privilege is failing to take into account the various disadvantages many in his so called group face, or noting the privileges that women have.

In doing so, he is mainly taking an old fashioned patriarchal, condescending, patronizing, pedestal view: he as a man feels he needs to protect women, feels he is stronger than a woman, and so is willing to suffer variously in order to promote women.

His attitudes are somewhat insulting to women. You can't hack it, unless I handicap myself to give you an advantage. In fact, all men must handicap themselves if you are to ever succeed.

I don't advocate renaming manholes to peopleholes, but feminism isn't the same thing as misandry.

It's very sad that so many feminists push the boundaries of misandry and the elevation of women far enough that people get this distorted impression of what feminism should be.

It's a good strategy. Enrage the normal males (alpha and beta) with this act and get punched in the nose.

Caretaking women will then rush to your side, and voila.

(Fast forward two weeks as Florence Nightingale looks at the slimy creep and shrieks "What was I THINKING!?". Too late, Flo. Your secret city of Pusstopolis has been raided).

I want to know how a poor white male, born in a trailer park to a meth-addicted mom and absentee father, has a "privilege" not available to Ivanka Trump, Jaden Smith, or Malia or Sasha Obama.

"Social justice" activists need to get over themselves.

"but feminism isn't the same thing as misandry."

It wasn't supposed to be, but post-modern feminists have pretty much turned it into that. As things stand today, feminism is just another special-interest group.

"but feminism isn't the same thing as misandry."

90% of feminists give the rest a bad name.

Being white and raised middle class gave me huge advantages over someone born poor and black.

Yes. So does being born black and raised middle (or upper) middle class gives that person advantages over a white person born poor in the back country of Kentucky or West Virginia.

Yet somehow that never enters into the affirmative action calculation...

"I don't advocate renaming manholes to peopleholes, but feminism isn't the same thing as misandry."

ORLY, ValiantBlue?

Toy Soldier begs to differ, and in some detail:

http://toysoldier.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/when-ideologies-teach-hate/

"Take a women's studies class."

Or, just apply your testicles to a circular saw. It's cheaper, faster, and probably less painful.

No child of mine is EVER taking a gender studies "class." That goes for my son AND my daughter. I'm sending them to college to become employable, not to navel-gaze.

I rejected feminism at age 12 when I realized it was just sexism directed at men.

I'm going back to college!

9:00 a.m. Women's Studies - 'Men Are Bad, M'kay?'

10:00 a.m. Black Studies - 'White People are Bad, Yo'

11:00 a.m. Socialism as an Alternative - 'Capitalism is Bad, M'kay?' - taught by adjunct professor as tenured professor is on six month study of Polynesian cultures and the effect of Western values on the breast size of teen girls.

12:00 p.m. vegan lunch

1:00 p.m. Latino Studies - 'White People are Bad, M'kay?'

2:00 p.m. Asian Studies - 'They're Kicking Your Ass in the Marketplace but Only Because Their Parents are so Mean'

3:00 p.m. Non-structured Physical Education - 'Teaching Fat Acceptance'

What the hell is a "women's studies class" anyway? Are their truly issues that should be important to women that men just don't give a rat's patoot about?

1:00 p.m. Latino Studies - 'White People are Bad, M'kay?'

Well............I've taken Latino studies and it was filled with a bunch of Mexican-American nerds. Not cool nerds, but super duper annoying nerds. The worst of it is they think they are cultured and above it all because they are well educated.

I added the -American because they are American and trying to find a cultural identity. I've always thought it was some sort of childish rebellion against what they view as American white privilege.

Which is funny because while I certainly believe white privilege exists, it finds itself more prevalent in Latino culture. Just look at Mexican television, where the dumb uneducated dark brown native is still used in popular soap operas. You will ONLY see them as maids or as idiots.
And you'll only find white actors (the whiter, the blonder, the better) as the heros.

When people have babies they thank god when the baby isnt born dark. The whiter you are, the better you are. That is Latino culture.

Going to expensive restaurants in Latin America and hanging out with my Latino friends of European descent the classism, racism etc. was INCREDIBLE. But don't think it's just the white Latinos doing it, it's everyone. (I've met so many "brown" Latinas who are self loathing for their skin color it's incredible).

I've been lucky in my world travels that as my friend put it I look "white enough". I will see next year how Eastern Europe treats me.

The thing I find silliest in the whole list is encouraging men to cross the street when they see a woman out alone at night. This whole idea of 'appearing non-threatening when out at night' is ridiculous. It's so simplistic as to be mind-boggling. These 'male feminists' can do this all they want and it doesn't mean a thing, because your average thug bent on rape, robbery or murder won't have read these prissy rules of engagement, and surely doesn't plan to follow them. What good is promoting such stupid ideas that are going to give idealistic young college women a false sense of security? White knighting males observing non-threatening behavior rules does not negate the need for women to take responsibility for their own safety at night.

Male emasculation 'courses' serve a valuable purpose for governments ... they cause men to stop behaving as leaders in their own communities ... this creates a vacuum for leadership that state/national government fills, while also reduces competition for leadership/government services.

PPen: "Which is funny because while I certainly believe white privilege exists, it finds itself more prevalent in Latino culture. Just look at Mexican television, where the dumb uneducated dark brown native is still used in popular soap operas. You will ONLY see them as maids or as idiots."

Yep. I see white privilege here in the US buts it's covert - so people miss it's subtleties. I see male privilege - but again, it's not the over the top stuff that happened decades ago ( a la "Mad Men".)

It's the soft bigotry of low expectations and viewing group xyz in need of some type of "help" from benevolent white educated folk. (or in my case - men). I've always had a difficult time with the whole assumption of Blacks and welfare or affirmative action because the two of the most successful patriarchs of the families that lived in my neighborhood growing up were Black (and republican). One of them even gave me my first driving lesson on his drop top, 7 series (very nice) Mercedes Bens. So I was pretty blown away going off to college and hearing about admissions and quotas etc and all since the other family's daughter went to Georgetown Law (and I can tell you, they didn't accept her because they needed to fill a quota - girl was wicked smart).

It's the "progressives" that are more likely to talk to women/blacks in that same "walk slow talk dumb" manner than I've seen from any other group, personally.

And as for Latin american racism, my mother and family are from Argentina. All very light skinned. My second cousin married an "Indio" and both her kids were dark. She persevered but I do remember how much she loved my skin etc at a very early age. People always commented on hers.

It certainly is interesting.

The thing I find silliest in the whole list is encouraging men to cross the street when they see a woman out alone at night. This whole idea of 'appearing non-threatening when out at night' is ridiculous. It's so simplistic as to be mind-boggling. These 'male feminists' can do this all they want and it doesn't mean a thing, because your average thug bent on rape, robbery or murder won't have read these prissy rules of engagement, and surely doesn't plan to follow them. What good is promoting such stupid ideas that are going to give idealistic young college women a false sense of security? White knighting males observing non-threatening behavior rules does not negate the need for women to take responsibility for their own safety at night.

Posted by: crella at August 2, 2013 6:56 PM
____________________________________

According to Roger Axtell's book "Do's and Taboos Around the World" (he's written about a dozen books on international travel), when in India, a man is not even supposed to talk to a lone female stranger in the street - even in broad daylight. (For all I know, this is only in certain parts of India.) Given the high rape rate there, that would make sense. At least that way, a woman would know, day or night, when she's being threatened and have at least a few seconds to start running, blow a whistle, etc.

Amy, you're free to use whatever I post.

"In my day, we were privileged enough to donate a few years of lives to the government. Not all of us survived the experience. Excuse me for not pretending to care about your lack of privilege, and good luck finding a job that will pay the student loans you took to acquire this valuable knowledge."

Repeated, just in case it wasn't seen. The luxury of spare time and a lack of nearby role models make it tough for some to see that a college course isn't going to do diddly on this.

Until the graduate gets a government job mandating how the rest of us "should" behave.