Category Archives: FWW

In which the moderator apologises for dropping the ball

January 10, 2008 · by · in announcements, FF101-admin, FWW, netiquette, Social Justice

I have been distracted over the holiday break, and this has meant that over the last month or so I have allowed some commenters through whom I would normally have cut off at the pass. The tone of the blog has suffered badly as a result. Those commentors are aggressive and are discouraging other voices, […]

FAQ: What’s wrong with saying that things happen to men, too?

October 18, 2007 · by · in clarifying-concepts, FAQ, FWW, masculinity, netiquette, privilege

Short answer: Nothing in and of itself. The problem occurs when conversations about women can’t happen on unmoderated blogs without someone showing up and saying, “but [x] happens to men, too!” (also known as a “Patriarchy Hurts Men, Too” or PHMT argument, or a “What About The Mens?” or WATM argument). When this happens, it […]

Feminism Friday: SotBO (Statements of the bleedin’ obvious)

June 23, 2007 · by · in clarifying-concepts, Feminism Friday, FWW, spot the strawfeminist

Rational people often assume that some opinions and judgements are so obviously part of their worldview that they really don’t need to be said. Unfortunately, some maliciously disruptive people take delight in assuming that if something has not been clearly stated then they are safe in assuming the worst of others, even when such assumptions […]

Frequently Whimpered Whines: The Nice Guys™ theme song

June 14, 2007 · by · in clarifying-concepts, FWW, masculinity, objectification, privilege, sexism

From the FF101 Jargon File (edited to add, for the benefit of those who can’t/won’t find the time to click on a link, with the full text of the “Nice Guys™” entry, added text in italics) : “Nice Guys™” – The “™” marks the difference between men who are genuinely nice people and men who […]

FAQ: Aren’t feminists just sexists towards men?

June 3, 2007 · by · in FAQ, FWW, gender, man-hating, masculinity, sexism, spot the strawfeminist

AKA Aren’t feminists just “reverse sexists”? Short answer: Neither feminists as a group, nor feminist theory, engages in sexism or “reverse sexism” against men. Often times the feminist focus on women’s issues, as well as their recognition and continued efforts to correct the imbalance of power (see male privilege), are seen as looking to privilege […]

FAQ: But men and women are born different! Isn’t that obvious?

May 10, 2007 · by · in clarifying-concepts, FAQ, FWW, gender, identity, oppression, privilege, sexism, spot the strawfeminist

That idea is known as “essentialism”: the belief that there are uniquely feminine and uniquely masculine essences which exist independently of cultural conditioning. Both actual (minor) and alleged (major) differences between the sexes have been used to justify inequities and constraints which harm women emotionally, financially and physically. Even where (and if) such differences do […]

FAQ: Why are you concentrating on X when Y is so much more important?

April 12, 2007 · by · in FAQ, FWW, netiquette, spot the strawfeminist

Short answer: People talk about subjects that interest them and that they are passionate about because these tend to be the areas in which they have the most experience. Choosing to concentrate on one thing does not mean that the person thinks that it is the most important subject, or that it’s the only subject […]

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