Rabbits, Blinkity

So this just happened, and I just can't even with the blogosphere lately. I really, really want to start a decent men's stuff community blog now, but you know what? Ozy couldn't even really keep hir various communities under control, and zie probably had the best shot at it of anybody.

So blah.

(Update: Amanda Marcotte posits that Tom Matlock's brain has been poisoned by constant criticism from the MRA crowd. This is reasonable. Tom, and all your friends: I don't know you very well, but you need help. Detox from the kyriarchy. Become a feminist. Feminists are really awesome. And they're very smart, reasonable, and support equality for all.)

The Good Men Project just published a pile of crap, entitled "Being a Dude Is a Good Thing," by Tom Matlock. The core of it all is this little gem:

Men know women are different. They think differently, they express emotion differently, they are motivated by different things, they think about sex differently, and they use a very different vocabulary.

Yipperoo, here comes the patriarchy!

Now, I've spent a lot of time - way too much time, actually - trying to come to grips with the various men's rights crowds over the last few months. The Good Men Project is one of the better places to do this, if for no other reason than that the writing is reasonably high quality and comes across as honest and thoughtful. We're human beings, not monsters, it pleads, we just want to be ourselves. So I tried, carefully, to engage in this particular conversation. I asked for clarification about the gender essentialist bullshit that was steaming around. In return, I was told in no uncertain terms that yes, men are totally different then women, they know it because it's obvious, and that frankly, I should know it too and what's wrong with me anyway? Curiously enough, one commenter read me as feminine woman, but glossed over it with nary a stray thought when he found out otherwise. More on him later.

But I think I've got it all sorted. This stuff? It's just the new boss, same as the old. Much, much more after the break.
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This kid wisely avoids listening to people on the Internet for advice about whom their role models should be.

Over at the Good Men Project, Justin Cascio tries to ask "Are the Kids All Right?", but manages to make it all about teh menz, as per usual.

Cascio posits that Lisa Cholodenko's film "The Kids are All Right," contains a tragedy of sorts, in the form of the character Paul. That he missed a chance to have a parental role with the kids, Laser and Joni, that his own lack of family is dysfunctional, and that this represents a loss in society.

Read More...With all due respect to my friend, this is bullshit. Let's talk.