I’m getting ready for the #GGinDC meetup, but I wanted to blog about a post I read over on the Spectator website. The author, Brendan O’Neill, says that modern feminism has actually become more like radical Islamism than anything else. I’d thought this myself recently, so I figured it would be a spot to pick for a short article before I left.The whole thing has to do with the recent Protein World controversy. In case you missed that, the company put up a poster asking people if they were “beach body ready.” They also had a slender and fetching woman in a bikini in the ad. Apparently this is now offensive to those who are out of shape. I’m not sure how, since I’m out of shape at the moment myself. But some people look for any reason to be pissed off about some phony “patriarchy” bullshit they thought up in their minds.
Here’s a tip for political activists: if your rabble-rousing echoes the behaviour and ideas of Islamists, then you’re doing something wrong. Consider the Protein World advert which — clutch my pearls! — features a photo of a beautiful, svelte woman in a bikini next to the question: ‘Are you beach body ready?’ Angry women, and probably some men, have been writing outraged slogans on these posters, scribbling on the poor model’s face and body, seemingly blissfully unaware that they’re following in the footsteps of intolerant Islamic agitators.
In 2011, Muslims in Birmingham used black spraypaint to deface an ad for H&M featuring a woman in a yellow bikini. They were reportedly ‘offended by her flesh’. In 2013, a gang calling itself Muslim Patrol ripped down adverts for a super push-up bra, and spray-painted over others, claiming the ads offended their sensibilities…
It’s sad but true. The rad fems have more in common with Islamists than with anyone else. He talks about how they’re going to have a demonstration in Hyde Park against this advert tomorrow. A fucking public protest over a harmless ad. How pointless can you get?
Here’s the main thesis of the post:
Feminism, sadly, becomes more like Islamism every day. Alongside the ad-defacing antics, there’s also the campaign to put saucy tabloids and lads’ mags in black bags, echoing an ugly sight I beheld in Dubai once: Western magazines whose covers had been defaced with black gaffer tape by religious censors determined to hide women’s cleavage from the masses. And there was the war against Page 3 (RIP): a boob-hiding project that Muslim Patrol would be proud of. Too much modern feminism depicts women as fragile, as unable to cope with rude pictures or rough words, as requiring protection from the banter and imagery of everyday life. In the words of the anti-Page 3 campaign, such stuff can have a ‘negative impact’ on women’s ‘self-esteem’. It’s so alarmingly patronising, and it really does bring to mind the cloying over-protectionism of Islamists, who likewise see women as dainty, easily damaged, in need of constant chaperoning when they venture into the jungle of public life.
I honestly don’t see how anyone could argue with this. Every single day, they sink lower and lower. The censorship becomes more brazen. The ostracization becomes more blatant. Apologies aren’t enough. People’s lives have to be ruined. How long until they take up overt violence? I hope that doesn’t happen, but we’re dealing with some truly radical individuals here.
On a more positive note, I’m going to go prepare for #GGinDC. Keep your eye on the site for live updates. I’ll start a thread up round 3:30pm EST. It will be updated throughout the night.
