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Post by RockyMountainExtreme on May 3, 2019 12:55:59 GMT 10
Hey y'all - SharksFan99 rainbow X2M #Infinity Telso al mwalker96 Sorry for tagging y'all in this thread - This subject in general I'd also like to one day discuss in a stream, as the issue at hand is a very polarizing and controversial topic that I think garners thoughtful discussion.
Over the past couple of years, a meme known as "Virgin VS Chad" has been taking the internet by storm. If you're familiar with the "Krusty Krab VS Chum Bucket" meme, basically the "Virgin VS Chad" meme is a more in depth version of that meme, or at least that's how it's become recently. The first iteration of the meme didn't even star the "Chad" character at all, only the "Virgin" character, the image itself was created by a self-proclaimed virgin on 4chan to exemplify the common stereotype of his own kind, and the "Chad" character was added later to exemplify a yin-yang difference between the two. The "Virgin" character is an introverted, scrawny, dark-clothed walking beta-male stereotype whom is almost always portrayed negatively, while the "Chad" character is an extroverted, muscular, bright clothed walking alpha-male stereotype whom is almost always portrayed positively. The meme became a sensation, especially on Reddit, quickly. Here are a few examples of the meme;
Over all else, the Virgin VS Chad meme is meant to be comedic. While the "Chad" character is portrayed more positively, he's also often portrayed as more extreme and over the top, while the "Virgin" character is portrayed as more normal. Yet, really, the "Chad" character is portrayed more positively because of, not despite of, the more extreme and over the top nature, that nature is portrayed as more confident, more strong-willed, an alpha-male trait that stands out, while the more normal traits are portrayed as too soft, boring, and predictable.
As humorous as it may be though, I, and many others, believe this meme is an accurate portrayal of a real societal issue in the developed world, which is the issue regarding masculinity. In the developed world, birth and marriage rates are dropping to all time lows, the traditional "get raised then go raise" family model has become archaic, young adults are more interested in the opposite (or same if homosexual) gender only for short-term sexual intercourse rather than a long-term loving relationship. Sex doll sales and pornography views are way up, more and more people are getting involved in cybersex over traditional sex, and the situation in Japan is way worse, the epidemic of "hikikomori" has become such an issue in the country that Japanaese women are now becoming "rent-a-sister"'s to get these young men out of that lifestyle.
You've probably heard of these two groups - Incels and MGTOWs. Incels are a group of men that feel discriminated against by women and society for their appearance, and they demonize all women and all of society for this, many incels have even perpetrated murders to "get back at society". MGTOWs, or "Men Going Their Own Way", are a group that also demonize women and society, but for different reasons, such as feminism, divorce, child custody, financial issues, rape accusations, and the like, yet they're a group that incels have pretty much hijacked. It's like goths and emos.
Incel culture has garnered well-deserved backlash from both the left and the right, yet has also become a puppetmaster for a certain argument between the two. The left blames the right for the rise of Incel culture, as many Incels are anti-feminists that use terms such as "red-pilled", and the right blames the left for the rise of Incel culture for them constantly portraying masculinity as toxic, and are blaming the left's "attack on masculinity" for the unholy alliance between feminism and Islam. Paul Joseph Watson made a couple videos regarding both Incels (Virgins) and Chads;
What's your opinion regarding this topic? Do you believe that Incel/MGTOW culture is a major problem in society? Do you believe it's toxic masculinity that's the issue?
Let me know what you think in the comments. Also, next week sometime, I'd like to discuss this topic in a stream.
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Post by al on May 4, 2019 11:42:01 GMT 10
I had actually never seen Chad/virgin memes until I read this earlier. Of course going on Instagram straight after I noticed them. Weird. I think there's a name for that phenomenon.
So at least on terms of these memes, I don't find them particularly humorous. Mostly because they seem like an even more generalized version of mbti memes. It's sort of like, extremely meek person versus incredibly obnoxious person? Meh. Yes both do resemble opposing types of personalities, to the point where neither are desirable. The vibe that I'm supposed to find Virgin worse is fairly concerning. I think all it does is perpetuate shame, which doesn't help the problem.
My views on masculinity/femininity are complex and while I don't mind discussing them at length, I'll try to relate them to this topic. It reminds me of an article and thread, it was likely on PerC, that was about men and their handshake strength having drastically reduced over the last few decades. While some were trying to prove a point about how men have gotten "weaker", others remarked how we simply do not work with our hands as we once did.
I do generally have to take the side of this simply being a product of modernity. However, I also think we need to remember our history. I'm sure with every new wave of innovation, there have been romantically nostalgic comments over how things used to be more difficult. It's also worth noting that people on average used to be much thinner, and if muscular, had lean muscles centralized in their hands and arms and hands due to the nature if their work. I remember once reading a prominent Disney animator's comment on the use computer animation, "If we had it, we would've used it." I would assume the same attitude towards the past in general. Those previously did the best with what they had and there shouldn't be any shame for it.
So I don't know, I guess my point is that I don't really buy these "we're less masculine and it's bad" comments that are floating around. But something is changing. And that's related to innumerable factors. I think we're becoming nihilistic as a society. We know about so many terrible things, meanwhile seeing so many things that appear good, yet we know are not getting. Everyone saying "adulthood is hard" or "parenting is hard" and rising costs of living; there's a lot of fear and a lot of young people asking, "What's the point?" On the flipside, we are also seeing that's more to life than following a checklist, and trying to prioritize fulfillment. People are thinking about things en masse that never used to be in the public consciousness.
As far as incels go, they're probably not wrong that they were more likely to have a woman when it almost compulsory for females to marry. And then what though, be in a loveless and often sexless marriage of convenience? Pardon my detachment for a moment, but at some point this resembles natural selection. Nobody deserves a partner simply for existing. This is where some irony on the matter lies however. "Toxic masculinity" you could argue teaches these men that they deserve/should be having sex, yet it also seems to be the force ridiculing them for not, and for having supposedly undesirable features. So from that angle, it does seem to at least be a contributor.
To compare from a female perspective, I do think there are plenty of women who are disinterested in permanent relationships, just as there are those who complain they cannot "get a man", often claimed to be because of their appearance. However, women seem to have significantly less of an issue finding sex as much as to get someone to "stay". Despite our supposed sexually liberated times, I still theorize that women are biologically less willing to make themselves available, and are for lack of a better word, pickier. Our society deals with this nearly opposite though. In my personal experience, females do far more to beautify themselves and make themselves appealing. This is not the case in all species nor even all human cultures. Maybe for the modern women, who has options, attraction is getting increasingly more important. And maybe female initiated courting, a la Bumble, is something that will take some take more getting used to.
Meanwhile I do not say this to back up classic notions of masculinity. What a woman finds attractive is subjective to her own self, and often reflects something out of her own personality and physicality. If you asked me personally, I'd have to say a person able to be most unapologetically themselves is most attractive. Trying to be something one isn't is a turn off. My own perception of the masculine "fighter" archetype is he who fights for what is right, against destructive restrictions, for his loved ones, etc. The argument that still exists over context, as if that fighting should be with brute force, instead of say, love or intellect, to me is antiquated.
TLDR: -Things are getting easier on the human body and it isn't necessarily bad. -We are reaching a new age where we have more choices and we are still adjusting to changing lifestyles. -Making fun of incels will just fuel them more. Meanwhile, they are like this because they still want to join the good ol boys club that rejected them. -Old school rules are fading and we just need to collectively say "fuck it" and work on being our best selves.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2019 13:00:23 GMT 10
Being in STEM, I know tons of incels (even ones in their 30s). In my experience, their incelibacy is caused by poor social skills (particularly around women) and unrealistic standards. Sometimes you can throw poor grooming into the mix but I know some really handsome incels too.
The poor social skills around women is caused by their misogynistic views, in my experience. For me, despite being a techie video game nerd, because I'm gay, I feel zero shyness around women, and I get hit on and flirt every now and then. It's not particularly difficult to find sex, especially in this social climate. Many of my friends though seem to see a whole new dimension when it comes to conversing with women that really isn't there, and it needlessly complicates things.Either they're afraid of being a misogynistic pervert and come across as timid and shy, or they think women love "chads" and start sounding boastful and macho, which is actually a big red flag and a huge turn off.
I would say I'm more sympathetic to the left wing views on this. I don't know what Islam has to do with incels, that felt very shoehorned in as a part of his ideology. That second video was especially not well though out; just because they watch violent porn doesn't mean they actually want violence inflicted on them. To give a male example, sorry to be graphic, a lot of porn these days has people tossing salads, and while it can be arousing to see, most gentlemen would not be caught with their tongues up there. Overall the arguments presented by him are not very strong, although I agree with the poor social skills part.
As for the trend line, I question how much it has to do with the fact that people are getting married at a later age and are living with their parents longer too. If we asked the question strictly to non-married men who lived on their own, is there an involuntary celibacy crisis then?
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Post by al on May 5, 2019 4:10:55 GMT 10
Many of my friends though seem to see a whole new dimension when it comes to conversing with women that really isn't there, and it needlessly complicates things.Either they're afraid of being a misogynistic pervert and come across as timid and shy, or they think women love "chads" and start sounding boastful and macho, which is actually a big red flag and a huge turn off. 100%
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Post by SharksFan99 on May 6, 2019 21:05:40 GMT 10
This is the first time that I have heard/read about this. I'm not going to spend any time going into detail about the "Incels vs Chad" debacle, because I personally think both sides of the matter are ridiculous and this is just a manifestation of social media's virulent influence on society. To me, the issue in this instance isn't so much the toxic nature of masculinity, but rather, people's unrealistic expectations on what is considered socially acceptable. This isn't an issue that is tied to one gender. It's a reflection of the collective mindset in society that being fit, tough and physically good-looking is the "ideal" human being.
I feel as though people need to learn to stop being so self-absorbed over gender roles. You hear of men fearing about losing their "manhood" if they act emotional or "soft", much like how women often have their sexuality questioned if they choose not to engage in stereotypical feminine behaviours. Don't waste your time trying to live up to "social norms". Be who you are and own it, even if you're not exactly comfortable in doing so.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2019 12:37:29 GMT 10
The awkward moment when the incel is your type
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Post by RockyMountainExtreme on May 30, 2019 13:44:53 GMT 10
Here's one that's gotta piss off a lot of grunge fans. Unfortunately, as much as I like Nirvana over Nickelback, you can't deny this one is so true.
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Post by al on May 31, 2019 1:36:10 GMT 10
Is “Stacey” the female version?
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2019 2:21:22 GMT 10
Is “Stacey” the female version? Looks like it
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Post by skullmaiden on Jun 1, 2019 3:29:09 GMT 10
Being in STEM, I know tons of incels (even ones in their 30s). In my experience, their incelibacy is caused by poor social skills (particularly around women) and unrealistic standards. Sometimes you can throw poor grooming into the mix but I know some really handsome incels too. The poor social skills around women is caused by their misogynistic views, in my experience. For me, despite being a techie video game nerd, because I'm gay, I feel zero shyness around women, and I get hit on and flirt every now and then. It's not particularly difficult to find sex, especially in this social climate. Many of my friends though seem to see a whole new dimension when it comes to conversing with women that really isn't there, and it needlessly complicates things.Either they're afraid of being a misogynistic pervert and come across as timid and shy, or they think women love "chads" and start sounding boastful and macho, which is actually a big red flag and a huge turn off. I would say I'm more sympathetic to the left wing views on this. I don't know what Islam has to do with incels, that felt very shoehorned in as a part of his ideology. That second video was especially not well though out; just because they watch violent porn doesn't mean they actually want violence inflicted on them. To give a male example, sorry to be graphic, a lot of porn these days has people tossing salads, and while it can be arousing to see, most gentlemen would not be caught with their tongues up there. Overall the arguments presented by him are not very strong, although I agree with the poor social skills part. As for the trend line, I question how much it has to do with the fact that people are getting married at a later age and are living with their parents longer too. If we asked the question strictly to non-married men who lived on their own, is there an involuntary celibacy crisis then? That's just it. Poor social skills. They tend to be guys who go beyond a little awkward. Incels and loveshies usually have trouble relating to people in general and seek out these online echo chambers that plant toxic ideas in their minds about women. Easier to place the blame elsewhere than work on your own problems. The point I kept getting at on the 00s forum with a now banned user I often butted heads with was that women are just people and to get anywhere you need to relate to them as such. Pick up artist tactics are just creepy and it's problematic when you view the opposite gender as potential partner material and nothing but. Part of the problem I think is sex and status as being "taken" are held in way, way too high regard in the world. Everyone hits milestones at their own pace and it should be taught that it's fine and not that you're seriously missing out if you haven't done something yet.
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Post by Captain Nemo on Apr 6, 2020 10:19:47 GMT 10
Just posted this on Reddit;
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Post by aja675 on Apr 28, 2020 18:52:47 GMT 10
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2020 12:27:44 GMT 10
Just posted this on Reddit; Well gee, this "meme" doesn't have a blatantly obvious agenda at all.
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Post by Captain Nemo on May 16, 2020 6:14:50 GMT 10
Just posted this on Reddit; Well gee, this "meme" doesn't have a blatantly obvious agenda at all.
If it does;
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Post by aja675 on May 16, 2020 14:58:05 GMT 10
The guy on the left looks so much like some guy on the Internet who I used to crush on. In fact, I would go as far as to say the resemblance turned me off him.
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