Who's fault is it?

Todays' discussion about Tucker Max and "fratire" really made my mind whirl.  I think on one hand it is really hilarious and if it is means as satire that's great, but I have a suspicion that Max is likely serious, at least in part.  When Jalena made the comment about a guy from her high school having a similar reputation I was rather shocked....for a moment.  In the time to took to blink my eyes a few times I realized that this hits close to home, that I also know young men like this.

It's pretty easy to say that these men are simply trying to regain their masculinity but it's not so easy to place any of the blame on women.  But I am going to blame the women, myself included, for letting this trend continue.  It does not have to be as blatant as the women who write to Max and ask for a date the self proclaimed asshole.  It is as simple as laughing it off when a guy says these things in front of you instead of giving him a piece of your mind.  These are not isolated incidents, Max did not just appear from nowhere, there ahs to be a root cause for him and other men like him.

I think Priya made an excellent point when she referred to Maria Shriver speaking out on Larry King about a National Women's Conference that is going to be taking place as a form of feminism beginning to rise again.  The fact that feminism is rising is going to mean a conservative backlash.  For every action, there is going to be an equal (maybe?) and opposite reaction.  There is no difference here as feminism is beginning to rise again, to get more organized, there is bound to be a conservative backlash.

My evidence on this lovely backlash is easily identifiable in Max but furthermore it is evident in the fact that some of the most adamant supporters for Proposition 8 (amandment to ban gay marriage in California) and against abortion are young people.  Young people of the "progressive" generation?  Yes, these young people are not as progressive as some of us might hope.

I have a small theory about this and I'm going to try it out on you guys and hope that you will give me your feedback.  Lauren Sandler wrote a book entitled "Righteous" in which she details the Christian Youth Movement and their political viewpoints.  This is an obviously large movement and it has continued to gain populariity in the past 10 or so years with the advent of music festivals such as Spirit West Coast that combine music and and politics in much the same way that something amazing like the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival does every single year.  The difference?  This is a youth movement, they are breeding this doctrine into a group of young people who will be growing up, voting, and eventually becoming the generation that has power.  Is there anything comparable for youth on the left?  I don't think there is, I think as Matt said recently in class about feminism, we lack organization.  I'm not saying that certain political figures do not have great organization, I'm simply making the point that there is not a liberal youth movement that even begins to compare to the Religious Right's youth movement.  How do we compete?  I haven't figured out an avenue in which it would be plausible to compete, but this concept is something I think about on a regular basis.  

I want to see women rising up and saying things that need to be said.  This is not a post-feminist society and "tolerance" is not enough.  It's absolute bullshit to say that Max is only making money because he is funny.  He knows that he is making money at this point in time because gender issues are at the forefront of a revolutionary fight that involves gender and sexuality.  Men do not need to reclaim anything except for equality for everyone.  Yes men need to be held responsible for these action but it takes surroundings telling them that they are wrong for them to begin to change.