Sometimes people ask me why I have such a case of the red-ass over the Good Men Project (GMP). It is easy enough for someone like me to come up with reasons to not care for a “men’s” publication that only attracts female readers, but I usually explain my distaste for GMP more obviously.
“Zack Rosenberg” is good start. There are others, but a quick view of his wares will give you the general idea. GMP is the barely polished turd of modern gender discourse. Throwing men under the bus, and/or encouraging their acceptance of a narrative that sees them as deserving to be there is an editorial necessity at GMP because their bread and butter is appealing to vindictive, embittered women who want a good (read: servile) man, but who are hopelessly incapable of a functional relationship with any kind of man at all.
GMP offers them the only viable alternative, the vicarious and vengeful enjoyment of seeing men demeaned en masse.
Greg Simms has stepped up to help them with that mission. I knew it as soon as I saw the title to his third and most recent offering on the site, “You want women? You need to LIKE women.” Ostensibly, it is a message for young men in the “Bro and hip-hop culture[s],” about women.
In reality it is a derogatory barrage, including attacks on young men’s body image, music and fashion trends, but focusing mainly on sexual shame aimed at making them feel morally lacking and worthless. All of this is conducted, of course, not with an audience of young men in mind, but with GMPs demographic of women seeking articles that satisfy their need to validate their hatred of men.
You can smell the shame sandwich in this one even in the title, and Simms does not disappoint as he gets into the meat of it.
“In both Bro and hip-hop culture,” he says, “there seems to be a…contempt for women. It almost seems like girls are seen as appliances by guys of your generation. To be up kept, updated, polished, cleaned, used, and then thrown away.”
Oh my, imagine that, all these women out there, evaluating these young men purely by the quality of their moral standing, their intrinsic character as men; their values – nary a thought as to what utility or service these dirty appliance shoppers may bring them or even a second look at the size of their wallets. Those treacherous brigands return that wholesome appraisal by evaluating the women like they were toaster ovens to be trashed after a few uses.
That is, after all, the only view of women “their generation,” is capable of holding.
These young men know nothing of betrayal, broken hearts, rejection, being used, discarded or anything of the sort. Right, Greg?
Of course they don’t. They are assholes who only know privilege and power. Only women know heartache and grief at the hands of people they love. Those anguishes are never in the life experience of this over muscled, over tanned generation of hip-hop listening, Red Bull chugging punks. And the best solution is to publicly humiliate them; to dress them down as you mock their interests and reduce their lives to an over-simplified cartoon at which a hateful female audience can sneer.
Because it is all about love and honor and seeing other human beings as they are. Right, Greg? Isn’t that the lesson you are trying to teach?
Yes, of course. That describes things perfectly. 40 year old Greg Simms is here to set these smug little bastards straight. All the better that he can do it in full view of a few thousand emotionally unhealthy women that are drawn to GMP by design, hoping for, needing, just this kind of article to justify their sick worldview.
Simms delivers without stopping. He goes on with the charade by asking the young men he pretends to believe will be reading this article a few questions:
“But, do you LIKE the women?”
“Seriously? When was the last time either of you [Bros and hip-hops] actually looked at and a woman and got lost in her eyes, and complement her on them? When was the last time you noticed and were knocked out by her smoky voice, her hot new haircut, or her new perfume? How long has it been since you told a lady friend you loved her new sexy tattoo, or you loved her knockout curves, in a RESPECTFUL way?”
In other words, when was the last time you got on your knees and worshipped her? When was the last time you made a dog and pony show of how perfect your woman was, telling her that she’s the shizizzle, covered in awesome sauce and other contrived flattery to let her know just how lucky and undeserving you know yourself to be for her willingness to even speak to you?
Also, and I beg your indulgence for the digression but I have to say this. Greg defines himself in the article as a writer/media professional. I guess as a writer he missed the part in writing class when they tell you that using all caps (which he even does in the title) is a bombastic cheap trick used by amateur hacks who can’t make a point with their command of the language alone.
Second, and I have to say this, too, when I read this kind of transparent pandering my eyes roll so hard that they have to do a windup first. This is preening for poontang ala Hugo Fucking Schwyzer, only Simms’ writing skills barely rate a crayon and scrap paper.
Given the amount of female traffic at GMP, which is to say nearly all of it, it also reflects the numbers of perilously sick women being hoodwinked by the publishers.
GMP wants the cha-ching. Simms just wants an audience – some attention and cheap adulation. Most revealing into his mind is the following:
You two can go now. But, “Tapout” man, please cut down on the Red Bulls and protein shakes. And your friend has to take off that damn “YOLO” shirt. Worst. Trend. Ever.
You hear that young men? You have been dissed and dismissed. Run along now and change clothes. Watch what comes out of your mouth and what you put into it. Take your whole fucking generation of unmanly losers with you. These are your instructions from a real man, one that knows all about how to show respect.
Way to go again, “Good Men” Project. Shit, I swear even my keyboard is starting to laugh at those words.
I will spare you any more analysis of this asshat’s banal ideas and hackneyed showboating for emotionally challenged women. Indeed, the only reason I am writing about Simms at all is because he provided me another opportunity to appeal to people of good reason (and good values) with an image of GMP as it really is.
It is a predatory website, attracting women who desperately need someone to help them validate their sanctimonious fantasies about being superior to men. They dwell in illusions that keep them lonely and miserable, which GMP happily exploits in order to draw those women to pages stuffed with pop up advertising and bullshit.
These women actually need a clean mirror and a healthy dose of personal accountability; at least enough to help them figure out the long list of things they won’t or can’t bring to the table in a relationship. That might actually help them, but it is just not on the menu.
It is not GMP alone. Our society has been breeding this sickness in women (and men) for at least two generations. We have industrialized the demonization of everything male, painting men in such a way that they can be easily saddled with all of women’s frustrations, failures and personal shortcomings. By pushing the contempt and hostility to toxic levels, industrialized misandry has laid waste to the aspirations of countless women. It left them only with failure and resentment, and the bottomless need for someone to blame.
I suppose that is the cost of a free market. After all, there is still a demand for cigarettes, high fructose corn syrup and various other kinds of poison. Emotional carcinogens should not be too much of a surprise.
Still, I reserve the right to hope that the people at GMP some day figure out what it is to be a good human being. Maybe if they can work their way into that, they may have something meaningful to say about men.
