One of our favorite (and our most strongly upvoted) commenters at AVfM is a mysterious fellow named “AndyBob.” Funny, bitingly insightful, a joy to read – it is always worthwhile to slow down and read his thoughts carefully – and more than once.
Every now and then we like to round up some of Andy’s work for your enjoyment, and ours. Here’s one comment he made that deserves its own special place, in response to this delightful video by Hannah Wallen:
Andy’s comment:
Spoilt little rich gal feminism may run Get a Man School of Labour Management for Women, but they offer graduate courses for every member of the leisured class.
A few years ago, I saw a British TV programme on Discovery Channel that claimed to be an examination of what drove the chivalric impulses of men. It was, in reality, a transparently anti-male shame-fest. Where are have all the gentlemen gone – you know, those sexist pigs who offer to carry women’s suitcases for them?
Hidden cameras were set up showing different women struggling up the stairs of London train stations with large heavy suitcases. One woman was an epically plain, pear-shaped battleaxe well into middle age. The other woman looked like Jessica Alba’s cuter younger sister. The premise was to see how many men offered each woman assistance with their respective suitcases, both of which seemed to be laden with bricks – or a couple of dead bodies.
Obviously, the producers were hoping and expecting that the cute girl would be bombarded with offers of assistance from hordes of erect and salivating men, while the homely woman would be all but spat on. Much to their disappointment, it, didn’t quite pan out that way.
The cute woman got a few offers from a few polite men. One of these was a man of about fifty who was later questioned rather rudely about his motives. Before it even came out of his mouth, I just knew that she probably reminded him of his daughter. His manner had been fatherly and protective. I was right. He was clearly shocked by the insinuation that he was trying to get into her pants. It had obviously never occurred to him.
The homely woman received a few offers as well, though not as many. Of course, the producers assumed that it was because men were less inclined to help a woman who looked like their mother – or, in this case, a woman who looked like their obstreperous maiden aunt.
This woman’s mannish clothes, short back and sides and sour expression made her look like a women’s studies professor who was likely to scold the presumptuous patriarchs for patronizing her by offering help. You could actually see men approaching her, catching a glimpse of her pissed off mug, then giving her a wide birth. Not in the mood for a lecture today thank you very much.
It escaped everyone’s attention, except mine, that no offers of help came from women.
The programme was infused throughout with the assumption that both of these women were somehow entitled to be offered help from total strangers with penises whose utility should have been at their disposal. At no point did it ever occur to the producers or commenters that men owned their utility and had the right to offer it to whoever they wished. If a man wants to offer it to a pretty girl, that’s his business. He doesn’t have to justify it to anyone. It is his to give, his to withdraw and his to withhold.
There were the usual lamentations about how ‘fings aint what they used to be’, and how society would be a better place if we all helped each other. No-one twigged that, apart from those ever-present white knights, most men won’t offer such assistance because we’ve been led to believe that women prefer to carry their own bags, and are perfectly able to do so. That’s what feminists tell me, and I believe them – surely they haven’t been telling lies.
GMSLMW has its work cut out for them – and, no, I won’t be offering them any help.
