Catherine Kieu Becker was arrested on July 11, on charges including aggravated mayhem, false imprisonment and assault with a deadly weapon. What she’d actually done was drug her husband, tie him to a bed, and on his return to consciousness, partially dismember him using a kitchen knife. After cutting his penis off while he watched, she destroyed the severed organ by pulping it in a kitchen garbage disposal unit.
This savage mutilation was discussed on a daytime talk show, called “the Talk” as an item of comedy. A real world case of sexual mutilation – treated as slapstick comedy.
17 Years previously, Lorena Bobbitt, who now uses her maiden name Lorena Gallo – was lionized and worshipped by millions of women for the malicious wounding of her sleeping husband. For the cognitively impaired, it’s necessary to point out that sexual mutilation of an unconscious victim does not constitute self defense.
Once publicly known as a celebrity violent sex offender, Bobbitt was rewarded with appearances on several interview shows, including Oprah. Bobbitt was found not guilty by reason of insanity – and spent 45 days under psychiatric observation. After the trial, Lorena was treated as a feminist hero.
Other cases of male targeted sexual mutilation occur world wide every year[1].
Kim Tran pled guilty to charges of aggravated assault on her husband. The assault involved the severing of her husband’s penis while he was asleep was given a two year suspended sentence by the B.C. Supreme court after telling police she had “ she had no choice but to cut off her husband’s penis.” [2]
Another case of mutilation of a sleeping male victim which occurred in Vietnam, but was celebrated by american commentators including Nicole Fabian-Weber. The 29-year-old Vietnamese woman, only identified by her surname, Pan, waited until her husband slept , then – according to american blogger Fabian-Weber, “did what any scorned, ballsy woman would do”[3].
I disagree with Fabian-Weber. Attacking and mutilating a sleeping victim is what a violent psychopath would do. Rather than “ballsy,” it seems depraved and cowardly, but my cognitive function might be affected by a lifelong case of testosterone dementia. I, in my masculine pea-brain think that walking away from an abusive environment is a better indication of empowerment and courage.
Maybe that’s just self congratulatory bias, having myself been subject to phsychological and physical abuse within a relationship which I walked away from without recourse to putting anyone in a hospital or morgue; You know, like an adult. And no, I don’t think walking away from a violent or abusive relationship merits a medal. It’s what you’re supposed to do when you have adult agency and volition.
Fabian Weber’s original commentary on this matter was: “Bad. Ass. Although I consider myself to be somewhat of a pacifist, I must admit, I’ve always admired a woman who has the cojones to cut off a man’s weenus.”
As I’m also an advocate of non-violent problem solving, I must admit to some confusion at the statement by Fabian-Weber of admiration towards attacking and mutilating a sleeping victim.
Katherine Heigl’s supposedly humorous claim; that her advocacy of neutering pets is an outlet for her desire to chop human male’s balls off shouldn’t be taken out of context. The context being that she’s a creature of hollywood who lives in california – the same state which earlier this year saw Katherine Becker cut her husband’s penis off for the “offense” of wanting a divorce. In fact, on the same day I added Heigl to register-her.com – Sunday Dec 4, CBS news reported on that a 67 year old Palm Springs woman was arrested after attempting to cut off her husband’s penis using a pair of scissors.[4][5]
The victim received medical attention for treatment for a non-life threatening wound and has subsequently was released later the same day.
On the mens-rights section of the popular news aggregation site Reddit.com – more than 100 commenters have made it clear they believe the inclusion of Heigl on register-her for her flippant joking endorsement of human castration diminishes the potency and purpose of the registry.
- “This isn’t what the registry is supposed to be for.” [18 up votes]
I built the registry, and what it’s for includes several goals, high among them is to de-legitimize the current climate of accepted male-targeting violence, as well as the acceptance of male injury as humour. How often is a women kicked in the groin for comedic effect on TV or in a movie? How often does a late night comedian get a guaranteed laugh from the audience when mentioning female-victimizing rape?
- “I always thought that this whole “bigot” thing on register-her was pretty silly in itself. I think it undermines the entire enterprise, turning it into a laughingstock [….] You guys are getting outraged over that? It was a fucking joke” [20 up votes]
We’re not outraged. We’re pointing out the blatant double standard in which violence against men substitutes for humour. Violence which, in case you haven’t kept up with current events is increasingly reflected in real world events. Do you remember how shocked and outraged the entire studio audience was when Sharon Osborne joked about Katherine Becker’s dismemberment of her husband? I don’t. I only remember how hilariously funny they thought it was.
- “You know, Register-Her started out with so much promise. But as soon as they listed their first hater, I began to worry about its future utility.”
This comment only got 2 up votes – but it implies a question nobody seems aware needs asking, and answering. Why is male targeted violence funny? Why is it, that if your wife, or girlfriend, or female co-worker decided to cut your penis off and throw it into the street; you be derided as a failed man, and she lionized as an empowered woman? Do you doubt this projected outcome?
If you are male, you are worthless. You have no value as a human being, and your potential dismemberment is fodder for comedy. Your only value is by your utility, your ability to provide money, or labor, or violence or to absorb violence for somebody else’s benefit – usually a woman.
This accepted worthlessness is re-enforced and maintained by ridiculing any man who demonstrates the fortitude to stand on his hind legs and declare that he has value as a human. To deny that mutilating him is funny, and to point out the factual truth that mutilating a human being, whatever their sex; is not funny.
- “This is the kind of thing that could totally undermine that website.” [31 up votes]
With Paul’s help and the volunteer help of a collection of other individuals whose names are withheld for their protection, I built the website. Maybe if you’d like to support and re-enforce the current cultural value of men as appropriate targets for disposal, de-humanization and dismemberment – you should build your own site to serve that end.
- “Attention AVfM guys, if you are reading. You do great things and are a valuable resource. Everyone makes mistakes, for the love of God please take that down. Katherine’s campaign is clearly tongue-in-cheek and this makes us look foolish and histrionic as a group.”
Does anybody know where the following bit of copy-pasta is from?
“Charge of Hypersensitivity: The man is accused of being hysterical or exaggerating the problems of men. “Stop whining.”, “Get over it.”, “Suck it up like a man.”, “You guys don’t have it as nearly as bad as us women.”, “You’re just afraid of losing your male privileges.” “Your fragile male ego…”, or “Wow. You guys need to get a grip.”
We know it’s a joke. That’s the point. It’s both shocking, and plausibly deniable. It also wouldn’t be funny to most people if there was not an element of truth in it. Heigl’s “joke” included the word “yet”. This is an obvious nod to her awareness of increasing cultural acceptance of male-targeted violence and mutilation.
How many female-kills-male murder stories have we covered at AVFM where the murderer walks away with a slap on the wrist because she’s female? Furthermore, how did we get to a place in society when otherwise sane human being shrug off the murder of men by women and even celebrate those violent individuals as cultural heroes.
Male targeting violence persists and escalates because in the unconscious reptile corner of men’s minds, they think nodding along with whatever vile , violent, murderous shit the nearest vacuous barbie utters in her you-go-girl bubble of social enablement might get him approved for access to the magic vagina.
This is blue pill thinking. It’s what we’re here to destroy. The overwhelming condemnation of Heigl’s listing is proof that what we’re doing is right and necessary.
However, because Paul and I are both sensitive, weak, approval seekers without our own ethical compasses, we will , from now on, put further additions to the registry to a public vote. We feel its important to give the blue pill, blue cool-aid drinking public every opportunity to tell us what’s appropriate, and what’s not.
Thank you all for your kind attention.
[1] http://listverse.com/2010/01/16/15-cases-of-penis-removal/
[2] http://www.fathers.ca/News/STUDIES/VIOLENCE/JustifyingWomensViolence/THEKIMTRANCASE.aspx
[3] http://register-her.com/images/4/4f/Wife_Cuts_Off_Husband%27s_Penis-comments-1.pdf
[4] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/palm-springs-woman-67-arrested-for-trying-to-cut-off-husbands-penis/story-e6frf7lf-1226214377001
