The powdered ashes of Susan B. Anthony
July 8, 2013 6:34 AM Subscribe
It's not an airtight rule, but generally, when you have to put the label [PARODY] on your parody so that people know it's supposed to be funny, things are already going badly.
This is sort of Feminism Jokes For People Who Hate Feminism, which I guess is fine if that's your bag. It's not mine. That's not to say there are no Feminism Jokes For Feminists And People Who Know And Dig A Lot Of Feminists, because believe me, there are. But none of them are about slaughtering men and becoming the dominant gender. That's kind of an airline-peanuts socks-lost-in-the-dryer kind of brick-wall try-the-veal comedy.
I'm not against feminism humor per se, but the idea that the funniest thing about feminism or feminist conversations is that feminists want to kill and devour men is, among other things, a rather lazy approach to making a video so you can put "FEMINIST" and "[PARODY]" in the title.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 7:17 AM on July 8, 2013 [12 favorites]
This is sort of Feminism Jokes For People Who Hate Feminism, which I guess is fine if that's your bag. It's not mine. That's not to say there are no Feminism Jokes For Feminists And People Who Know And Dig A Lot Of Feminists, because believe me, there are. But none of them are about slaughtering men and becoming the dominant gender. That's kind of an airline-peanuts socks-lost-in-the-dryer kind of brick-wall try-the-veal comedy.
I'm not against feminism humor per se, but the idea that the funniest thing about feminism or feminist conversations is that feminists want to kill and devour men is, among other things, a rather lazy approach to making a video so you can put "FEMINIST" and "[PARODY]" in the title.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 7:17 AM on July 8, 2013 [12 favorites]
Seriously if you're not putting eyeliner on the inner edges of your eyelid that is 1 strike against you right there.
posted by Teakettle at 7:19 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Teakettle at 7:19 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Um, it struck me as a joke about non-feminists view of feminists.
Also, wow that concealer really works!
posted by oddman at 7:21 AM on July 8, 2013 [4 favorites]
Also, wow that concealer really works!
posted by oddman at 7:21 AM on July 8, 2013 [4 favorites]
I for one anxiously await our female overlords.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:41 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by cjorgensen at 7:41 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's not an airtight rule, but generally, when you have to put the label [PARODY] on your parody so that people know it's supposed to be funny, things are already going badly.
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure she changed the title to include the word PARODY because, even though it's incredibly obvious satire, a lot of people were seriously not getting that, because there are people who believe that feminists actually do think this way. And/or there are people who only got as far as the word "feminism," and saw that there was a woman in the video, and commenced calling her a horrible misandrist manhating whatever. This is YouTube, after all.
Also I gotta say that it did not strike me as Jokes for People Who Hate Feminism, but as Jokes about People Who Hate Feminism. Kind of like Kate Beaton's Straw Feminists.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 7:43 AM on July 8, 2013 [8 favorites]
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure she changed the title to include the word PARODY because, even though it's incredibly obvious satire, a lot of people were seriously not getting that, because there are people who believe that feminists actually do think this way. And/or there are people who only got as far as the word "feminism," and saw that there was a woman in the video, and commenced calling her a horrible misandrist manhating whatever. This is YouTube, after all.
Also I gotta say that it did not strike me as Jokes for People Who Hate Feminism, but as Jokes about People Who Hate Feminism. Kind of like Kate Beaton's Straw Feminists.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 7:43 AM on July 8, 2013 [8 favorites]
It's not great because the point of view is indeed so muddled. If this is meant to come from a sincere feminist perspective, it's not clear enough that the tropes cited are being mocked rather than endorsed. It would actually be better if they either were more exaggerated to very clearly incorporate the fantasties of the MRA movement, or a lot less (by replacing the "rip out the jugular" stuff for actual feminist issues really being fought right now, like filibustering on the TX Senate floor, it could have been more effective). The satire is not obvious enough, to the point that with no framing at all I might conclude it was the product of an MRA individual. I can believe her intent is satire, but it is clumsy.
posted by Miko at 7:59 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 7:59 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
The makeup job is very nice, though, except I am not that into the bat-wing eyeliner that is so trendy currently.
posted by Miko at 8:01 AM on July 8, 2013
posted by Miko at 8:01 AM on July 8, 2013
Beaton's "Straw Feminists" is really funny. This strikes me as completely different. To each his/her own, though. It just seems kind of hacky to me.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 8:01 AM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Linda_Holmes at 8:01 AM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]
It's a good comparison. "Straw Feminists" makes the point of view clear right off the bat - it's even in the title.
posted by Miko at 8:03 AM on July 8, 2013
posted by Miko at 8:03 AM on July 8, 2013
Not being the kind of person who has ever had reason to apply makeup, I found the video very interesting: if anything, it reminded me I seriously need to get back into miniature painting.
There was also some talk in the background, but it wasn't very interesting or funny so I tuned it out.
posted by Dr Dracator at 8:11 AM on July 8, 2013
There was also some talk in the background, but it wasn't very interesting or funny so I tuned it out.
posted by Dr Dracator at 8:11 AM on July 8, 2013
I thought it was cute. I may have even lol'd a little bit at the Sandberg "lean in" mascara.
The fact that she felt the need to add "parody" in order to soothe internet asshats rending their garments at the "offense" is the bigger commentary.
posted by amanda at 8:23 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
The fact that she felt the need to add "parody" in order to soothe internet asshats rending their garments at the "offense" is the bigger commentary.
posted by amanda at 8:23 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
The widespread idea that smearing skin with overpriced mud is an improvement, and that half the world's faces are somehow unfit to be seen in public unless this has been done to them, has always struck me as deeply weird.
posted by flabdablet at 8:47 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 8:47 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
That's not funny.
(Saith the lesbian-feminist d'age certain)
posted by Dreidl at 8:52 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
(Saith the lesbian-feminist d'age certain)
posted by Dreidl at 8:52 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
I thought it was funny and a pretty good parody of a certain kind of YouTube makeup tutorial, such as this one by Michelle Phan.
posted by maudlin at 9:03 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by maudlin at 9:03 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
I must be a bad feminist; I thought this was hilarious, and I was remembering the makeup tips several days later. I like to think I'm single-handedly dismantling the patriarchy by putting on mascara in the morning.
posted by jennaratrix at 9:43 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by jennaratrix at 9:43 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
The widespread idea that smearing skin with overpriced mud is an improvement, and that half the world's faces are somehow unfit to be seen in public unless this has been done to them, has always struck me as deeply weird.
Yeah, weird, why only half?
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:53 AM on July 8, 2013
Yeah, weird, why only half?
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:53 AM on July 8, 2013
FWIW, when I first saw it a while back making the rounds on tumblr, I don't think it had the PARODY warning on it. (Also add me to the list of bad feminists who found it lol-worthy, but I don't share the standard Metafilter sense of humor.)
posted by immlass at 11:37 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by immlass at 11:37 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Not funny, and especially so because of the violent misandrist jokes spread throughout it. That's just not an acceptable counterpoint to the violent misogynists out there.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:31 PM on July 8, 2013
posted by IAmBroom at 12:31 PM on July 8, 2013
If you didn't watch the whole thing, the most hilarious moment in my opinion is at 2:38 where she poses with the final look. That's the way all make-up tutorials should end.
posted by lollusc at 6:19 PM on July 8, 2013
posted by lollusc at 6:19 PM on July 8, 2013
I like to think I'm single-handedly dismantling the patriarchy by putting on mascara in the morning.
The patriarchy is happy to take your cash, and to remind you that wearing the eyelashes your parents gave you means you fail to be a proper woman and are therefore unworthy of respect.
posted by flabdablet at 4:12 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
The patriarchy is happy to take your cash, and to remind you that wearing the eyelashes your parents gave you means you fail to be a proper woman and are therefore unworthy of respect.
posted by flabdablet at 4:12 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
The patriarchy is happy to take your cash, and to remind you that wearing the eyelashes your parents gave you means you fail to be a proper woman and are therefore unworthy of respect.
"Maybe She's Born with It"
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 8:10 AM on July 9, 2013
"Maybe She's Born with It"
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 8:10 AM on July 9, 2013
Or maybe she just likes vaseline and coal dust.
But hey, at least nobody's into self inflicted heavy metal poisoning any more, right?
posted by flabdablet at 8:40 AM on July 9, 2013
But hey, at least nobody's into self inflicted heavy metal poisoning any more, right?
posted by flabdablet at 8:40 AM on July 9, 2013
The widespread idea that smearing skin with overpriced mud is an improvement, and that half the world's faces are somehow unfit to be seen in public unless this has been done to them,
Fun fact: some women wear make-up purely because it's a fun thing to do. Not because society - or the patriarchy - expects them to draw on their faces before leaving the house.
Also, if make-up is the fault of the patriarchy, where does that leave men who wear it?
posted by mippy at 8:59 AM on July 9, 2013
Fun fact: some women wear make-up purely because it's a fun thing to do. Not because society - or the patriarchy - expects them to draw on their faces before leaving the house.
Also, if make-up is the fault of the patriarchy, where does that leave men who wear it?
posted by mippy at 8:59 AM on July 9, 2013
But hey, at least nobody's into self inflicted heavy metal poisoning any more, right?
Yeah totally!
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:01 AM on July 9, 2013
Yeah totally!
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:01 AM on July 9, 2013
if make-up is the fault of the patriarchy, where does that leave men who wear it?
Complicit.
posted by flabdablet at 1:10 AM on July 10, 2013
Complicit.
posted by flabdablet at 1:10 AM on July 10, 2013
What about lesbians?
We get it, you don't like make-up. It doesn't mean that those of us who do are some type of...sheeple.
posted by mippy at 3:01 AM on July 10, 2013
We get it, you don't like make-up. It doesn't mean that those of us who do are some type of...sheeple.
posted by mippy at 3:01 AM on July 10, 2013
It's not the makeup per se I object to: it's the widespread idea that women's faces are inherently unacceptable without real-life Photoshopping.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard women I respect - people as far from being "sheeple" as people can possibly be - express horror at the idea of going out without their makeup on. Makeup also seems to be an essential part of what's expected of women in positions of power: choose to go without and you'll struggle to be taken seriously. This strikes me as sad. I don't see my own hairy, wrinkled, porous and occasionally zitty face as abnormal or in need of correction, because I am male and most men don't wear makeup; I've been used to seeing skin that looks like mine on the street for as long as I've been alive.
I see strong parallels between attitudes toward makeup and attitudes toward the niqab and the burqa. It's easy to construct an argument that all of these things are marks of an oppressive social order, and equally easy to construct another that they are simply expressions of choices made by their wearers. In fact, both arguments are valid and they are not contradictory.
So in no way do I see it as my right to mansplain to the poor helpless wimmins why having fun with makeup means they're Doing It Wrong. I just can't see how wearing mascara counts as "single-handedly dismantling the patriarchy" when it's a choice offering no challenge at all to a status quo that contributes to the kind of personal insecurity the whole rotten edifice rests on.
It seems to me that as long as it remains a matter of fact that most women do choose to get made up before getting out and about, the poreless, zitless, wrinkle-free look will keep defining what's held to be normal and acceptable for women, and there will continue to be countless women who feel bad when they look in the mirror because what seems to be reflected there is not a face but merely a regrettable collection of pores and zits and lines and hairs.
And sure, it may well be that the cosmetics industry's current strong push into male grooming will eventually shift the gender skew and render us all susceptible to belief in some kind of facial Original Sin: that's the weird endpoint caricatured in A Boy And His Dog linked above. Not sure it's actually an improvement.
posted by flabdablet at 8:14 AM on July 10, 2013 [3 favorites]
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard women I respect - people as far from being "sheeple" as people can possibly be - express horror at the idea of going out without their makeup on. Makeup also seems to be an essential part of what's expected of women in positions of power: choose to go without and you'll struggle to be taken seriously. This strikes me as sad. I don't see my own hairy, wrinkled, porous and occasionally zitty face as abnormal or in need of correction, because I am male and most men don't wear makeup; I've been used to seeing skin that looks like mine on the street for as long as I've been alive.
I see strong parallels between attitudes toward makeup and attitudes toward the niqab and the burqa. It's easy to construct an argument that all of these things are marks of an oppressive social order, and equally easy to construct another that they are simply expressions of choices made by their wearers. In fact, both arguments are valid and they are not contradictory.
So in no way do I see it as my right to mansplain to the poor helpless wimmins why having fun with makeup means they're Doing It Wrong. I just can't see how wearing mascara counts as "single-handedly dismantling the patriarchy" when it's a choice offering no challenge at all to a status quo that contributes to the kind of personal insecurity the whole rotten edifice rests on.
It seems to me that as long as it remains a matter of fact that most women do choose to get made up before getting out and about, the poreless, zitless, wrinkle-free look will keep defining what's held to be normal and acceptable for women, and there will continue to be countless women who feel bad when they look in the mirror because what seems to be reflected there is not a face but merely a regrettable collection of pores and zits and lines and hairs.
And sure, it may well be that the cosmetics industry's current strong push into male grooming will eventually shift the gender skew and render us all susceptible to belief in some kind of facial Original Sin: that's the weird endpoint caricatured in A Boy And His Dog linked above. Not sure it's actually an improvement.
posted by flabdablet at 8:14 AM on July 10, 2013 [3 favorites]
' I don't see my own hairy, wrinkled, porous and occasionally zitty face as abnormal or in need of correction, because I am male "
Man, I totally see the need to correct my male, hairy, wrinkled, porous, zitty face. It's why I shave, hydrate and sleep well, exercise, and wash my face. It's not as much as work as women do since they do all of that and apply make-up. But, to be perfectly honest, I'd probably wear a bit of foundation and blush (you know, that natural look), if society wouldn't flip out over my decision. (I'd rather spare myself the drama than flatter my vanity.)
posted by oddman at 5:55 PM on July 11, 2013
Man, I totally see the need to correct my male, hairy, wrinkled, porous, zitty face. It's why I shave, hydrate and sleep well, exercise, and wash my face. It's not as much as work as women do since they do all of that and apply make-up. But, to be perfectly honest, I'd probably wear a bit of foundation and blush (you know, that natural look), if society wouldn't flip out over my decision. (I'd rather spare myself the drama than flatter my vanity.)
posted by oddman at 5:55 PM on July 11, 2013
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posted by discopolo at 7:12 AM on July 8, 2013