Mr Uncle Leroy
All Star
A MGTOW protester in Edmonton, Alberta. Screenshot via YouTube
All over the world, straight men are making the conscious decision not to be involved with women.
This isn't a decision in any sort of metaphorical sense. These men are literally cutting women out of their lives, completely. It's not a spiritual choice—like becoming ordained as a Catholic priest—nor is it a socioeconomic problem, like Japan's herbivore men. It is more of an ideological celibacy, one that crosses both national borders and religious divides. And the basic reason is the slow crawl toward gender equality.
They are called Men Going Their Own Way (or MGTOW, pronounced "mig-tow") and they have a serious problem with feminism. To them, the feminist movement has all but ruined our society, and it just doesn't make sense to participate in the dating game because women have been, in their eyes, programmed to ruin a man's life. Around every corner they seem to see one-dimensional women who are just out to take their well-earned money and stick them with kids who aren't theirs.
Also false rape accusations: They are fukking terrified of those gosh-darn prevalent false rape accusations.
At first glance, it's easy to lump MGTOW in with typical Men's Rights Activists (MRAs) who also believe that female oppression is a myth and that it's actually males who are oppressed—but that's not the case. The two groups differ significantly in how they make sure those tricky, tricky women don't pull any of their devious tactics. While MRAs are out to fix the problem through action and activism, members of MGTOW hold self-preservation above all else, and because of this the majority of the community seems to have decided to bow out.
They've had enough, and they're taking their balls and going home.
I first came across this story while reporting on Edmonton, Alberta's Slut Walk earlier this year. There was a young-ish Canadian man protesting the event in a superhero/cheerleader costume, the initials MGTOW emblazoned across his chest. He held signs that said "Women are programmed to ruin men's lives" and "Feminism is a refuge for woman's [sic] sexual failure."
He didn't seem angry. If I were to play armchair psychologist, I thought he just looked sad.
A major rule with Men Going Their Own Way is that no women are allowed in the community—something that differs from MRAs. The group also has a penchant for anti-Big Government rhetoric, but, in all honesty, that isn't the most surprising thing in the world. Also, one can't simply proclaim to be a MGTOW. There are stages. In fact, numerous MGTOWs have proposed that members of the community can track their growth with something called "The Four Levels of MGTOW."
- Level 0 - Situational Awareness: the member has "taken the red pill" and embraces the idea that gender equality is a lie and propaganda.
- Level 1 - Rejection of Long-Term Relationships: the man rejects long-term relationships but will still partake in short-term relationships and sexual encounters.
- Level 2 - Rejection of Short-Term Relationships: the member won't participate in hook-ups or any form of short-term or sexual relationships.
- Level 3 - Economic Disengagement: a member at this stage refuses to earn more money than is necessary for sustaining life. He views the government as tyrannical and is trying to actively drain money from the bureaucrats.
- Level 4 - Societal Disengagement: this is as far as a mainstream MGTOW can go. Here the man refuses to interact with society.
Photo via Facebook group MGTOW - Men Going Their Own Way
"All my friends are MGTOW, I bond with no other, the smell of c*nt on a man's breath is sickening! Their [sic] unable to sustain a logical mind when their thoughts are all wrapped up in p*ssy," wrote MG-ɹǝʍo┴, a regular on MGTOW.com.
A large portion of MGTOWs will not in any way participate in long- or short-term relationships. They preach using their lives for "productive pursuits" (work, I guess?) and get companionship from brotherhood. There's a problem, though: your sexual drive isn't something you can just turn off. A libido just can't be satisfied, no matter how hard you try woodworking and hanging with your bros.
So how do MGTOWs get their rocks off? There are numerous tactics discussed on the MGTOW.com forum, their largest stomping ground. Some men try to remedy this by attempting one night stands, others rely solely on masturbation, and some routinely visit sex workers. The old adage "You don't pay for the sex, you pay them to leave" is a rather popular (and gross) sentiment on the forums.
"For me, it's escorts or play the dating game," one user wrote. " I'm not wasting my time with the dating game and I'm not interested in a life of celibacy right now."
Celibacy, which they refer to as Men Going Monk, is another option discussed routinely on the forum especially among the devout going their own way. For the extremely religious, being MGTOW causes a little bit of a conundrum. You can't have sex out of marriage, but you have also vowed not to get married, so you're essentially up virgin's creek without a paddle. Going monk isn't just for the religious—some men have also talked themselves into celibacy because they can't have sex without love but can never love a woman.
"Myself, I hate getting associated with women in any form, be it relationships or sex, moreover i [sic] can't have sex with a girl that i don't love," wrote forum user rorick. "I'm kind of old school here, or may be that is how i was born. Therefore for me to have sex i need to love her, so to love a girl i should throw away all my logical thinking and turn myself into a mangina, which i never wanted to be, hence i stayed virgin."
Do yourself a favor and try not to think about it too hard.
Photo via Facebook group MGTOW - Men Going Their Own Way
Again, like Men's Rights Activists, some followers made their way to the MGTOW community out of completely spiteful reasons, but others have found themselves in the group after tough situations. Some have lost their kids in a custody battle and others have had their lives shredded by divorce proceedings. Some of these men credit the brotherhood they find within MGTOW as the catalyst that stopped them from ending their lives.
But most of it is pretty out there. Many MRAs and MGTOW have taken to calling themselves "red pillers." It comes from the scene in The Matrix in which Morpheus offers Neo a red pill and a blue one. "You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes," Morpheus tells the Chosen One. In what they deem a broken system they are Neo, messiah complex (possibly) aside, and in their minds they are the only ones who see the world clearly. Everyone but themselves and their brethren are blinded by the "feminist agenda" and are a "goddamn blue pill" or, my personal favorite, a "mangina."
Once you move past the basic anti-feminist/blue pill rhetoric, any major similarities between MRAs and MGTOW come to an end. Their actions differ hugely. While the MRA's victim complex parlays itself into a loud and screechy anger, a MGTOW's anger is quiet and seething. While talking to a founder of MGTOW.com, he said that while MRAs try to "fight fire with fire," MGTOW prefer to "fight it with water."
"Gay rights is a movement, feminism is a movement, men's rights activism is a movement," Oz, a founder of MGTOW.com, explained to VICE (on behalf of himself and the website, not the movement as a whole).
"Those things thrive and their success depends on collecting an army of people and them all agreeing on a common goal, and they have parades or whatever it is to unite. This is nothing like this," he said.
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yea this is a tad extreme I'll stick to gmb x hoh x misogynist
