Rape and Death Threats: What Men's Rights Activists Really Look Like

Men’s Rights Activists are rage-filled misogynists who claim feminists intentionally “cover up” issues like male rape and workplace injury rates so women can achieve global domination. Har. Those pesky feminazis, however, keep getting in the way, so it’s up to the MRAs to win the world over. And how do they do this? By threatening to “gag, rape and gut” bitches who dare to question their flimsy politics.

“Charlotte,” the red-haired women in the video below, was one of many protestors at a recent lecture sponsored by a Men’s Rights group at the University of Toronto. A MRA documented her attempts to read an article by our own Lindy West detailing how feminists also want to dismantle society’s archaic definition of masculinity. Charlotte was pissed off and feisty because she was consistently interrupted as she tried to explain how feminists hate the patriarchy, not men themselves. Her message wasn’t anti-men, it was anti-gender stereotypes and anti-oppression. But she wasn’t subservient. And now she’s paying for the crime of being a woman with a public opinion.

After the video received around 300,000 views in one week, thousands of MRAs joined forces to harass and cyber-stalk Charlotte: they’ve circulated her personal info, dredged up details about her past (one fellow told Charlotte that her dog who died years ago would be “disappointed” in her), and sent her messages threatening to rape and kill and rape her again — one of the more PG-rated ones promises that “we will not rest until your unholy blood is shed.”

MRAs argue that they oppose the marginalization and vilification of men and boys, but these are tried and true MRA intimidation tactics familiar to any woman who speaks out against misogyny. Is a feminazi whining about the gender wage gap again? Tell her to, as one Tumblr commenter told Charlotte, “enjoy being anally defilled”! That’ll shut the bitch up. Equal rights for all!

When the video went live, thousands of YouTube commenters weighed in with thoughtful comments like “Wow these bitches have got some serious rough grade sand in their vaginas” and “whenever i see a radically out of control feminist i just get this urge to shut her the fuck up with a proper cockin’.” Then the persistent whiners and dangerous ideologues at A Voice For Men (their advice on how to stop rape includes “telling feminists to shut the fuck up”) jumped in with an article by famed Canadian MRA Dan Perrins entitled “Little red frothing fornication mouth”, comparing Charlotte to Hitler and referencing her breasts. In a video that garnered over 246,000 views, the “Amazing Atheist” called the protestors “mindless cackling cunts” and repeatedly highlighted Charlotte’s sour attitude. She’s “the least likable person ever” he said with horror. Imagine a woman who doesn’t smile silently when she has an opinion!

MRAs contacted Charlotte via Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and defunct dating profiles. They discovered and circulated her work info and home address so others could intimidate her more effectively. The images in this post are just a few of the hundreds of death threats she’s received.

Charlotte told Jezebel that she’s asked the police for help but they’ve done absolutely nothing, even though some of the men harassing her, including Perrins, have a record of stalking/assault charges. “I’m not a public figure, I have no authority, no power… nothing,” she said, wondering why MRAs are spending so much time and energy trying to break her down. “They do this to intimidate and to harass, all while crying about why the evil feminazis think they’re all violent rapists.”

So what’s a woman like Charlotte to do? Ignore it? That’s what I advised when she first emailed me. As a Jezebel writer, I have multiple cyber-stalkers; the delusional dude who makes YouTube videos about what a cunt I am, the guy who dredges up bizarre and mundane details about my past, the r/CreepShots users who made my face their avatar on Reddit and promised me they would, naturally, “fap to it all night.” I hate being bullied and I’m often tempted to, as Charlotte did, yell right back. But I’ve learned that response only heightens subsequent harassment. It’s safer to stay quiet — and that’s exactly what MRAs are banking on with their barrage of cowardly, anonymous threats.

MRAs claim their goal is to call attention to the plight of male domestic violence victims, to lower male suicide rates, to speak out for men who can’t get custody of their children. A Voice for Men’s tagline is “Compassion for Boys and Men.” The hosts of the UT lecture said their goals were to “undertake consciousness raising outreach activities especially in areas of gender equality routinely ignored” and to “provide support to individuals whose equality rights have been denied.”

If MRAs actually wanted to mobilize behind the issues they raise, they’d stop whining about how hard it is to be a white North American dude and take action by, say, campaigning for workplace safety measures, or helping men and boys who are survivors of rape and domestic violence access the resources they need. But MRAs aren’t as interested in making things better for men as much as they’re interested in reasserting male dominance by silencing women.

Since their arguments are so laughably spurious, MRAs can’t successfully combat feminism with facts. That’s why so many of them resort to intimidation via threats of rape and violence. Hey, it’s how the patriarchy has operated for centuries. That’s how they know it works.