Tumblr editor Alexander Ryking has slash written about him, lashes back with misogyny

by MollyRen on Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:07 pm

Alexander Ryking, if you've never heard of him, is a Tumblr editor. I'm still sorting though his Twitter feed, where the drama is still going on, but apparently someone wrote some slash about him (perhaps in response to this thing he wrote earlier about Whitney Houston's death being less important than the deaths of people in Syria?). In response to that and other people's criticism, he has been to lashing out with misogyny and ranting about men's rights on Twitter:

This was his response to people circulating the above tweets on Tumblr:

So-called feminists have subjected me to white-bashing comments (even though I’m Hispanic) and sexist attacks impugning my manhood (slash-fiction scenes featuring me and heterosexual men; being called [homophobic slur]; being told to man-up; insults about my body;) by people who don’t realize I’m gay. After nearly two decades online, I learned early on that when you’re attacked, you defend yourself by attacking right back and just as viciously, if not more so. And that’s what exactly what I’ve done...

What’s really at issue here is not my rude behavior but that you and others like you want to punish any man who refuses to conform to your rancid, misandrist orthodoxy by discounting everything he says and using his gender and race as the excuse for doing so. I’ve been a target for some time of such radical “feminists” and seen this done time and again since I had the audacity to argue in favor of the 19th Amendment against a so-called feminist who called the amendment giving women the right to vote a crock of shit. (And if that doesn’t show the sorry state of feminism these days, I don’t know what does.)

David, would this be something you'd be interested in writing about?

by darksidecat on Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:10 pm

Wow, that's one ridiculous straw feminist there. She didn't want women to have the right to vote! XD

I wanted to add though that there is an element of homophobia in writing slash about someone as punishment/in an attempt to shame, and it isn't okay to use homophobic slurs. Of course, it isn't okay to attack women with sexism whenever they do something wrong either.

by BoggiDWurms on Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:18 pm

Feminism FAIL. The death of one amazing woman does not trump the deaths of 5,000+ Syrians. #p2 #tcot http://twitpic.com

What the hell does one woman's death even have to do with feminism. Rolling Eyes

by MollyRen on Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:22 pm

BoggiDWurms wrote:
Feminism FAIL. The death of one amazing woman does not trump the deaths of 5,000+ Syrians. #p2 #tcot http://twitpic.com

What the hell does one woman's death even have to do with feminism.

Even after scrolling back through his tweets, I'm not *entirely* sure, but I think someone identifying as a feminist said that the fact that he was belittling the response to Whitney Houston's death meant he was erasing a POC. Still, it's a pretty tangled web at this point--the guy's been yelling at people on Twitter for AGES.

by BoggiDWurms on Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:46 pm

MollyRen wrote:
BoggiDWurms wrote:
Feminism FAIL. The death of one amazing woman does not trump the deaths of 5,000+ Syrians. #p2 #tcot http://twitpic.com

What the hell does one woman's death even have to do with feminism.

Even after scrolling back through his tweets, I'm not *entirely* sure, but I think someone identifying as a feminist said that the fact that he was belittling the response to Whitney Houston's death meant he was erasing a POC. Still, it's a pretty tangled web at this point--the guy's been yelling at people on Twitter for AGES.

Another donkey. Let's just ignore him.

by **Nobby** on Sun Feb 12, 2012 8:31 pm

BoggiDWurms wrote:
MollyRen wrote:
BoggiDWurms wrote:
Feminism FAIL. The death of one amazing woman does not trump the deaths of 5,000+ Syrians. #p2 #tcot http://twitpic.com

What the hell does one woman's death even have to do with feminism.

Even after scrolling back through his tweets, I'm not *entirely* sure, but I think someone identifying as a feminist said that the fact that he was belittling the response to Whitney Houston's death meant he was erasing a POC. Still, it's a pretty tangled web at this point--the guy's been yelling at people on Twitter for AGES.

Another donkey. Let's just ignore him.

Frequently, simply ignoring is not the right answer. The recent trend of not ignoring people who use misogynist language is one of the reasons this stuff is becoming less acceptable (side note, it's not like this only just started, many people have been doing it for a while. But a larger contingent is now jumping on, and numbers help). In many cases, silence can come off as assent.

by MollyRen on Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:03 pm

Nobby wrote:
BoggiDWurms wrote:
MollyRen wrote:
BoggiDWurms wrote:
Feminism FAIL. The death of one amazing woman does not trump the deaths of 5,000+ Syrians. #p2 #tcot http://twitpic.com

What the hell does one woman's death even have to do with feminism.

Even after scrolling back through his tweets, I'm not *entirely* sure, but I think someone identifying as a feminist said that the fact that he was belittling the response to Whitney Houston's death meant he was erasing a POC. Still, it's a pretty tangled web at this point--the guy's been yelling at people on Twitter for AGES.

Another donkey. Let's just ignore him.

Frequently, simply ignoring is not the right answer. The recent trend of not ignoring people who use misogynist language is one of the reasons this stuff is becoming less acceptable (side note, it's not like this only just started, many people have been doing it for a while. But a larger contingent is now jumping on, and numbers help). In many cases, silence can come off as assent.

Also, Tumblr's got a huge social justice readership, so I doubt this will get swept under the rug.

by Pervocracy on Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:43 pm

Nobby wrote:Frequently, simply ignoring is not the right answer. The recent trend of not ignoring people who use misogynist language is one of the reasons this stuff is becoming less acceptable (side note, it's not like this only just started, many people have been doing it for a while. But a larger contingent is now jumping on, and numbers help). In many cases, silence can come off as assent.

Yeah, "just ignore him" is another way of saying "just let him get away with it."

We have the option to ignore people being misogynist--correcting them is not our job--but never the obligation.

by darksidecat on Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:12 pm

There is a portion of entitled douches who always pick the PoC and other marginalized celebrities when they complain about celebrities getting too much attention. It's never the birth of a white celebrity's baby that sparks their fits, but Beyonce and MIA get mentioned and shit hits the fan.

It is certainly worth noting that it is the talented, influential black woman artist who rose to fame in a time when not many black women musicians were on the radio who he picks as his example of too much attention being given to celebrities.

by **David Futrelle** on Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:37 am

He's being an incredible asshole, but the slash fic thing was a bit weird and questionable, and kind of muddies things.

by Rutee on Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:35 am

No, not really. You don't respond with sexism against homophobia.

I did like the "Misandry is on par with Climate ChangE" though, because Wahaha, one of them is a solid theory with predictive power, built on the evidence and standing up to at this point literally hundreds of attempts to disconfirm it, and the other is more or less Warren Farrel's pet theory that dovetails with none of the evidence.

by Pervocracy on Mon Feb 13, 2012 12:22 pm

I could understand him being upset, creeped out, disgusted, and/or enraged by someone writing slash fic to antagonize him.

But raging out at "feminazis"... what the fuck is that about? Was it particularly feminist slash fic? Did it include a chapter devoted to wage equality, or perhaps a section in which the characters discussed women's access to healthcare? Because that's about the only thing that would justify this to me.

by **Nobby** on Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:18 pm

Pervocracy wrote:I could understand him being upset, creeped out, disgusted, and/or enraged by someone writing slash fic to antagonize him.

But raging out at "feminazis"... what the fuck is that about? Was it particularly feminist slash fic? Did it include a chapter devoted to wage equality, or perhaps a section in which the characters discussed women's access to healthcare? Because that's about the only thing that would justify this to me.

"Oh, yes, YES!! Tell me about those contraceptive options, you dirty, dirty boy!"

by BlackHumor on Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:00 pm

Really, I think that's too broad. The only thing that could justify the term "feminazi" to me is an actual feminist Nazi.

...somebody who has experience at writing slash, PLEASE pair Ryking with a feminist Nazi.

by Pervocracy on Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:51 pm

BlackHumor wrote:...somebody who has experience at writing slash, PLEASE pair Ryking with a feminist Nazi.

um please let's not do any part of this please.

by **jumbofish** on Mon Feb 13, 2012 10:40 pm

Really, I think that's too broad. The only thing that could justify the term "feminazi" to me is an actual feminist Nazi.

...somebody who has experience at writing slash, PLEASE pair Ryking with a feminist Nazi.

How about.....no? Also slash isn't het (if said feminazis are women).....

by **David Futrelle** on Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:47 pm

He's being a misogynist douche, no question about it, and I'm pretty sure he was throwing around the c-word pretty freely before this whole thing even blew up. I'm just saying that I think it's creepy for people to write slash fic in order to antagonize people they don't like.

by **Ami Angelwings** on Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:36 am

I'm with David. His response to it was ridic and awful, and what he said before was assholish. But I think writing porn involving him without his permission is pretty unseemly. :\ It'd be like drawing porn of him, or photoshopping his face onto porn. If some troll did this to David or somebody on this blog, we'd think this was problematic, and I think that's all David is trying to say...

by Pterygotus on Tue Feb 14, 2012 2:54 am

Writing slash fiction about real people is fucked up anyway, no matter what.

by Baron_Blackheart on Tue Feb 14, 2012 6:20 am

Pterygotus wrote:Writing slash fiction about real people is fucked up anyway, no matter what.

Yeah, I feel highly weirded out by real person fic. Especially when it is done to antagonise people.

However, Ryking is still being a horrible person. If someone makes porn of you and you don't like it, just ask for it to be taken down.

by darksidecat on Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:04 am

I'm just saying that I think it's creepy for people to write slash fic in order to antagonize people they don't like.

Yes, and it's extra messed up to do it towards a queer person you dislike, which happened here.

by BlackHumor on Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:43 pm

...I hope it was clear that was supposed to be a joke. I don't actually think it's okay to write slash about real people any more than any of you; I was really just going for the absurdity of the pairing.

That said, jumbofish, I'd think once we're talking about something as unlikely as a feminist Nazi, a male feminist Nazi shouldn't be that much weirder.

by **jumbofish** on Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:02 pm

That said, jumbofish, I'd think once we're talking about something as unlikely as a feminist Nazi, a male feminist Nazi shouldn't be that much weirder.

Feminazi is a pretty much a gendered insult to women. I've never seen male feminists being called that. ....Not that it makes too much of a difference in the end

by BlackHumor on Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:11 pm

...if you're arguing about what I meant, I think I'm kind of the authority on that.

But if you want an explanation: Feminazi is a weakly gendered insult, because "feminist" is weakly gendered female. Which is why "male feminist" needs to be specified, which is why I specified slash between Ryking and the feminist Nazi.

Now, could we please stop talking about this joke? It's clearly not funny and I regret ever making it.

by **jumbofish** on Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:23 pm

I'm not arguing on what you meant actually, I'm trying to explain why I was confused you described it as slash. I interpreted "feminazi" as female because its an insult mostly aimed at women. People have a weird ideas about fanfics/slash so I said something because I thought you misunderstood what slash was.

Now, could we please stop talking about this joke? It's clearly not funny and I regret ever making it.

Well sorry you don't like it being discussed but you brought it up in the first place.

Tumblr editor Alexander Ryking has slash written about him, lashes back with misogyny

Tumblr editor Alexander Ryking has slash written about him, lashes back with misogyny

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