I came across this article today from AskMen.com instructing men to “Be More Like Edward,” referring to the character Edward Cullen from the Twilight series. Even though I do like Twilight, I’m not exactly obsessive and when I saw the title of this article I thought it would be sappy and silly. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how astute the gentleman at AskMen.com are when it comes to interpreting why ladies drool over a fictional vampire. In addition to breaking down the reasons, the article also provides quite good advice for men in emulating Edward’s swoon-worthy qualities. My favorite tip in the article is this one:
“Always do the basic chivalrous things your dad taught you: open her doors, help her with her jacket, pull out her chair, walk closest to the street, etc. And don’t do this only for her, but for all women. Show respect not just to your girl, but to the important people in your life and hers.”
You can read the entire article here.
Now, I’m sure if I dug around AskMen.com I would probably find at least one article less gentlemanly than this one, however the fact that they even have this article at all is very telling of desired relationship dynamics between the average man and woman, something feminists simply refuse to acknowledge.
When compared with the cover of, say, a Cosmopolitan magazine, the AskMen.com article makes it impossible to ignore just how degrading these “women’s” magazines are. Instead of talking about finding a man with Edward-like qualities and being the type of lady who would attract that kind ofguy, Cosmo covers have tips on “Bad Girl Sex: These 12 Moves Will Show Him Your Really Naughty Side,” and “Little Mouth Moves that Make Sex Hotter.” Classy. Check out this mock-up of a compilation of Cosmo headlines (click the image to read an excellent article on how feminism has ruined women’s lives):
From the Daily Mail
If you ask me, AskMen.com seems to get women waaaay better than Cosmo ever will.
Thank you artschoolnerd for continuously being the voice of reason on this blog.
Alyssa.
1.) You also specifically mention, “If you ask me, AskMen.com seems to get women waaaay better than Cosmo ever will.” Opinion, yes, but also shows just how little you’ve delved into AskMen.
2.) “(click the image to read an excellent article on how feminism has ruined women’s lives):” Sounds like you’re blaming all of feminism. That said, I’m pretty sure the “third-wave” is whats going on now in feminism, not the 60’s. In fact, most feminist theory I’ve read suggests that *gasp* different women need different things. Some women need sex on a purely physical level more then others. Some like one night stands, some prefer monogamy, some even want to wait until marriage. Mainstream feminism actually encourages people to (men and women) to figure out what they like and to not feel shameful for it. Where as on this site, all I’ve read is how BAD I should feel if I have casual sex. How SHAMEFUL it is for gay people to express their sexuality. How no woman should ever have sex before she’s married. I’m sorry, but I think you need to check your definition of oppression and degrading. Feminism never made me feel like my worth was based on how sexy I am or how much sex I have. But conservative values have certainly made me wonder I’m really worth less because I had sex before marriage.
1) This is a blog, not a news site and I’m not a journalist, so I don’t really have to have journalistic integrity. That being said, I did not say that AskMen.com as a whole was “classier” than Cosmo; in fact I mentioned specifically that I’m sure I’d find some less-than-gentlemanly articles on AskMen if I look around some more. I was simply highlighting this one article that I thought was pretty good.
2) No one is saying that feminism as a whole has ruined women’s lives; I certainly have the utmost respect for the suffragette movement. But the third-wave, radical “women’s lib” movement from the 60s is completely degrading to women. These radicals want women to believe that their power and liberation comes from their their ability to give and receive sexual pleasure. I’m sorry, but if you don’t find that completely oppressive and degrading then I truly feel sorry for you.
I think the day you do so little research that you find Ask Men to be “classier” then cosmo is the day journalistic integrity dies.
I don’t MIND when a man opens a door for me and such, I don’t like when a man does it because I’m female. I hold doors open for other people, it’s polite, it’s something a decent human being does for another human being. I don’t even think I’d notice if a guy always walked closest to the street. That one in particular is so outdated. (On rainy day it might make sense but hey, accidents happen, it’s not like manure sits in the streets waiting to attack an expensive dress like in ye olden days)
Why do we keep talking about women as if they are one size fits all? There’s individual preferences here that this site seems to never pay attention too.
That said, feminism has not ruined my life but instead given it a chance to be. Had feminism never happened, my mother would not have been able to divorce my abusive father. Who knows what my life could have been had none of us ever gotten away from him? And feminism you say ruins lives. I say it shows that we at least have lives.