It has been FUN here at Shiny Towers today! It has been FUN and it has been CONTROVERSIAL and it has been ENLIGHTENING! It seems that Katie Lee, previously of Shiny Shiny, previously of Dollymix, has called Fark on their sexism, and it hasn't gone down well. Not well at all...
Yesterday, she posted a story over on Dollymix, about her top ten women's sites. It was in response to a previous column she wrote about the lack of female-friendly communities you could find online. In passing, she mentioned that an example of a hostile site for women was Fark.
This was then Farked, and then the shizzle really hit the fedrizzle (or something).
The Fark feed, seen here, so far boasts 675 comments. There's pictures of naked women, there's jokes about rape, violence against women and lots more fun stuff. The comments section of Dollymix is on 61, and unsurprisingly, it consists of similar stuff - you're a whore, die in a fire, etc etc. There's comments on the legitimacy of the list (odd, since it's obviously opinion rather than being pitched as a definitive list) and there's comments on whether sites that involved 'traditional girl things' like crafting should have been included.
What there's not is anything indicating that the internet isn't hostile to women. And by women, I mean the ones who would rather not have every comment she makes responded to with a picture of breasts or the hilarious ironic comment that she should get back to the kitchen (that one really does never get old).
I'm more than familiar with YouTube commenting fun (yes, it's me here, the one who was told she should be raped by an orang-utan) and no, I don't think anyone is surprised at the level of hatred coming from the Farkers. It's what they do in their corner of the internet.
But seriously, they're not stupid. Or at least I didn't think they were. Has the world descended into some kind of post-post-post modern mess, where in order to refute the claim that Fark is unfriendly towards women, they are complete asshats (new favourite word) to a woman?
Jesus.
Nikon S1000pj: World's First Projector Camera
I'm probably on the wrong site now, but I don't even know what a FARK is!
maybe if women posted sexist rubbish on men's comments, they'd soon get the message. Or maybe, sadly not
Good point, RosieC - I have an awful habit of assuming everyone spends as much time on the internet as me! Fark is a site where people recommend stories to each other, and has a reputation for members 'flaming' (insulting) most other community members. You can find it at www.fark.com.
But the thing is, they're like that to everyone, whether it be male, female, vegetable or mineral. As many commenters pointed out!
And I should know - I use it everyday, and love it to death. It's humour, and their brand of humour isn't exclusive, they treat everyone the same, and will be the same offensive jokers about men, too.
If they didn't, that'd be sexist, surely?
I wouldn't worry about those Farkers ladies. Most of them are joking. The ones that post sexist pictures/comments I assume fall into one or more of the following categories:
* They have little to no experience with women
* They are constantly turned down by women
* They have been recently emotionally hurt by a woman and are being a baby about it.
* They are hen-pecked at home by their wife
That would probably cover about 99% of them. The other 1% may be psychotic and would actually say those things in public or be physically violent with a woman.
I just feel sorry for all of them.
Anyway, I'm a woman and I enjoy going to Fark and reading both the articles and the comments. Some of the comments are just comedy gold.
I agree with Susi.
I love Fark because they bash EVERYONE equally (except for Floridians).
Just read a few of their posts and you can see they constantly use sarcasm to make fun of themselves in the mix.
IF one is set on finding misogynistic behavior on Fark, it can easily be done. It's plain old confirmation bias. The same goes for misandry, really- there are just more male users on Fark than female.
If you are the type of woman who can't bake a cake without shitting herself about gender roles, you might find Fark hostile. You probably find *all sorts* of fairly benign things hostile.
Hostility towards women on Fark is not endemic. The linked thread has borne that out. There were far more women who posted against the gist of the article than in support of it. Predictably, those women have been disrespected and disregarded by the whinging minority.
Why don't those opinions matter? Do the women who are offended think they know better? How paternal.
If you want to see hostile, try posting something against the grain on a feminist site like Pandagon. You'll be banned so quick your head will spin.
Fark is an open forum which welcomes all types. If you don't like it, don't visit.
ya know, I've been sayin' it since I was like three years old: BOYS ARE STUPID! but to be fair, girls are too.
Awesome to see the Shiny Shiny community understands Fark the same way we do. You guys are awesome
And I am redundant with the awesomes, just replace that second one with another good adjective
Please go to 4chan and ask them to review your pink blog about chicks using shiny electronics, they will be more understanding than farkers
Could you tell us about other joke sites, where you were shocked to find jokes? Please, we want to hear about it.
I think people will play up to the stereotype that you set for them. So if you called them sexist morans, they'll oblige and exaggerate to extreme levels for you. Plus, it's a humour site.
Fark doesn't hate women exclusively. It _mocks_ everyone and typically in poor taste. If you have a real conversation with most farkers (imposable on fark) you will find they are generally fairly smart and enlightened. It's basically a big stitch and bitch.
so fark just linked to this article about farks comments about another article which offhandedly mentioned fark. can this end now please. anonymity leads to overt bigotry, overt bigorty leads to humor, humor leads to acceptance.
One other thing to consider is that most people who would post an offensive comment or picture in response to your article are indeed joking, and that is the joke. Of coarse they (we) don't really feel that way. We are making fun of the stereotype, of they people that actually do feel that way. We are showing how rediculously stupid it is to actually believe and think something like what we are posting, because when we post it everyone can see how stupid it is, and that is funny. To us.
I think the problem here is that people aren't even considering stepping outside their own gender roles when they log in. If people are incapable of escaping their gender roles when they have complete anonymity, maybe they shouldn't have a problem with sexism. Gender's a hangup in a place that it doesn't need to be.
penis penis penis vagina penis
for the love of God,
it's a website.
shut the fuck up.
"maybe if women posted sexist rubbish on men's comments, they'd soon get the message. Or maybe, sadly not"
There already is a site that does this. It's called www.hillaryis44.com.
Me like girls good. Me click on link to see what girls boobies look like. Me stupid man. No brain. Me having my little sister type this for I as me too dumb to type.
I'm a totalfarker, and a male. I'm not very hostile towards women, but I am hostile towards white people who put '-izzle' at the end of words. Like you did, twice in one sentence.
"Has the world descended into some kind of post-post-post modern mess, where in order to refute the claim that Fark is unfriendly towards women, they are complete asshats (new favourite word) to a woman?"
So, in other words:
-you insult fark
-fark takes issue
-fark responds harshly to your comments
-you are a woman
ergo, fark is sexist?
Using your gender in such a way is asinine. People are not being asshats to you because you're a woman; people are being asshats to you because you're being asshats to them by misrepesting them and the site they freqent. There's nothing sexist or postmodern there, despite the claims in your last paragraph.
But for anyone who visits the site: it's actually an excellent site. It's popular for a reason, and as long as you don't lie to everyone about its content then you'll be welcomed.
Why did you sign your post "Jesus"?
Are you having delusions of grandeur?
Good job ignoring all the "I'm a farkette and her list is totally BS" comments in the Fark thread. Good job not mentioning all the replies from females in that thread that were totally Fark positive and loved it *because* one can be an asshat to anyone there and do so all in fun and it be taken all in fun. Why did you totally fail to mention this aspect?
Proud Farkette
shinyshiny.tv is definitely benefiting from all of this, no matter what their opinion is. Even starting the smallest flame with people on fark will induce thousands upon thousands to visit your website. Theres a reason we say that a link is "farked."
Enjoy the extra advertising revenue. You can thank fark.
1. Write article about how Farkers are misogynistic bastards.
2. Get linked to from Fark. Watch traffic and ad revenue jump exponentially.
3. ????
4. Profit.
No underpants theft required.
okay, you get one, and only one, serious comment from me, a longtime farker. After that it's back to the old.
Fark forums are exercises in sarcasm, irony, shock-jocking, wit, journalistic anti-authenticism and most importantly: maintaining a self-reflective sense of humor. Those who take it seriously are exactly the targets of the people who typically comment on it. If you go to a Fark forum and take everything they say literally, you create a victim out of yourself. The lesson here is to not take yourself so seriously. So if you feel attacked or offended, it's no fault but your own.
Do a barrel roll, and/or I'll stick it in your pooper.
Quit whining and make me a sammich.
/Farker
//Thinks it's appropriate that Super Desux shows up on the Google Ads
How YOU doin?
I'm sorry. I'm a woman, I enjoy Fark, it's an equal opportunity offender. Beyond that, I really have trouble taking a 'women's site' seriously when it's solidly pink and has a "Hello Kitty" tab in its header. I'll stick to EnGadget for my tech news.
^ OWNED
You should check out www.bannination.com, they treat all people with respect, especially women.
Can't we all just get... the women to get nekkid and rub baby oil on themselves???
No, seriously.
I hope you get raped by a platypus.
So, this is like a girl geek blog? And you review phones, ipods, and dildos?
Way to blow peoples minds.
You're like the Rosa Parks of the internet.
Only you suck.
by Susi "But the thing is, they're like that to everyone, whether it be male, female, vegetable or mineral. As many commenters pointed out!
And I should know - I use it everyday, and love it to death. It's humour, and their brand of humour isn't exclusive, they treat everyone the same, and will be the same offensive jokers about men, too.
If they didn't, that'd be sexist, surely?"
I could not have said it better - fark on!
Fark comments should (usually) be regarded as sarcasm -- a point you seem to have misunderstood.
That is:
sar·casm
1: a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
In other words -- the Fark thread should be read as retaliation through sarcasm.
Oh, you thought they were talking about raping *women* ?
Fark doesn't discriminate on gender, there are much better things to discriminate about. Like being Dutch.
Actually, I hope you get raped by a platypus... while fixin' me a sandwich.
Are you kidding me? There's a reason why men are increasingly becoming misogynistic, and this site is a great example of it. Somehow, treating men with disrespect, and in extreme cases, loathing, intentional emasculation, and scornfully mocking what men are, is now what passes for "women's liberation".
I make jokes about getting back in the kitchen etc, but as for how I treat a woman that treats both themselves and me with respect, they get nothing but respect back. I think that goes for most men out there, but those women are so few and far between that the perception now amongst all the self-entitled daddys girls is that they are somehow mistreated when we don't toe the line to their every wish.
I'm more than happy to discuss the issue at great length, but something tells me that most of the people here, men and women alike, are unwilling or incapable of taking a long hard look at themselves and their actions to really make a discussion worth while. Grow up.
do you have any topless pics of the girl manually stimulating the sex toy in the picture?
It's stuff like this that makes people want to go to sites like fark.com. This is such a joke, it deserves the ridicule it is receiving.
This site is a disgrace to women because you actually have a tab for "Hello Kitty". What grown adult woman do you know is a fan of Hello Kitty? Thats kind of hard to take seriously. Everyone gets made fun of on Fark--even you. Have fun milking this for all its worth and remember to THANK Fark for the increased revenue and traffic for your site.
Fark is all about fun. Mostly sarcastic fun, but fun, nonetheless.
I think you're missing some of the irony, and assuming that the over-the-top "hostile" comments and comics posted on Fark in were actually hostile.
Going into a Fark thread assuming denizens will be hostile, then seeing over-the-top hostile commentary, it's understandable you could misinterpret it at face value, rather than see the internet's inherent brand of tongue-in-cheek irony at work.
In posting such overtly, blatantly, hard to take seriously hostile comments about women, it's the internet's way of telling you to relax. Nobody actually believes any of the stuff they posted. I would be genuinely surprised if any of the men in that thread honestly believe anything they said.
But what they're trying to say is that the perceived "hostility" is a relative non-issue, by comparing it to how bad it could be, or how sexist and terrible it used to be say, 30 years ago.
Does "female-friendly" mean you can't make fun of women? Because Fark, while certainly "male-friendly", tends to make fun of men. A LOT. And lots of other groups of people.
Here is the comment I posted yesterday:
This is not a venue for the faint of heart.
People, women or otherwise, who take themselves too seriously are going to get their asses handed to them in short order.
If you don't like raunchy jokes, insult contests and impassioned arguments about everything from baseball to stem cell research, and if you can't handle ethnic slurs, extremes of the political spectrum and very blunt talk, this may not be the place for you. Not saying those things are all wonderful, but they're all part of the FARK landscape.
If you can enjoy what's on here without getting your undies in a bunch because not everyone shares exactly the same point of view as yourself, there's a lot to enjoy here.
If you voice an opinion, be prepared for an argument. If you can't handle that, you probably shouldn't be using the internet unsupervised.
What FARK is not: Facebook, MySpace, a lonely hearts club, an agony aunts forum, a place to post pictures of your kids, a huggy place to have your "feelings validated", or an online version of "The View".
What FARK is: an informational "human interest and news of the odd" website with a message board attached. Some of the message board/"community" members are fine human beings and some are flaming assholes -- just like any other random group of humans.
If you're jake with that, take a virtual seat and hang on to your hat.
If not, don't let the door hit you in the ass.
/that's my experience, anyway
//[I am a]woman
How the hell does that support _this_ assertion (below)?:
*****
"What there's not is anything indicating that the internet isn't hostile to women. And by women, I mean the ones who would rather not have every comment she makes responded to with a picture of breasts or the hilarious ironic comment that she should get back to the kitchen (that one really does never get old)."
*****
Go ahead, keep on publishing whatever you want to, regardless of the truth. Then sit back and wonder why "the internet is hostile to women".
Bimbette.
I'm guessing by mentioning FARK your site has seen more traffic in the last few days than it's ever seen. I'd be interested in seeing your traffic figures.
...and if you really knew anything about FARK you'd know that FARK isn't hostile to women... FARK is hostile to everyone... nothing is censored and nothing is out of bounds.
What a horrible thing is freedom.
Typical female perspective... if it's not how I want it it's wrong.
Congratulations, you've just deleted 50 years of women's liberation and independence, with your naive lack of humour and misunderstanding of the internet. I'm surprised you even know how to blog, such is your lack of knowledge about typical internet humour. And please - asshat? What, you've only just started using the internet this week? Don't make a fool of yourself and use words you've only just heard of on Fark, because they're 'cool'. You're banned from using that.
Still you have got what you wanted, a shitload of traffic from Fark, though I hope this is the last time they link to you, you don't deserve to earn any more ad revenue from all this extra traffic. I know I certainly will not be returning to this ugly website, it's amazing you can actually find sponsors for your hideously designed site and even worse videos.
You just failed so badly at the internet, and life. Stay the hell off our Fark too, we don't want you lurking anymore.
Drew, is it possible we can block their IP addresses and ban them from Fark?
BY THE WAY, I AM A WOMAN, AND OFFENDED BY YOUR SEXIST BLOG. Knitting. Pink. 'Shiny'. Really? Is this whole blog satire?
" in order to refute the claim that Fark is unfriendly towards women, they are complete asshats (new favourite word) to a woman? "
They got the Idea from Islam.
You know, how everytime someone calls Muslims violent, they treaten violence to prove they are not.
I think the phrase "cry me a river" comes to mind.
If you continue to just pick the articles that you think fit your world view, then sure Fark is probably not woman friendly. Try reading the other 99 percent.
"humor leads to acceptance"
yeah, that's why rape jokes aren't funny. I don't like people making jokes about something that was done to me against my will, that's taken a long time to come to terms with. That I've never even so much as thought about reporting to the police because of the popularity of victim blaming. See, that's what rape jokes do. Hysterical, huh?
Oh, and I'm a grown woman who *adores* Hello Kitty.
As a female moderator on Fark, I'm really getting a kick out of this temper tantrum of a non-story. Go on, girlies -- keep faux-pouting in the corner over the number of hits Fark has generated for you over the past two days. Hey, maybe you can make up some more crap and draw it out for a full week!
People make jokes about rape and violence directed towards women? They must really support such actions. Right girls? Right? Female farkers must be so horribly oppressed...
Oh, and there's no nudity on fark.com. Kudos on your research skills.
I'm a farker and I'm really getting a
kick out of these replies...
I agree with many of the others in saying that this blog, basically, is a huge step backwards for women and an insult to thinking people everywhere. What you have made here is the web version of the "Math is hard..." spouting Barbie doll by playing into the pink, delicate, "knitting, doll-collecting, and baby-factory-role filling" stereotype of women that should have burnt up with the last bra in the 60's. And this article? And the one before it? Nothing but sexism towards males (especially the first article which read as a girls-only club with appropriate boy-bashing inserted to make grrrl power seem bonding) which *gasp* you caught flames on when those you bashed called you on it.
My wife who, last time I checked, is female took a look at this site and wanted to vomit. She agreed, without prompting or coaching on my part, that this site SHOULD have been designed for 6-12 year old girls and that women, real women, deserve something less 'cute' because they have worked hard to become equal to men and damn well deserve to not be pandered to by a webmaster who probably thinks up most of her articles while gossiping with her friends in the beauty parlor and getting her ideas of reality from teen magazines and Harlequin romance novels.
In her words: "If you want someone to take you seriously as a woman, then ditch the pink unless you're selling Mary Kay or promoting breast cancer awareness, pick whatever damn crayon you want to out of the box, and don't sniffle into your perfumed Kleenex when your reverse sexism turns around and bites you in the ass."
"yeah, that's why rape jokes aren't funny. I don't like people making jokes about something that was done to me against my will, that's taken a long time to come to terms with. That I've never even so much as thought about reporting to the police because of the popularity of victim blaming. See, that's what rape jokes do. Hysterical, huh?"
Actually, the only reason you're hung up about being raped, is because YOU made yourself into a victim. If you could laugh about it, you'd probably get over it right quick. Let me tell you a story:
During a logging operation in South America, workmen stumbled upon a hitherto undiscovered tribe of jungle people. When anthropologists and sociologists descended upon their jungle village, they quickly discovered something interesting.
The tribe had no concept of rape.
Tribesmen thought nothing of simply grabbing a tribeswoman and having their way with her. What's more remarkable however, is that even when the tribeswomen displayed signs of unwillingness and lack of consent, they were not shaken by it. No emotional scarring. No trauma. No weepy Lifetime specials about retaking your life. When questioned about the aggressiveness of men in their tribe, the women would shrug, and essentially state in junglese that "boys will be boys", and that how else were they supposed to have children?
So yeah, I'm gonna blame the victim, but not for the reasons you think. Sure, you got raped. Think about what the act is. It's just having sex when you don't want to.
The only reason being raped is such a crushing, shameful stigma in our society, is because we've elevated women and their genitals to some ridiculous degree of purity and divinity. Anyone who dares defile the sacred altar of womanhood is worse than a murderer. In reality, it's just someone having sex with you when you don't feel like it.
Well, women aren't sacred. Women are pieces of shit. So are men. We're all animals, unfortunately animals that made up a bunch of silly rules about how things should be done, and now we suffer for it.
Depresso wrote a great example of what gets flamed on fark. Yeah, this is a great thread to preach about rape jokes. I'm convinced she (or he) is inciting a flame war. Comment sections of humor sites are not for describing your emotional trauma, fucktard! There's a new "favourite" word for Katie, that limey bitch.
/Fark is way more discriminatory toward Floridians.
i wouldn't expect anything less from us farkers. but your 15 minutes of fark induced fame should just about run out noooo........w
I'm an older FARK-er and come from a time before the majority of the site users were born. Back when girls wore saddle shoes and bobby socks, kids said 'yes sir and yes ma'am' and you didn't consider a 6 year old boy a sex offender for kissing a 6 year old girl on the cheek. (Yes. It happened.)
I don't find FARK particularly offensive to women. Yeah, there's boobie pictures and sexual comments -- but you'll find that all over the place. Especially with the anonymous nature of the Internet. I found AOL chat rooms to be extremely offensive, slanderous, very hostile to everyone, combative and always there was some annoying creep who managed to clog the system with some form of program that repeated a phrase about 100 times.
FARK is none of that. FARK commenters usually think. FARK commenters do not hold grudges. Behind the facade of beer guzzling, boobie ogling, baseball cap wearing clod hoppers are a host of sharp and intelligent minds, quick to track down errors and quick to reason things out.
You can't tell a FARKER that high gas prices are just because of OPEC. He or she will laugh at you and produce a mass of data pointing out how your own people are happily bending you over the barrel. Discussing politics is liable to ignite a flame war but you'll be hammered with facts among the usual garbage. If you make a FARKER mad, he's not going to follow you across the boards and harass and ridicule you -- as I've seen happen on some 'better' boards (The name has Dope in it). He'll forget about it. It's very rare when a FARKER gets obnoxious and crude when disagreeing with you.(He might call you the male offspring of a female dog instead of just a b###h.)
Unlike in other boards.
FARK doesn't have to make sense, but it does.
Women are welcome to post as they please and if they choose to criticize males, then they're welcome to do so. However, just like on every other board, you reap what you sow. FARKERs usually encourage lady FARKERs to post. They're welcome to throw out sexist comments just as heavily as the males.
FARKERs have fun. Tell them not to post a picture of your holy icon and within minutes, they'll be a dozen or so funny caricatures and cartoons -- many obscene -- up on the board and they don't care if you declare a holy war and riot and mainly destroy your own stuff while convincing the rest of the world you're idiots.
Several powerful media outlets would not publish a picture of Mohammed and one program, known for ridiculing everyone, especially Christians and Jews, pulled it's Muslim episode. FARK published pictures. The news outlets were informed about FARK's stance -- and not one of them chose to mention it. Not one of them published any pictures either.
FARK doesn't care what sex you are, what color you are, what religion you are or if you're gay or lesbian. Just be prepared to back up your statements and comments and, nearly always, there's someone on FARK who actually knows more about what you said than you do.
FARK is FARK.
Live with it.
Hey now. My view is that if one creates a female/feminine ID on Fark, one is screwed. If one creates a male/masculine ID and says Whore shut up a lot, then one fares better. That's the design of Fark. I guess one could say, that's the fun of it.
Fark is remarkably conservative, in the cultural sense. Its denizens see themselves as brave, etc., but in fact, it's a well-padded cell for folks to play in, with plenty of structure. That's why the rape jokes and so forth stand out the way they do.
I can't help it that I laugh at Fark. I'm not saying I laugh at everything, some of it is too low even for me, but we get grins off it at our house.
The amount of text generated here by farkers in the last day just goes to show how deeply sensitive the boys over there really are, and how easily riled up, despite all their humor.
If you felt you had to post here to insult ShinyShiny/defend fark, that's just the internet's way of telling you that you're taking your masculinity just a wee bit too seriously.
Hey LizAnn.
I hope you get raped by a badger :|
Hello. Female member of fark here. Maybe it is just me but I've never been offended by comments on there. True, some may be in poor taste, but the majority of people are joking. (And if they're not, so what?) What I can't stand is women getting all pissy about things men do. Feminists are the ones who need to grow up and take the higher moral ground when they find someone offensive. Personally, I was offended by the "top websites for women" (do you really think all women are interested in that shit?) but I'm not going to go around bitching about it.
Show us your first post
I get it, the first 22,000 hits weren't enough for you, so you thought you'd try again.
We're fine with whores, but you're a greedy whore.
@afemalefarker: you are SO not filterpwned.
I'd rather be raped by a badger than have sex with most farkers (there are a few exceptions - I'll bet I'll have email from them by tomorrow morning). If farkers are anything, they're desperate for sex and attention from women.
But I just popped in again to say, at least this site (Shiny Shiny) is pretty. And DollyMix is too. The caption buttons are prettier, the overall design is prettier.
Not all women are into this stuff, but I am (and so are some men). Believe it or not, some men actually have aesthetics.
Farkers, OTOH, will hit almost anything, as all the farkers know.
So, continue your solo fapping, Biff - it's helpful in keeping populations down and your genes out of the gene pool.
@Some Farker: oops I meant YOU are so not filterpwned.
@LizAnn: Man up and grow a pair.
(see, that's what we low-brow types call "obvious misogynistic ironic sarcasm!)
You should attend a fark party in your town sometime. you'll find they're all quite harmless and friendly, except for the guy who hogs all the good beer DREW.
@LizAnn: "I'd rather be raped by a badger..."
pics or it won't...didn't...hasn't...when...
uh.
I am glad to see shinyshiny taking a firm stand for true feminists everywhere. Clearly you have won this fair battle for the internets. The fact that many women find serious issues with the Fark community makes me worry about my gender.
You honestly think you are right? And you think Polly or whoever is right?
Wow. What a sad state of affairs... the REAL feminists... you know the ones probably way older than you that lived through some genuine oppression? .. yeah they are rolling in their graves right now. Just like most of today's "empowered women/feminists" ... you have nothing left to fight for so you make up shit. Keep up the good work.
Idiots..
..or as you so eloquently put it .. "Jesus."
Oh, I've got lots of pictures - but I'm not sharing with you farkers.
Feminism sucks, so that's a good reason that men shouldn't emulate it - which is exactly what a bunch of you are doing. Masculinism doesn't even sound right.
Bunch of panty waist Nancies, actually. No truly masculine manly man ever feared a woman.
If you really read fark, you know that plenty of farkers are skeered of girls.
Seems as if you're an asshat as well. I AM a girl, and I posted an offended comment on that stupid top ten list. You're both idiots. Really.
It's getting confusing, knowing who is responding to whom and who is an asshat and who is not.
One thing is certain: many farkers are really funny. Of course, if there weren't a number of patsies willing to be straight men/foils, it wouldn't work so well.
I've been a farkette for about 8 years and yeah, some farkers are asshats, but there are asshats everywhere. That site makes me laugh until I cry sometimes, and I just don't pay much attention to the asshats. I've never thought of the site as demeaning to women anymore than it's demeaning and takes shots at everyone else.
What's funny is that the word "rape has been mentioned more times in this comment thread than in yesterday's flame fest on Fark.
What's nothing short of miraculous is that Godwin has not been invoked.
Farkers will tear down anything you put up. Such is the way of the internet.
You know who else liked shiny shiny things...
/happy to oblige.
"I'd rather be raped by a badger than have sex with most farkers (there are a few exceptions - I'll bet I'll have email from them by tomorrow morning). If farkers are anything, they're desperate for sex and attention from women."
I never thought I'd hear those words coming from a woman.
"I'd rather be raped by a badger"
*drops to one knee* Marry me? :D
Well most Farker HATE the TSA, but they love their caturdays.
pussy wants cheese
I tried to read your list of top ten women's sites, but fell asleep halfway through. Do you find it annoying when guys snore while you're talking?
Personally I was far more offended by the implicit assumption in your list that all women love celebrity gossip and fashion than any of the comments on Fark. I enjoy reading Fark since it's a great source for news and the comments are sometimes pretty funny or insightful. They even have a sense of humor about everyone assuming all Farkers are geeky white boys living in their mamas' basements.
And yes, I'm a woman.
Everyone gets insulted at fark, including the male gender. Women are nothing special. And the cracks about "Get back in the kitchen" aren't demeaning women so much as they are mocking the stereotypical male chauvinist. Katie did far more to insult women by trivializing their interests with her list of vapid girly-girl websites.
You know the thing about sexism that bothers me most, as a humanist, not just as a male, is that is it most commonly considered "male against female", a concept that in itself is so unbelievably sexist that it rivals 'Irony' for a place in the dictionary.
For those of you that haven't visited Fark, its http://www.fark.com.
You'll find tons of different opinions. Some will offend you, some will enlighten you, some will make to ROTFL. Some will make you blow milk out of your nose. Even if you haven't drank milk in a while.
Those with shallow minds and opinions, such as the 'sexists', but also racists, and any other narrow minded folks, are panned heavily.
The thing about FARK that makes it most unique in the internets is that you can say anything you like. Its reader-patrolled. If you are someone that is intolerant, you'll find an educated, and uninterested crowd.
Most of all, its a place where we can look at the miasma that the news provides us and laugh our asses about it. Its a place to find unbiased news (e.g. reports that don't get censored at CNN) with hilarious commentary and deep discussion.
Its what we the readers make it, and that's why its so popular. We FARKer's are tired of being spoonfed what some news exec thinks we want to hear today.
If you would like to discuss, you can email me at shakewellbeforeopening@gmail.com. I can always block offensive emails, so I don't mind posting this, and welcome dialog that is productive.
I'd love nothing more than to change a narrow perspective into a broader one, and I feel that the article above was a bit narrow in the author's interpretation of an entire community of PEOPLE due to a few article posts.
Don't listen to Joel. He's a wuss.
Wow, some of you women on here are pretty stupid. First off very few men on Fark are actually sexist pigs as you like to make the claim. As many already said, it's just their brand of humor, mostly in ironic spite against people like those who wrote the article. Most farkers (both sexes but let's assume male):
a) Either are married or have a girlfriend
a1) Got laid in the last month or so
b) College educated, many post-graduate
c) Have a life outside the website
d) Don't take themselves too seriously
e) Can debate and talk of a serious topic much better than most sites I've seen out there, with more equal representation of opposing views
f) Know that one of the main attractions of the site is to demonstrate how full of shit many in the news are, and of asinine writers who don't take a minute to think, and if you give them fuel expect a big fire
That said, to you girls who still haven't gotten the clue, you can go keep to yourselves and your illusionary holier-than-thou world, we real people will go about our lives and enjoy the company of women who can think highly of themselves without having to revert to reverse-sexism and distorting the truth.
/Now go make me dinner so you can give me a BJ afterwards
//Average farker: in college, dating a girl, has a life. Scary isn't it?
///Also, the girl I'm dating and myself consider ourselves feminists. Try processing that in your self-righteousness
Um, excuse me...I am a female. I have been happily married for the past 7 years. I take care of the house and work out of the home. I am an artist and writer...oh yeah...I'm also a Roller Girl.
I enjoy the company of males over most females.
You know why I have a problem with females?
Because most females quake in fear at anything that isn't pussy pink and tied up in a pansy little bow.
I have posted on Fark for about the past 5 years and found it to be on of the best sites on the internet.
You ain't a feminist, sweetie though you pretend to be.
Now, get your bitch ass into the kitchen an bake me a cherry pie. If you bake it right, I'll let you watch "The View".
Um, excuse me...I am a female. I have been happily married for the past 7 years. I take care of the house and work out of the home. I am an artist and writer...oh yeah...I'm also a Roller Girl.
I enjoy the company of males over most females.
You know why I have a problem with females?
Because most females quake in fear at anything that isn't pussy pink and tied up in a pansy little bow.
I have posted on Fark for about the past 5 years and found it to be on of the best sites on the internet.
You ain't a feminist, sweetie though you pretend to be.
Now, get your bitch ass into the kitchen an bake me a cherry pie. If you bake it right, I'll let you watch "The View".
Um, excuse me...I am a female. I have been happily married for the past 7 years. I take care of the house and work out of the home. I am an artist and writer...oh yeah...I'm also a Roller Girl.
I enjoy the company of males over most females.
You know why I have a problem with females?
Because most females quake in fear at anything that isn't pussy pink and tied up in a pansy little bow.
I have posted on Fark for about the past 5 years and found it to be on of the best sites on the internet.
You ain't a feminist, sweetie though you pretend to be.
Now, get your bitch ass into the kitchen an bake me a cherry pie. If you bake it right, I'll let you watch "The View".
Um, excuse me...I am a female. I have been happily married for the past 7 years. I take care of the house and work out of the home. I am an artist and writer...oh yeah...I'm also a Roller Girl.
I enjoy the company of males over most females.
You know why I have a problem with females?
Because most females quake in fear at anything that isn't pussy pink and tied up in a pansy little bow.
I have posted on Fark for about the past 5 years and found it to be on of the best sites on the internet.
You ain't a feminist, sweetie though you pretend to be.
Now, get your bitch ass into the kitchen an bake me a cherry pie. If you bake it right, I'll let you watch "The View".
I just have some things to say to "LizAnn" (I won't even deign to comment on her name...).
I normally wouldn't care to rant, but I was a victim of rape while in college. No alcohol or drugs involved, no stupidity on my part, unless you count trusting a so-called "friend" of mine at the time. And you know what? When I hear of situation that are indeed serious (and especially involving children or the mentally impaired), I AM outraged by it. But merely hearing a joke about rape does not make me break down and cry or get all bothered about it. You learn to deal with your situation and live one day at a time. Eventually, though you may never forget it, you come out a stronger person for it. I have a wonderful fiance, am going to law school this fall at a top school, and I don't dwell on the things that have made my past difficult. Even if women fear repercussions (as I did by not allowing the university take the guy to court), they can still face their situations with dignity and get some much-needed counseling or help.
If you actually visited the site and paid any attention at all (which I guess you can't without some "shiny" objects, "cute" background, or Hello Kitty), you would see that no one on Fark approves of rape itself. The tags posted with the stories themselves prove that. Their jokes are about ridiculous situations, false cases, and the general idiocy of the offender or the public at large, depending on the story. I can find these jokes humorous without feeling like I'm betraying myself or the pain from the assault that I experienced. So don't use that excuse for hating a site that you just find too erudite.
If you truly are that offended by Fark, and Farkers themselves, then do the obvious and simple thing a child would do. Avoid the site and the posters. Do not search out things to argue over that make you feel self-important. As for feminism, it should be dead. Equality will only come when people realize that we shouldn't even have to think of gender at all. You want equal rights... yet men cannot mock women in the same manner as women mock men? You can't have it both ways. I am saddened by the state of the world we live in when a joke can't be a joke, sarcasm is misunderstood so easily as hate and blown way out of proportion, and we can't just do the mature thing and move on.
I have touched an Elk and spirited away its soul to my inner sanctum. You have been touched by FARK and all your website now belong to it. Do not be afraid, little no-horn. Someday, the great pasta man will descend and fire all of our asses equally. But even on that day, I will have the Elk spirit while you merely have pantyhose of such name. Perhaps by touching Elk, or the horn of those of who captured the essence of the Elk, you would be less moody.
"Sheesh, women!"-Prof. Farnsworth
Um, I think you got me confused with someone else. I'm not the one pondering or favoring rape jokes. I'm the one who someone wished would be raped by a badger.
I don't find it funny either. I don't find your easy outrage interesting either.
I read Fark as much as you do, and you really didn't read a thing I said. Probably the way go about things in general, half-assed.
Try to read more carefully, sister, you're not the only victim in the world.
And Miss Conduct - there's no need to type that captcha and hit the post button like four or five times. Once is enough.
I can't believe I'm deigning this trollbait with a response, and I doubt you'll read this, but here goes.
Look, I'm a geek. My girlfriend is a geek. Most of my friends are geeks. Interestingly, most of my friends are geek *women*. They play perfectly fine with the boys, they're just as dirty as we are, just as horny as we are, just as willing to give and take a joke, and just as tough as we are. The friends of mine I've sent this site to nearly vomited. They're perfectly happy to play on the real internet, the one that isn't cute and cuddly.
The idea that there needs to be a "women friendly" internet is so utterly horrifying as to defy expectations. The internet is the literary wild west. There's something to offend *everyone* here. Deal with it, think of it as a test of your social skills. Mature people know enough to understand that most of what's posted on fark is humor. Some of it's in bad taste. Oh well, that's life. Shrug and move on, and you should understand that most of the misogynistic humor on sites like fark is less the reinforcing of the misogyny and more the sarcastic criticism of a happily dying set of stereotypes.
Also, look up the word troll, because your article here means you've been successfully trolled. Is it possible you're trying to fight fire with fire?
Asshats really? That is SO 2001...(I sound like a girl now right?) Humor. It's funny.
Gender relationships are a double-bind. No matter what men (or women, for that matter) do, it's always wrong. Any activity can be viewed in a way that makes men appear oppressive, sexist and misogynistic. I even had my ear chewed by a raging feminist because I warned her that the man hole cover was slippery. All I got for my innocent comment was an oral defecation about how it was a *person hole* cover.
There has been so much attention paid to feminism over the years that men have been left by the wayside. Simply mentioning this fact is grounds for being called a sexist and misogynist. Young men have equally high rates of eating disorders as women, but for the most part go untreated and unreported. Most eating disorders in young men are combined with steroid use in an attempt to achieve similarly unrealistic goals of personal appearance.
The social pendulum has swung to the far side of the arc (meterosexuals) and is now swinging back as men reclaim their masculinity. More and more, men are staking out a part of the home that is their domain, and not just the garage or the workshop. My own father claimed one of the spare bedrooms as his "Loading Room" where he would listen to music and load ammo for his weekly trip to the shooting range (before you discount him as being a "redneck" or other label, he was a retired US Army Colonel and board-certified Periodontist). The other room he claimed became his music room where he would listen to the stereo and play his many instruments.
I think I speak for many men of my generation when I say that we feel that the modern culture of feminism and political correctness has emasculated it's sons. I am a feminist, it's one of the things I learned growing up, but I have yet to meet a woman who is actually fighting for true equality. When women take to the streets to demand mandatory registration with the Selective Service at 18, then feminism will have arrived at true equality - not just of privilege but also of responsibility; at least that is my yard stick for measurement.
Well maybe if your site didn't suck and would tell me on this end that the comment was accepted, I wouldn't have to do it 5 times...dumbass.
It looks like this article has the highest number of comments ever on Shiny Shiny. Of course, it probably broke that record once the tally hit double digits...
Fark might well be the best thing that ever happens to this awful little website.
What's insane about all this was that Fark was just mentioned in passing. These people must have egos of glass to take such extreme exception to this. Honestly, calm down guys, it was a column about the fact that there aren't many decent websites for women, it wasn't about Fark. Get over it.
You are just being mocked exceedingly for daring to object to being mocked. The only nonStupid response is to mock back. But it has to be funny, or you will be seen as dull, not shiny.
Try a challenge of some sort, like a photoshop or caption challenge. Because you are losing badly at the battle of wits...
Here's a tip. You're giving Fark hits. If you'd just avoided posting an article at all, they'd never have known and as a result the discussion about this topic wouldn't still be going on.
everyone loves hits. keep them coming
and in internet language, hits means clicks. So don't go stating that I support spouse abuse
I say, isn't this all very exciting? How ironicacal. Keep up the good work Liz.
So let's get this straight.
Step 1. Make broad generalizations and derogatory comments painting all members of a popular website misogynists and hostile towards women.
Step 2. When said members respond by flaming you say, "See! They are hostile towards women!" ... Thus "proving" your point.
// Attention-whore much?
Dear ShinyShiny,
The Poker Club here at Fark will see your vagina, and raise you one penis.
You forgot Step 3.
Step 3. Assume that because there are broad generalizations, and lots of raucous humor, there simply MUST only be chick-haters on the site, offer a completely stereotyped and archaic set of things that allegedly represent what women want, and in doing so, completely piss off and alienate and make nauseous those that you claim to represent.
I'm a rabid feminist who also happens to be a member of Fark, and who couldn't get through a day without it.
Fark is an open forum. It is representative of a fairly broad cross-section of humanity. To call Fark sexist is to mirror the fundamentalist Christians who call Wikipedia anti-Christian.
I am sure there are some sexist people who post on Fark, and they occasionally post some idiotic things. But much more frequently, you'll encounter an idiot Republican, an idiot Democrat, or an idiot Independent.
Why? Because if you post an idiotic sexist comment, you aren't going to find support for your idiot viewpoint.
Allowing people to express viewpoints other than your own is not the same thing as supporting those viewpoints. Freedom of speech sometimes means that you hear fascist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted comments. Freedom of speech itself is neither fascist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted. Learn the difference.
Because I work in a traditionally male role, I have been subjected to sexism both at university and at work. Sexism exists, and it sucks to have to deal with it. Dealing with it is much harder when people make sexism claims like this where it doesn't exist.
OK, I give. When did Jesus start blogging and why didn't I get text messaged about it?
Hahaha, girls on the internet, good one!
Ouch.
I read FARK, but I don't always agree with what they post. And I hate being lumped in the generic mass of men. I like to think of myself as an old-fashioned gentlemen. I say Ma'm, hold doors for ladies, even when I get flamed at for doing it by said ladies.
Please, don't judge all of us by a few jokers in the bunch?
As a Farkette (& former TFette (some guy paid for me to have full membership)), I gotta stick up for my fellow Farkers.
Fark is basically a news site for snarkers. News of either importance, amusement or stupidity is submitted and Farkers/Farkettes pass comment. Normally in the traditional internet manner of snark, dirty comments and often Not really all that Safe For Work pictures. With a few memes thrown in.
Occasionally there is serious debate, and even good advice.
More often its all about fapping and flaming.
THats what Fark is.
It's not sexist. Its just like that to everyone and everything.
And thats what Fark is. Geek's blowing off steam.
Gotta love it.
Fark, 4chan, same thing really.
Someone wrote a guide to the internet a while back saying the only way people got recognized was by being as obtuse as possible and completely ignoring the tenets of good society. They, unfortunately, are completely correct. The internet is not a "the best and the brightest win" type of society. It's a "whoever makes the most noise and makes it in the funniest or most offensive way wins" type of society.
That may be cynical, but it seems to be the direction we're headed in.