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Is the internet harming young men’s abilities to respect women?

In this unit we learned about how to teach with rhetoric. As a class we met with Troy LaRaviere and talked about his op ed. We learned about how to effectively use rhetorical tools to prove a point and farther our education. I researched MGTOW and how men are being drawn into this harmful group. In my op ed I used many rhetorical tools to convince and show my point

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Is the internet harming young men’s abilities to respect women? 

Many have heard of incel but not many know of MGTOW. That stands for men going their own way.They are a men's rights group with a strong but quiet online presence. Instead of being about accepting a life of being single they advocate for violence against women. 

The MGTOW website looks very professional. When you go you are met with a short video that looks like something out of a superhero movie. The video looks cool and appears to cater to younger men who want to be a hero. The website has nearly 33,000 members. That does not include those who read their propaganda without signing up for a membership. One of their articles states, “Quite obviously, all modern women have gone insane, and will proudly advertise that they have “More Issues Than Vogue.'' To a young and impressionable man this hints at the idea of women being crazy. They rely on stereotypes to push their beliefs.

           The statistics they provide (above) are correct but that doesn't tell the whole story. They are used to provide the notion women are oppressing men. Only 14.7% of murders are committed by women. It isn't women's fault that men are murdered at a higher rate because most likely they are not the ones doing to killing. Many of these comments fail to remember that it's not the male genetic material alone that makes mankind. The egg is also necessary. Women physically strained their bodies to give birth to them but they fail to recognize that anyone other than men played a role in their conception.
These points of views are all over the internet and in places where they can target young men.
Often the media they use is easily seen by insecure men. They put their information up where they can affect the most. With all the lies they spread it can be easy to believe them. As humans we generally want to be in groups. When emotionally fragile, seeing a large group of brotherhood can be very tempting. If struggling at having relationships with women, a place that demonizes women while putting up other men seems great.
 There are many ex incels/mgtow groups online. It seems like each day I am hearing more and more about those that leave the online woman hating movement. It hurts to see people regretting their past in such a way. It hurts to see the way these young men were manipulated into thinking that women are others.

Men online who are struggling with relationships do need a place to cope but that place can not be at the harm of women. These movements have been made as men, who were hurt, communicated their disdain for women and built up each others beliefs to be more radical. A healthy community is necessary. We just can't have those places spouting hate. Online supports are meant to help and not harm.
It's not just women who are getting hurt. MGTOW go after men who they view as weak for loving and supporting women. They attack their manhood and their strength. Many of the men on this website have been cheated on or harmed by women and they use that to fuel their hatred. They think all women are like that and will go after men who have happy/healthy relationships. When the men who are attacked stand up for themselves they claim he has been brainwashed. 
This community fishes for young men who have been hurt and lead them into a harmful lifestyle. The being on your own isn't harmful but hating an entire group of people for being born female is. We need to watch out as this grows as it inevitably will. We need to support men and give them options for help so they don't go this way. When people hate nothing can get done.

Works Cited
“No.” MGTOW No Comments, www.mgtow.com/no/.

u/Natuasi. “r/MGTOW - Another One Bites the Dust. Beta Male Blues.” Reddit, 2019, www.reddit.com/r/MGTOW/comments/dm1sqv/another_one_bites_the_dust_beta_male_blues/.

u/Harrymego. “r/MGTOW - Never Forget!” Reddit, 2019, www.reddit.com/r/MGTOW/comments/dm13st/never_forget/.


Kellermann, A L, and J A Mercy. “Men, Women, and Murder: Gender-Specific Differences in Rates of Fatal Violence and Victimization.” The Journal of Trauma, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 1992, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1635092

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