Lucy Morgan speaks out against Roosh V’s ‘disturbing hatred of femaleness and femininity’

Roosh V, the so-called “pick up artist” who has previously said rape should be legalised on private property has organised all-male meetups across the country this week.

Roosh V (real name Daryush Valizadeh) has set up an international gathering of his followers on Saturday, and is saying girls, gay men and transgender people are not welcome.

Roosh V is a self-confessed “neo-masculinist”.  He believes rape should be legal on private property.

On his forum for like-minded men, one guy posted a disturbing guide to picking up Newcastle women.

Ahead of his supposed Newcastle meet-up this weekend, Lucy Morgan, Vice President of FEMSOC at Newcastle University and Gender Equalities officer at NUSU tells The Tab why Roosh V and his followers shouldn’t be able to continue to fester.

Every so often I step outside of my feminist bubble and meet someone who tells me: “There is LITERALLY no need for feminism anymore!!!” Every time I’m faced with this minor annoyance, I thank the relentless stupidity of misogynists. Because let’s face it, they’re not exactly subtle. Roosh V exerts a special strain of woman-hating that is so brazen, knackered feminists like me need hardly argue the point at all.

A quick look at his website and you’re met with gorgeously nuanced articles with titles such as:

• Women Must Have Their Behavior And Decisions Controlled By Men
• When No Means Yes
• Girls Are Huge Fucking Liars

Bitter? Roosh? Nah.

But even though I think this guy’s a joke, I can’t just ignore him. His profile has risen alongside the conception of “menimism” – a movement largely defined by questionable fashion choices and harassing women online. Menimists interpret feminism as a personal insult – rather than taking time to understand the benefits it provides for all genders.

Maybe, if we lived in a post-feminist utopia, we could ignore Roosh V. But unfortunately as it stands, rape and sexual assault have become an epidemical issue. The perpetrators of this violence are validated by Roosh V. He vindicates rapists and incites a disturbing hatred of femaleness and femininity.

Lucy fighting for women at Reclaim the Night

Oh and I might as well drop this in here: Protesting against men like Roosh V is not an attack on their free speech. In case you hadn’t noticed, Roosh V runs an enormously successful website called “Return of the Kings”, in which his anti-feminist propaganda is free to circulate and be absorbed by whomever comes across it. But in what world should “freedom of speech” entail men the right to sexually assault women?

His misogyny, as ever, does not come on it’s own. Only straight men are allowed to Roosh’s meet ups. It’s telling that in order to be welcomed to the “We Hate Women” club you also have to wanna fuck them. Furthermore, his misogyny is grossly racialized – reminiscent of the pick-up artist Julien Blanc whose racist attitude, particularly towards Japanese women, resulted in him being banned from several countries.

It chills my bones to think that in this city, at my university, there are men who support Roosh. The bitter delivery of Roosh’s online misogyny is at least distanced, I can close the window and stop giving his website hits whenever I like. This is not a luxury afforded to me in real life. If men in Newcastle, egged on by Roosh, intend to hurt me then I cannot simply turn my laptop off and pretend it’s not happening.

Ultimately, Roosh V is the embodiment of what feminists have been telling you for years: This is still happening!

Sexism is still happening – and with harrowing results. If Roosh V and his follower’s misogyny is allowed to fester, then the consequences are to be disastrous and dangerous for women. Roosh V’s sad existence is indeed comical, but it’s got to the point where I’m not laughing anymore.