Absurdity
Manosphere Demands Mr. Magazine In Response To Gloria Steinem's Death
By BSN Staff, . BSN Network. Satire.
LOS ANGELES, CA: Gloria Steinem, the pioneering journalist, activist, and co-founder of Ms. Magazine, died this week at the age of 90, leaving behind a legacy that reshaped American political life, advanced the cause of women's equality across six decades, and, most urgently, raised the question of whether there is a magazine called Mr.
There is not, according to forums.
"I'm not saying what she did wasn't whatever," wrote user AlphaRealist88 in a thread that accumulated 4,700 upvotes within the first three hours of Steinem's death being reported. "I'm just asking a simple question. Mr. Magazine. Why does it not exist. I'll wait."
He did not have to wait long. Within minutes, forty-seven users had replied to confirm that they, too, were waiting.
The movement, which analysts are calling both organic and deeply confusing, spread rapidly across platforms, with participants sharing images of Ms. Magazine's iconic covers alongside the word "Hm" and nothing else.
Several participants appeared unaware that magazines marketed to men include Sports Illustrated, Esquire, GQ, Popular Mechanics, Field and Stream, Car and Driver, Men's Health, Men's Journal, Maxim, Playboy, and approximately nine hundred regional hunting publications. This information, when provided, was described as "not the point."
"The point," explained forum moderator and life coach DukeOfLogic, in a post he later pinned, "is the principle. You can't have a Ms. and not have a Mr. That's just basic fairness. That's just math."
When a commenter replied that Ms. is a honorific chosen specifically to avoid disclosing marital status, and that its use as a magazine title was a deliberate reclamation of women's independent identity, DukeOfLogic responded: "Okay but still."
The thread was archived as a landmark document.
Not all responses were measured. User PatriotDadActual submitted a detailed four-thousand-word business plan for Mr. Magazine, which he described as "the magazine for men who are done apologizing." The proposed first issue featured a cover story titled "Grilling: A Right, Not A Privilege," a finance column called "She Can't Have Half If There's Nothing Left," and a lifestyle section with tips for explaining to your doctor that you don't need a prostate exam because you "feel fine."
The business plan received seventeen offers of seed funding totaling approximately four hundred and thirty dollars.
Dr. Leanne Forsythe, a media historian at the University of Southern California who asked not to be quoted extensively because she has, in her words, "a finite number of remaining years," offered brief comment.
"The magazine industry has catered to men continuously since the invention of the printing press," she said. "The emotional response we're observing is not about magazines."
She declined to elaborate.
A spokesperson for the Ms. Magazine Foundation, reached for comment, issued a statement noting that the organization was focused on honoring Ms. Steinem's extraordinary life and would not be responding to the Mr. Magazine discourse at this time.
The statement was screenshot and posted to seven forums under the caption "They're scared."
As of press time, a Change.org petition demanding the creation of Mr. Magazine had gathered 2,100 signatures. The petition's stated goal is 10,000 signatures, at which point the creator, who listed his name as J. Bradford Cole III, says he plans to "send it somewhere."
Gloria Steinem is survived by her work.
The petition is at 2,101.
The story we are making fun of: https://thehardtimes.net/breaking/manosphere-mourns-death-of-gloria-steinem-founder-of-ms-magazine-by-asking-why-isnt-there-a-mr-magazine/