Feminism and Censorship - An Example From Norway

A 2012 report from The Nordic Council of Ministers, Hvordan motarbeide antifeminisme og høyreextremisme (How To Combat Anti-Feminism And Right-Wing Extremism), connected anti-feminism with right-wing extremism and further claimed that anti-feminists desire a society where women have no rights, and are oppressed, and that anti-feminism and political terrorism are related. The paper advocated that research into anti-feminism and anti-feminist harassment be prioritized, that an independent organization for tracking anti-feminism be established, and that people with anti-feminist stances should be put under state surveillance. The report also considered those who believe that gender equality has been achieved as anti-feminist [1].

Suffice to say, the report was not well-received in Norway. Other countries which are much more "infused" with feminism, such as Sweden, did not see much of a reaction (though, there could be a reason for that).

An article written in the Norwegian magazine Dagbladet, "Sensur av feminismekritikk" [2] ("Censorship of criticism of feminism"), noted the enormous range of people included as being anti-feminist in the report [NB: Norwegian first, then the English translation]:

Hvis du mener det ikke finnes en slik maktstruktur, eller at likestilling er oppnådd, er du ifølge rapporten antifeminist. Da faller minst tre fjerdedeler av Norges befolkning i kategorien.

If you believe there is such a power structure [that is, a natural hierarchy], or that equality has already been achieved, you are an anti-feminist according to the report. But, three quarters of the population falls into that category.

An example is given about Norton Anti-Virus' use of crowdsourcing to determine which sites to block as hate groups. Since people have taken issue with men's rights groups, over 80 of such sites have been blocked by Norton software. No feminist sites have been blocked.

The article continues:

I forrige uke fikk BLI-departementet overlevert en rapport fra Reform - ressurssenter for menn, finansiert av Nordisk Ministerråd. Trykksaken er en oppsiktsvekkende tynn, politisert røre av likt og ulikt, i sin helhet basert på guilt by association, og sterkt preget av svensk radikalfeminisme. Rapporten foreslår at «antifeministisk trakassering og hatefulle ytringer» må bli straffbart. Vi må få «laverterskeltjenester» for rapportering og en årlig nasjonal kartlegging av antifeministisk virksomhet som truer grunnleggende demokratiske verdier.

Last week, the "BLI-departementet" was handed over a report from Reform, a resource center for men, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The pamphlet is a remarkably thin, politicized touch of this and that, based entirely on guilt by association, and strongly influenced by Swedish radical feminism. The report suggests that "anti-feminist harassment and hate speech" should be punishable. We need to "lower the threshold" for reporting and have an annual national survey of anti feminist activities that threaten basic democratic values.

Further on censorship:

Det bør ikke handle om å straffe eller bekjempe meninger og ideologi, eller sette kvinner i en særstilling.

It should not be about punishing or repressing opinions and ideology, or putting women in a unique position. But it does so in the report.

The last line of the article is an amusing^a (and excellent) summary of the situation (it applies to other countries, as well):

Å overlate ytringsfriheten til feministene, er som å bortplassere hunden hos taksidermisten (en som stopper ut dyr).

Leaving freedom of speech to the feminists is akin to leaving the dog with the taxidermist (someone who kills the animal).

The Comments

The comments on the article were equally perceptive (and entertaining). The comments have since been removed in their entirety, unfortunately.

Feminisme er den merkelige oppfatningen at et problem kan løses, ved utelukkende og fokusere på en part i en sak som har 2.

Feminism is the strange notion that a problem can be solved by entirely focusing on a single party to a case that has two.

Stalin definerte alle meningsmotstandere som antikommunister (akkurat som antifeminister) og deporterte dem til Gulag og Sibir. Det gikk 4 - 5 millioner liv tapt og 80 år med diktatur, sult og nød. Den lille snevre eliten av militante feminister er akkurat like onde og de har fri tilgang til spalteplass i media.

Stalin defined all opponents as anti-communists (just like anti-feminists) and deported them to Siberia and the Gulag. It went from four million to five million lives lost and 80 years of dictatorship, hunger, and deprivation. The small, narrow elite of militant feminists are just as evil and they have free access to coverage in the media.

Kvinner er jo kjent for å forandre mannen hun har kapret så mye at hun til slutt ikke lenger vil ha ham. Det er vel i grunnen akkurat det som er i ferd med å skje her i Norge også, bare i større målestokk.

Men for å være litt mindre spøkefull; det finnes ikke noen mannskrise i Norge i dag. Det er bare oppspinn som kommer fra en gjeng med frustrerte feminister. Jeg tror derimot at menn begynner å blir rimelig lei alle kravene og all sutringen fra det offentlige feministapparatet. Og når menn nå begynner å ta til motmæle, skjønner ikke kvinnene noen verdens ting - mannen må jo være forvirret og i dyp krise, for ikke å svelge alt feministene påstår av urettferdighet som visstnok begås daglig mot den norske kvinnen.

Women are known to change the man she has captured so much that she eventually no longer wants him. That's basically exactly what is about to happen here in Norway too, just on a larger scale.

But to be a little less facetious, there is no man crisis in Norway today. It is all nonsense coming from a bunch of frustrated feminists. I think, however, that men are starting to become reasonably tired of all the requirements and all the whining from the public feminist set. And when men are beginning to raise objections do not realize that women have nothing at all - the man's got to be confused and in deep crisis, not to swallow everything that feminists claim is injustice that is supposedly perpetrated daily against Norwegian woman.

Some comments originally in English:

Today dominates a state feminism that depicts women as oppressed and in need of help to get by in life. It is wrong, and I think the attitude is humiliating for women. Unlike feminists, we believe that women are strong and can do without help.

Feminism, as an ideology, has a right to be discussed, debated and criticized as any another ideology.

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[1] "Antifeminism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifeminism)

[2] Rolness, Kjetil (22 March 2013). "Sensur av feminismekritikk". Dagbladet. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

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a. Likely a reference to Camille Paglia: "Leaving sex to the feminists is like letting your dog vacation at the taxidermist."