# RO: Rebecca Watson of Skepchick, You are a \[very bad word\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 4, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468 "2013-12-04T12:55:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/141 "2013-12-06T18:43:01Z")
> [@Depakote\_Chopra](#): > > Rebecca Watson is a STRONG EMPOWERED WOMYN who settles for no less than a Justin Theroux lookalike. > > Anything below that ? WOW JUST WOW ITS RAEP CULTURE 11!!11!!111!!! My god, **Manda** , you’re psychic! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/142 "2013-12-06T18:45:21Z")
> [@Depakote\_Chopra](#): > > Rebecca Watson is a STRONG EMPOWERED WOMYN who settles for no less than a Justin Theroux lookalike. > > Anything below that ? WOW JUST WOW ITS RAEP CULTURE 11!!11!!111!!! > > That elevator dude (I know the Irish love their booze, but how drunk do you have to be to find that ugly nerdling Rebbecunt worthy of your dik ?), yes, he wanted to fuck her. Tooo bad she din’t find him fuckable at all. Yes, she’s a nerd. Barely a 4. But she’s got the requirements of a 9. > > I’m an atheist, but I banged religious gurlz that were actually less religious than her. She’s the priestess of privileged hypergamy and PC Meyer is her prophet. > > Saint Tumblr, pray for the annihilation of the vile heterocisgenderedwhitemale bigot ! You are a very strange person. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/143 "2013-12-06T18:48:04Z")
> [@Depakote\_Chopra](#): > > Rebecca Watson is a STRONG EMPOWERED WOMYN who settles for no less than a Justin Theroux lookalike. > > Anything below that ? WOW JUST WOW ITS RAEP CULTURE 11!!11!!111!!! > > That elevator dude (I know the Irish love their booze, but how drunk do you have to be to find that ugly nerdling Rebbecunt worthy of your dik ?), yes, he wanted to fuck her. Tooo bad she din’t find him fuckable at all. Yes, she’s a nerd. Barely a 4. But she’s got the requirements of a 9. > > I’m an atheist, but I banged religious gurlz that were actually less religious than her. She’s the priestess of privileged hypergamy and PC Meyer is her prophet. > > Saint Tumblr, pray for the annihilation of the vile heterocisgenderedwhitemale bigot ! I have never considered putting someone on my “ignore list” before. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/144 "2013-12-06T18:53:10Z")
And as if on cue to prove my point… ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/145 "2013-12-06T19:02:29Z")
> [@naita](#): > > It didn’t “offend” her. It made her feel uncomfortable. No - Watson said man ‘sexualized’ her. Her exact words. It’s OTT even if we take her account of the conversation as 100% accurate. So she was weirded out - not surprising, she was drinking at the bar until 4am. If she felt uncomfortable, whatever - but she shouldn’t be surprised when a) other women suggest that Watson might not be doing her whole feminism thing any favors (as one commentator said: ‘after spending decades of fighting for equality in all areas, including sexuality, this isn’t helping’), and b) when she then goes into bitchy catfight mode at someone that dared disagree with her, she’s pretty much just saying that everything is about Me Me Me. That said, the ‘no Elevatorgate if the guy was hot’ statement was probably out of line, so I’ll retract that. Also, um…Just to be clear I want no part of whatever \*\*Depakote Chopra \*\*is smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/146 "2013-12-06T19:03:28Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Are you really this stupid, DragonAsh? Apparently: > [@DragonAsh](#): > > And what the hell difference does the time make? Is she saying she would have interpreted it differently at 4pm, or 11:15am, or 9:30pm? ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/147 "2013-12-06T19:19:27Z")
That’s a magnificent post, **Depakote Chopra**. Truly a thing of beauty. The best part is, I’m unsure whether you’re sincere, or so over-the-top that you’re actually trying to make the side you’re ostensibly on look terrible. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/148 "2013-12-06T20:38:36Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > This thread really shows the catch 22 that women are in. A catch 22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules. Here, the escape is pretty simple and easy: Just say something like “Sorry, I have to get up early tomorrow, but thanks anyway.” Then forget about it. Of course, I have a strong feeling that Rebecca Watson very much likes being propositioned by men, so long as those men meet whatever standards of attractiveness she has. I have a strong feeling the real sin of the man in this situation was – to use the language of pickup artists – that he was a weak, cloying, beta male. And that he was unattractive to boot. Reminds me of [this video](http://www.break.com/video/ugc/more-sexual-harassment-training-289293). ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/149 "2013-12-06T20:48:01Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > Come on, everyone knows “I’m super hot, of COURSE she wanted to sleep with me” is a perfectly valid defense against rape accusations. Channing Tatum has never been accused of rape. Draw your own conclusions. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/150 "2013-12-06T20:52:55Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > A catch 22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules. Here, the escape is pretty simple and easy: Just say something like “Sorry, I have to get up early tomorrow, but thanks anyway.” Then forget about it. The magic phrase “Sorry, I have diarrhea” does wonders. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/151 "2013-12-06T20:56:23Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > A catch 22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules. Here, the escape is pretty simple and easy: Just say something like “Sorry, I have to get up early tomorrow, but thanks anyway.” Then forget about it. > > Of course, I have a strong feeling that Rebecca Watson very much likes being propositioned by men, so long as those men meet whatever standards of attractiveness she has. I have a strong feeling the real sin of the man in this situation was – to use the language of pickup artists – that he was a weak, cloying, beta male. And that he was unattractive to boot. I’m starting to feel like a broken record. First of all, can you acknowledge that there’s a difference between a guy walking up to a woman in a crowded bar and initiating conversation and the situation in the elevator? Because there’s a big difference from the perspective of the person being hit on, no matter how attractive they are. I promise. Second - and I am totally not understanding this train of thought - is it somehow a bad thing that someone sleeps with people they want to sleep with and not with people they don’t want to sleep with? Are you seriously condemning her for only wanting to sleep with people she finds attractive? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/152 "2013-12-06T21:11:36Z")
How one choose to depict oneself- even if they decide to pose nude- should not mean that their opinion on being objectified, or how they are treated in general, is somehow less valid. It is wrong to behave in a way that has a significant chance of making a woman feel reasonable fear or discomfort, _even if they have posed nude (or something similar) before._ It’s a mark against you if you think that because a woman chooses to depict herself in a certain way, that means her opinions are less valid, or she can be treated differently. I’ll confess that I shared, at one point in my life, most of the unfortunate opinions by many of the male posters (including the OP). I’m so glad I’m out of my 20s. I thought I was a nice guy, but in a lot of ways, I really wasn’t. Sex obsession on the brain really made me a jerk sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/153 "2013-12-06T21:24:50Z")
> [@DragonAsh](#): > > No - Watson said man ‘sexualized’ her. Her exact words. It’s OTT even if we take her account of the conversation as 100% accurate. I thought I was disagreeing with you on whether she was offended or felt uncomfortable. This is a very poor argument against my point. To quote from the video: > [@](#): > > “this makes me incredibly uncomfortable” > > “don’t invite me back to your hotel room right after I finish talking about how it creeps me out and makes me uncomfortable when men sexualize me in that manner” Feel free to consider it over the top to characterize being asked for coffee alone with a member of the opposite sex at 4 am in a hotel room as “sexualizing”, if I woman did it to me I’d certainly interpret it that way, but saying Watson was offended, rather than felt uncomfortable, is disregarding her plain description of her feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/154 "2013-12-06T21:54:52Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > Of course, I have a strong feeling that Rebecca Watson very much likes being propositioned by men, so long as those men meet whatever standards of attractiveness she has. I have a strong feeling the real sin of the man in this situation was – to use the language of pickup artists – that he was a weak, cloying, beta male. And that he was unattractive to boot. Holy shit. Holy, holy, holy shit. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/155 "2013-12-06T21:55:56Z")
Hell, even Pick-Up Artists like Mystery or whatever his name is\* teach that you should never try to pick up a woman in a situation where she doesn’t have a way to get away from you (I think the example he gave was sitting in front of a woman on a bus rather than beside her, if you wanted to chat her up, so that she wouldn’t feel threatened. \*Have never done any PUA type stuff but read some of The Game after that all blew up a bunch of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/156 "2013-12-06T22:07:06Z")
Well, say what you will about how sexist I may be perceived to be, at least I’m not **brazil84**. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/157 "2013-12-06T22:17:19Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > I’m starting to feel like a broken record. > > First of all, can you acknowledge that there’s a difference between a guy walking up to a woman in a crowded bar and initiating conversation and the situation in the elevator? Yes, I can acknowledge that there is a difference. Still, even assuming that Miss Watson’s account of the situation is correct, what the man did was sufficiently mild that it was within the realm of reasonableness. > [@](#): > > Second - and I am totally not understanding this train of thought - is it somehow a bad thing that someone sleeps with people they want to sleep with and not with people they don’t want to sleep with? Not at all. > [@](#): > > Are you seriously condemning her for only wanting to sleep with people she finds attractive? No, I am condemning her for the unreasonableness of her position, i.e. criticizing those she finds unattractive for mildly hitting on her as well as for obfuscating what appear to be the true reasons for her condemnation. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/158 "2013-12-06T22:20:51Z")
There’s no evidence for **brazil84** ’s ridiculous interpretation of Watson’s condemnation. Not surprising, considering the source, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/159 "2013-12-06T22:34:55Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Well, say what you will about how sexist I may be perceived to be, at least I’m not **brazil84**. Yep. You gained bonus points in my view just through juxtaposition with his post. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468/160 "2013-12-06T22:39:30Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > what appear to be the true reasons for her condemnation. “Appear” to you for no discernible reason. Will somebody please repeat this comment so he’ll see it? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-rebecca-watson-of-skepchick-you-are-a-very-bad-word/675468.md?page=9)