White knight Joss Whedon tries to win his feminist credentials back, gets dragged

As you might remember, “Avengers” director Joss Whedon’s feminist ally credentials took a bit of a hit when his ex-wife dropped a bomb on him in the form of an article in The Wrap detailing years of affairs.

He still considers himself a feminist, though, even though he calls Ivanka Trump “sweetie” and tweeted that “Sam [Bee] was too kind” when she called Ivanka a “feckless c**t” on her cable TV program.

So pardon us when we’re less than impressed with his latest attempt to shore up his feminist credentials. This time he’s taking on a piece in the Los Angeles Times about University of Toronto psychologist and author Jordan Peterson.

For those not in the know, “incel” stands for “involuntary celibate,” and it’s sort of becoming a thing now, unfortunately.

So what has Whedon so upset this time? Cathy Young, a contributing editor at Reason, writes that Peterson’s sometimes wrong, but he shouldn’t be written off:

In reality, Peterson’s ideas are a mixed bag. He says some sensible and insightful things, and he says some things that rightly draw criticism. But you wouldn’t know this from reading Peterson’s critics, who generally cast him as a far-right boogeyman riding the wave of a misogynistic backlash. That’s a mistake.

For all his flaws, Peterson is tapping into a very real frustration: More than half a century after the modern feminist revolution began in the 1960s, we have yet to figure out new rules for partnership between men and women.

She concludes:

For all its successes, contemporary feminism’s main message to men is not one of equal partnership. Rather, it’s: Repent, abase yourself, and be an obedient feminist ally — and we still won’t trust you. It’s no wonder that Peterson has found an eager audience in this climate. If feminists don’t like his message, they should offer a better one.

It’s mind blowing he has the audacity to criticize ANYONE and in the name of feminism!? He was using his power and influence to bang interns. And he’s criticizing someone who has, in his clinical practice, helped more woman then @Joss could hope to help. Astounding. https://t.co/CmHTfF48dN

— PhilThatRemains (@philthatremains) June 2, 2018

You’re really attacking Jordan Peterson over feminism when you’re the tiny insecure man who preached feminism all while cheating on your wife for over a decade? Your anger should be directed at yourself. Also, the only fishwrappers I see are your commercial junk Hollywood scripts https://t.co/Ykav5zwXzT

— JACQUES (@arcadeyblog) June 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/SahilOberoi1/status/1002826900404916224

Typical Hollywood male. Close minded abusive Neanderthal masquerading as pro feminist. Equal opportunity as long as you bend over and take it. Cliched clown who lashes out when his pea sized brain and manhood gets challenged with facts or opposing opinions. Dime a dozen. https://t.co/dyXW8SscDh

— Lulu Lapin (@Lulu_Lapin) June 2, 2018

No, feminism taps into a frustration that has been front-and-center from the very beginning of history. The problem is feminism gives in to the frustration, denies the cause of the frustration, and refuses to accept responsibility for the frustration. https://t.co/bHoIfY9hzn

— Courtney Huntington (@cahuntington) June 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/NoahPollak/status/1002953637209858050