Never thought I'd say this

[deelaundry]

STFU, Stephen Fry

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/10/25/stephen-fry-feels-sorry-for-straight-men/

NOT HELPING, dude. Oh, and also, go fuck yourself.

Comments

[bitsofchat.livejournal.com]

Oh, Stephen your fame is going to your head. I was afraid that would happen.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Grrr. It's just... grrr.

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose his opinions were done tongue-in-cheek for Attitude Magazine? Otherwise I'm disappointed with his "attitude."

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I kept expecting it to be tongue-in-cheek and then it went on and on... A bit of a laugh is one thing; perpetuating a harmful stereotype about half the people on the planet -- and completing erasing lesbians -- is another.

[stackcats.livejournal.com]

Good lord, he needs to meet some of the young women I used to work with.

[bitsofchat.livejournal.com]

I was gonna say, he should meet some people including myself who may beg to differ. Just sayin'

[roga.livejournal.com]

Oh, dude, what the fuck :(

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Yesterday Bironic mentioned "bemused" and I think that is the perfect word for how I feel (in addition to "angry").

[talulahk.livejournal.com]

.................... wtf

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's exactly my repsonse.

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

What a mysogynistic, asshole interview. Gee,you mean all of those years when I was fucking around and not wanting a commitment, I was completely deluded? Thanks, Stephen, for setting me, er, straight!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I've been trying all day to articulate my anger about this. The fact that he's made a sweeping generalization, thereby repudiating real women's experiences (because, yes, hello there, very fun year or so in my late teens + quite enjoyable porn-wallowing in the years since), is part of it. Another, even more sizeable part is that the line of bullshit he's spewed backs up a seriously dangerous paradigm that is firmly entrenched: that men are unhappy because of women. If only women would change (e.g., would want more sex), then men wouldn't feel ugly and unfulfilled. So if a man decides to make a woman change, then well, she deserves what she gets. See? It's her fault.

I'm not saying most people think that consciously. But it is, sadly, an underpinning of so much of society.

Grrrrr.

[genagirl.livejournal.com]

Has he never been to a bar? Maybe he should watch an episode of Jersey Shore.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

It's just... I can't even.

[black-cigarette.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't want to know. I don't want to know, I don't want to know, I don't ...

*sigh*

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Oh, Stephen. That's really very disappointing.

:-(

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

My favorite commenter: the one who said she liked chocolate cake, but she wouldn't eat a piece she found on the floor of a public lavatory.

[spicyride.livejournal.com]

WOW, how very disappointing.

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Um.

... I ... I'm sorry ... having technibrain diffifail-- uh ...

GOOD HEAVENS WHERE DID YOU GET THAT ICON.

[rustler.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's pretty massively offensive. Huh.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Just... GRRRRRRRRRR

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

Stephen, please tell me you were drunk or joking or something.
(or maybe he's being pissy because there are more women who want to fuck Hugh than there are gay guys who want to fuck him?)

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

BWAHAHA!

Stephen's probably envious because he's not being called "one of the sexiest men in the world." Maybe he'd shut up if someone started a community called stephenbunnies.

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

It occurs to me to think of Stephen Fry's history of (untreated, if I understand correctly?) manic depression, and to wonder if some of the things he says may be a direct result thereof.

Could a manic swing cause him to think he's being LOLARIOUS when in fact he's making an ass of himself?

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

That was more or less my thought. Not so much that he thought that he was being funny, but that possibly he's having a manic episode and really doesn't realize how he's coming across.

[theunknownsoul.livejournal.com]

"‘Oh, no, but I love sex, I love it!’ But do they go around having it the way that gay men do?"

...Tons of women pick up men for sex. WTF dude

:|

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

I think women are more aware than most men of sex being in many ways a life-and-death matter. Yes, we love it, but we are aware of the propensity of some men to hurt us. Yes, we love it, but we are aware of the risk of pregnancy even if we are on birth control. Yes, we love it, but we are maybe (many of us) more aware of the risk of disease, condom use notwithstanding; condoms do fail.

If we are going to generalize, men in general are known to engage in a lot more high-risk behavior than women in general. Even if all other things were equal, that would mean fewer of us behaving sexually the way men-in-general do. And all other things are unfortunately NOT equal. For women, sex is a higher-risk behavior than it is for men. Some of that is biological (pregnancy risk) and some of it is cultural (violence), but all of it is fact.

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

Oh, Stephen. But why am I not surprised.

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I think the lady gay gent doth protest too much.

Like he feels he's got something to prove, you know?

In any event, I have decided to chalk this assholery up to an episode of mental illness, not because I want to give him a free pass on it, but because I want to still enjoy the stuff he's done and not just be pissed off every time I see his face.

[xaipw.livejournal.com]

Stephen, please stop acting like a daft old codger.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

SER. I. OUS. LY.

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

I'm also not comfortable with saying this is probably a manifestation of mental illness. Stephen is a celebrity who's gone public with it, but many responsible show business people suffer from various kinds of mental illness. And yet they manage not to be completely idiotic in interviews.

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Eh, I've gone from "please let this somehow not be as awful as it looks" to "STFU Fry, you're an ass."

I hope he gets therapy for what's ailing him, no matter what it is, because that kind of nastiness -- regardless of its origin -- merits some serious counseling.

[jomadge.livejournal.com]

There aren't enough expletives in the world.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely correct.

[taiga13.livejournal.com]

Cuddy invites Stephen Fry to kiss her ass!
Seriously, why are so many people here assuming that he said what he did because he has a mental illness? He came across as perfectly articulate and thoughtful, which you wouldn't expect if he was having a manic episode (is it KNOWN that he's bipolar or are people here assuming it?). This sounded to me like he's just a loudmouthed jerk.

[aragon-san.livejournal.com]

He's been open about it for years (I think in the aftermath of the "vanishing in the middle of a play with bad critiques from stage, going AWOL and turning up a week later in Belgium"-incident) and even did a documentary (Secret Life of the Manic Depressive) where HIS own illness was the focal point. Got awards for it and all, for raising awareness for mental illnesses. So it's a known fact that he's bipolar.

[aragon-san.livejournal.com]

I do remember some past comments that sounded condescending to mildly misogynistic from him, sadly. I waver between finding him articulate, charming and intelligent and overrated, self-indulgent and patronizing. I sometimes think he's one of those people who're fantastically likable while working and utter assholes when they don't perform for the public... It's especially common a trait in comedians, actually so it could fit.

Though his one is in a league of its own regarding prejudice, idiocy and mindbogglingly lacking logic and facts in addition to being insulting.

OTOH it DOES take a certain skill to be insulting and stereotyping towards

- straight males
- homosexual males
- women in general
- and lesbians, who obviously don't exist or don't have sex with each other - since no pressuring man is on the scene! - or lie to each about wanting sex when both would be completely happy in a sexless relationship if only they'd be honest

in one single interview. He has my grudging respect for sheer effectiveness in being offensive.

And astonishing that he'd never heard of bars, nightclubs, discos, pubs etc. What DOES he think they're for, if not heterosexual (dominantly short-term) hook-ups?!

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

At least on Twitter, Fry's getting a few "dude ur so right" notes -- and an awful lot of "What the hell? Is this a joke?" and "I disagree with this, and am disappointed in you," and "Holy misogyny, Batman" types of comments.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

I find this personally appalling because I'm very interested in sex and I can't have it.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Story has made it into the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/31/stephen-fry-sex-women-relationships-attitude).

[taiga13.livejournal.com]

And the interviewer states he knew exactly what he was saying, so much for the theory that he's not responsible because he's craaaaazy.

[namasteyoga.livejournal.com]

SF just said on Twitter that he was doubly misquoted:
stephenfrySo some fucking paper misquotes a humorous interview I gave, which itself misquoted me and now I'm the Antichrist. I give up.about 19 minutes ago

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Oh. I would like him to explain how he was misquoted in this video of him saying the same thing. But more importantly, I'd like him to acknowledge how what he said was harmful, and apologize.

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

This is what Stephen Fry had to say about it: So some fucking paper misquotes a humorous interview I gave, which itself misquoted me and now I'm the Antichrist. I give up and he deleted his Twitter-account afterwards. Sad. Oh, just saw namasteyoga already commented with this, as well!! Great minds... And also his account is back, too! Wow. Things go quickly on the interwebs.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I'm glad his account is back, because I was about to scoff him for being thin-skinned as well as misogynistic.

The Guardian's article includes a few quotes from the interviewer that indicate he didn't think Stephen Fry was joking. Stephbass also found video of Stephen saying the exact same thing. Was that the same interview?

Whatever. The point is not that Stephen Fry is the Antichrist. The point is that he needs to acknowledge how what he said was harmful and apologize.