I kept seeing and hearing all these stories and posts about or dealing with MGTOW (pronounced mig-tow), an acronym that stands for Men Going Their Own Way, and I decided to set out to find out what it's all about. I didn't want to judge the thing before I at least heard the rationale behind it, so I'll pass along what I learned.

According to Vice.com, MGTOW's have a serious problem with feminism. To them, the feminist movement has all but ruined our society, and it just doesn't make sense to participate in the dating game because women have been, in their eyes, programmed to ruin a man's life. Around every corner they seem to see one-dimensional women who are just out to take their well-earned money and stick them with kids who aren't theirs. As such, they absolutely do not allow any women that they could previously date/marry into their world claiming self preservation.

Four Levels of MGTOW

Level 0 - Situational Awareness: the member has "taken the red pill" and embraces the idea that gender equality is a lie and propaganda.



Level 1 - Rejection of Long-Term Relationships: the man rejects long-term relationships but will still partake in short-term relationships and sexual encounters.



Level 2 - Rejection of Short-Term Relationships: the member won't participate in hook-ups or any form of short-term or sexual relationships.



Level 3 - Economic Disengagement: a member at this stage refuses to earn more money than is necessary for sustaining life. He views the government as tyrannical and is trying to actively drain money from the bureaucrats.



Level 4 - Societal Disengagement: this is as far as a mainstream MGTOW can go. Here the man refuses to interact with society (as noted, very few men achieve this level).

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Now I know a lot of guys and women as well, regardless of whether they associate with this movement or not, who are Level 0s and 1s, so that wasn't shocking or revalatory because it happens anyway just because people want to have the freedoms to do what they want and with whomever and not be tied down in a long term relationship and/or they reject the idea of feminism, in that men and women should be equal, but once you hit level 2...you've completely lost me. After reading a little further, I've come to the following opinions.

If you are a man who has decided to essentially reject all women in any form of dating, marriage, or sexual relationship, do that!

Specifically, if you don't want to get married because you believe it's all about your wallet...then simply don't get married! You have free will! I'm not sure why, however, these men feel like that is perhaps hurting the female population, like some type of eye for an eye, because if they've dealt with certain horrible women, and if those women have been taking them for everything they own and ruining their life, standing there and saying "I reject all women now," is not hurting those women who wronged you and is not going to get rid of the alimony, child support, or get the kids back, or get rid of the damage they've done to you psychologically. Those things will be there regardless if you now reject all women even the ones that have not done these things to you or would not do those things.

Swearing off women, except for as some have advocated, prostitutes, kind of contradicts the idea that they feel women just take and take.

If you're sick of giving your money to women, prostitution is still giving your money to women because every time you want to have sex, you're going to have to pay them to do so, so that puts you in the same boat, and even with a hookup, there is usually some type of transaction involved..i.e. buying gas, going to a club to find them, etc. so you're still paying something. Sure you may only pay every once in a while, but they are still taking your money. Then as you go up the ladder to no sex at all, that's not hurting women. If you personally don't want to have sex with us, there are TRUST US a lot of guys that are straight up like F---K THAT, I like to have sex, so that's only preventing you from your own sexual happiness. Let's be real here, no woman is out there saying, gee I can't get a date or have sex because of MGTOW. That's not a thing.

What about the men in this group who have daughters?

Based on this idea that all women are evil, is that implying that your own child is going to grow up to be a horrible woman by default and does that further mean you will implore other men to have nothing to do with her. Keep in mind, as a man, and her father, YOU are raising her and influencing up to a point, how she turns out. With this rhetoric that would mean no grand kids, no marriages, not dating, no sex, nothing for her? Do these same men also claim their mothers, and sisters, and grandmothers fall into the same category simply because they are women. If these men refuse to frame their own children or family in that light, than that sort of debunks this whole idea that ALL women are evil users and abusers, does it not?

So this brings me to a final point. I will be the first to say, having witnessed two male friends go through custody battles, that some systems can be absolutely BRUTAL to men in a lot of cases. There absolutely are horrible women out there who do horrible things to the men in their lives. These things happen, they exist, but women also have their fair share of horror stories related to certain men. Life isn't fair! Not everyone in this world gets those great relationships where no one gets hurt or used or cheated on after giving their all to another person, but a lot of this sounds like these men are letting this perception or certain women essentially take over their lives completely.

To me that says that that woman has 'won,' by effecting you so much, you rid yourself of any chance of happiness with a woman and any sort of sexual relationship short or long term...and yes, these men feel there is apparently no such thing as happiness with a woman, so perhaps a moot point, but from the outside looking in, when you're saying all women, all women, all women, we know that's pure BS because either we are good women, or other men know of good women, or they are in relationships with good women, just as women know good men even if they have experienced heartache at the hands of the opposite sex. All men and all women will never be perfect nor will they all be disasters.

Standing up and saying I reject all women and therefore reject the system...hasn't actually gotten to the roots of the system that is the problem to you.

I can say a business is corrupt and personally boycott that business, but that business is still there, still running, and still corrupt without further action. If you want a system to change you have to actually do something about that system that will actually have an effect on it. Swearing off women and marriage, etc., doesn't help men get better custody hearings or not have to pay alimony or stop false rape charges, or do anything about the state of feminism.