Doesn't anybody else think that the new "MANCOUCH" -ish site needs a thoughtful, creative name change before anybody starts to notice that it's there?
I had submitted
an older article to get featured there because I thought that it challenged preconceptions about what sort of content could fit under the umbrella of "guy topics" and I wanted to send the new site off in the right direction.
Based on the nature of the comments I received, and on the fact that several of them were from women, it doesn't make much sense to me that Xanga would sponsor such a blatantly sexist site as one of it's 'home blogs.'
The content so far has included:
sports (the topic of that previous entry of mine that I shamelessly promoted just above)
video gamesclothingcosmeticsthe most attractive women imaginableThese all sound like awfully gender-neutral topics to me...
So what do you think, favorite community of mine? Should we lobby for a name-change? And if so, what'd be better than "MANCOUCH?" I'll be the first to propose! This idea of mine will keep the original attitude of MANCOUCH but will simultaneously satisfy standards for politically correctness, make hilarious commentary on the very nature of political correctness, and make hilarious commentary on the nature of the controversial -ish sites.
MAN-ISH COUCH
And while we're at it, what do you guys think of "Gender-equal Parentaroo?" Doesn't quite roll off the tip of your tongue the way "Momaroo" does...
Please recommend this post by clicking on the heart just below!
Comments (43)
They do seem to be suggesting that they find the male populace under represented in the other -ishes. So maybe we can assume that momaroo and lovelyish are targeted towards women and mancouch is supposed to provide a balance.
Doesn't this promote gender stereotypes for both men and women? Women are supposed to be pretty and do the parenting, while men are slovenly, crude couch potatoes who pronounce judgement from afar? I think that's a bit limiting to both sexes. But then I've already bitched to some xangans about how I think Xanga is built around and promotes a conservative Christian worldview complete with traditional male and female roles and related taboos. You don't have to be a conservative Christian to support these things, but I think that's likely where they came from and they are pervasive in our culture.
I think that maybe we should also explore expanded language for
couches, many of them might rather be identified as davenports, lounges
or sofas. :P
This is very irrelevant to your post, but I want to tell you that your posts are very interesting. ^_^ ♣
I guess everyone notices it is there now
I kinda like Mancouch... woMAN... it's alright... I don't feel left out.
I'm not too bothered with the name Mancouch (this is the first time I've heard of it).
Meow? Thanks for subbing. XD
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I never see myself featured...o_o
i guess they felt guys would feel left out because girls have a lovely-ish blog. screw lovely-ish, I don't wear make up.. make an -ish about videogames!
uh oh, maybe I should go join the man couch...hahaha
Interesting take, I guess I never thought too much on sports fans before. I think the person who mentioned the need for "gladiator" sports is correct. I also think that people love slipping into "group think"; I think it gives them some sense of power, esp. when "their" team is winning. On one hand I usually think things that promote community are good, and I guess I could say the same about sports events. As for the stadium fare, I've seen a few SF Giants games and the stadium menus are relatively healthy. Plus, they have full bars in the corporate boxes. Heh heh. I totally don't get the sports fan thing, even though I used to play on quite a few different teams, but I do think there is something endearing about them, esp. the ones that like to do funny rituals during the game.
Mancouch is kind of a funny name. Doesn't really look like something I'm interested in participating in but I can appreciate the idea.
hmmm good point i guess. and ireally have no opinion.
All of the subgroups are like garlic to a vampire to me. And "mancouch" sounds like gay porn.
@dragonflyshine - I agree on this. It does seem like xanga is slanted toward a conservative Christian point of view. I noticed it when I first signed up.
Alex. Personally I disagree, I don't really see the sexism in Mancouch. I mean there are guys magazines and womens magazines and sometimes you see one gender reading the other genders magazines and it's no big deal, but they are marketed toward a particular demographic because those are the people most likely to read them.
How many guys to do you see walking around reading Parenting magazine? On the reverse how many women to do you see walking around reading Maxim or Stuff? You might see it happen, but they are geared more toward one gender over the other.
So I guess where is the Trans-ish community for transgendered people?
On the whole though, I don't really like these ish sites. I don't see why they need to exist. Why doesn't xanga just allow average or premium users the ability to start their own communities? Livejournal, myspace, facebook and pretty much every other social networking site allows this. Anyone can start their own community and based on the members and content of that community they either fail or succeed.
What about Paparoo??
I don't read the sub sites on Xanga like Mancouch or Datingish. Am I missing something??
No, no, no. You don't understand how the Admin works. They won't change Mancouch. Instead, they will merely create 'Fagish' for those with fragile egos too offended to participate in this crude summation of masculinity.
It's called Niche Marketing, and Xanga thinks it has a clue on how to do this.
if you make everything so inclusive, you remove the purpose of the subcategories. Mancouch has a specific target audience. merely changing the name doesn't change that, nor is it wrong to have men as a target audience (although, i see more women reading it than men).
if there's a big market for moms on the Internet, then "momaroo" is an ideal name, and i highly doubt that fathers feel left out and marginalized. let's be serious.
it IS possible to be overly-PC, as several comments indicate THIS is.
@MlleRobillard - LOL! I agree! I have a friend who may actually have that one on VHS!!!!
Interesting ideas...
@MlleRobillard - haha it does sound like something from gay porn
for that reason alone, mancouch really needs a new name
I think mancouch is baller. But then again, my penis drags the ground ;)
so i was just contemplating the word "mancouch" and I kept thinking about the couch in the sigma chi house the day after three girls threw up on it....
For some reason mancouch always sounded like something that would itch and is easily passed from person to person through casual contact..haha. =)
@MlleRobillard - hmm, gay porn. good idea...
@open_exit - I've seen your comments here and there and thought I should reach out. How should we better segment and target our users? I'd love to hear ideas...
The male body had strong broad shoulders and a fairly large frame, well at least larger than their female counterpart. Words that are acceptable to describe a male body are strong, muscular, provider, and compadent. Petite is not a word that should ever be used to describe the male body. The male body enjoys grilling steaks, lifting weights, and watching football. The male body is primarily made up of alcohol…alcohols like beer and whiskey... no frilly fruity girly drinks. An ideal gift for a man is to buy him a nice tool set or season tickets to the manly sport of his choice., football, basketball ect but never anything girly like ice skating.
Much that is featured on Xanga is stereotypical and silly. Should there be a name change... it would be nice...
The people at Revelife don't seem to have a problem with their god being sexist.
Well, if the content of Mancouch really was only for men as the name seems to indicate, I would understand the point of the name.
But... I think that sports, videogames and all of those things you listed interest both men and women. So no, it shouldn't be called Mancouch.