Jen Kirkman Is Taking a Twitter Hiatus to Get Men to Stand Up for Female Comics

Comedian and writer Jen Kirkman is taking a stand against gross Twitter misogynists by boycotting the social networking site, she announced yesterday. Kirkman post some examples of the kind of terrible tweets that guys send her way every day and has called on male members of the comedy community to stand up and speak out against the way guys talk to female comics on Twitter (this has nothing to do with that “women aren’t funny†bullshit; this is an entirely different issue). Kirkman has also created a Tumblr called MA’AM, which stands for Men Against Assholes and Misogyny, for guys to contribute and help educate others about sexism. This is a serious, gross problem and you can get involved by tweeting about it yourself or contributing a piece to MA’AM. Do your part and help educate a creep today!

Hit the jump to read Jen Kirkman’s original Tumblr post, embedded below:

Twitter Hiatus Until The Men I Know Get Loud

I’m on a Twitter strike. I am http://90days90reasons.com/index.phpMaybe some comic guys who are funny writers and have a huge presence online can start a blog similar to that - and each one of them can tackle, from their heart, what they want men to know about how it affects ALL OF US - men & women when their sisters are constantly dealing with this shit on @aut0br0 .@JenKirkman “you should stop being hot and start being funny. then maybe this is in the realm of possibility.â€@BarberSquires @JenKirkman Not everyone gets spoken to the way they want in life.â€@BarberSquires @JenKirkman “Grow upâ€@DamianR1970 @JenKirkman “You’re unhappy with the way people talk on Twitter? Stay off Twitter.â€@drunk_economist “SOMEONE SHOULD TELL @JenKirkman TO MAN UP …. Uh wait. Breaking my own rule there… BREAKING IT WITH FUNNYâ€hollywoodkote said: You’re going to get venom if you’re a comedian spouting political views regardless of sex. Don’t do it if you can’t take the heat:@mebpm @JenKirkman “Um..,seriously? You’re boring.You don’t see dilemma? An uber serious “comedianâ€..,who wants to be taken seriously?Liberal logiâ€â€@shaun311 @JenKirkman YOU ARE WAY TOO SENSTIVE TO BE ON TWITTER. TRUE. HOW OLD ARE YOU 20?â€â€œ@Will_Surb @JenKirkman “srry im stupid i meant why rnt u in Playboy.â€â€œ@RobbieSTL: @JenKirkman I’d do ya.â€Then I will come back to Twitter when I feel like I’m not the only voice constantly using her feed to interrupt her regularly scheduled funniness to try to teach young guys not to objectify women, tell them to shut up, correct their jokes, mansplain to them, etc.I’m often told that women’s rights are not in any danger and I have the vote and we don’t need feminism anymore for “big issues†- (that’s a whole other issue) But the small issue of feeling part of the global web community is still a new frontier for women and we are starting at square one. I would love the support of my male friends in comedy - OUT LOUD and as part of their daily lives. The way we all do with gay rights and racism.I think dudes sometimes feel like, “What am I gonna do - just agree with my lady friends? They don’t need to hear it from me.†We do.  AND the civil rights movement and gay rights didn’t move forward just because suddenly one day people started taking black or gay people seriously - it was the white and straight people that stood by too. Sadly, sometimes a man only can hear about women’s issues from a man.  We need all voices!And to the woman who wrote me that this is “Seriously a First World Problem…†Well, I AM in the first world and speech shapes our culture. Oppressing women in the Third World starts with a thought and an attitude and I’m proud to use my privilege to speak about it here. And I use my other spare time and money to support women in the Third World get their much needed rights too.And to the people who say “Don’t go anywhere!†I will be back when I see male comedians speaking up. And specifically that group. It’s not JUST up to my followers - it’s up to my peers. (and just Retweeting doesn’t count - though it helps)And when I feel I am not the only voice out there, I’ll come back to Twitter. And trust me, I want to. I have things to promote.Love,Jen

Jen Kirkman Is Taking a Twitter Hiatus to Get Men to […]