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submitted 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) by quarrk@hexbear.net to c/chat@hexbear.net

What was that all about? I didn’t really pay attention to that discourse at the time, but I heard someone use the term “man bun” recently and I wondered if it is just gender essentialism / toxic masculinity / “boys have short hair and girls have long hair” ridiculous gender norms.

I get it, you’re uncomfortable with men doing “feminine” things like putting their hair up

Reddit example 1

Reddit example 2

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[-] none@hexbear.net 14 points 18 hours ago

I think it is an attempt to discredit the idea of men being normal decent human beings by having prominent examples who are in fact mega creeps.

Justin baldoni

Russell brand

Both still I beleive tangled up in their recent SA done on the job while pretending to be allies to women. Justin bladoni got himself in charge of a movie about intimate violence which he maneuvered to abuse women.

There is something about the way the slight touch of femme seemed to be deployed as a distraction or disguise of the underlying bad vibe. Added some plausible deniability that he is too girly/compassionate/enlightened to do harm.

Just one part of overall camoflauge. This is also associated with wealth and whiteness, or perceptions thereof. Not all men who have what could be described as a "bun" are implicated.

[-] quarrk@hexbear.net 10 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

There is something about the way the slight touch of femme seemed to be deployed as a distraction or disguise of the underlying bad vibe. Added some plausible deniability that he is too girly/compassionate/enlightened to do harm.

This makes sense. If done to disarm women, to trick them into letting their guard down, then it becomes sinister

[-] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 16 points 17 hours ago

At the same time, taking the idea of "femininity as a distraction/disguise/plausible deniability for harm" to the extreme and you get the whole TERF idea of bathroom stalkers and whatever, right?

[-] none@hexbear.net 3 points 10 hours ago

Yes its a fair point of mysogyny. Could also remember out that men can have all sorts of styles and therefore its expected to have all variety of abusive men. Are these people really over represented?

As a counter counter point, it could also non-sexistly be compared to men who perform/preach religious virtue to obscure their behaving at total odds with it.

I still think the whole "man bun" discourse was likely some kind of op jinned up to discourage this most minor transgressing.

[-] PowerLurker@hexbear.net 11 points 17 hours ago

yeah, i think you're right. taking this to its logical extreme is TERF shit IMO. like, "anyone AMAB who rejects their default conditioning or feels it's fundamentally not who they are is secretly doing predation" is a narrative that clearly leads to a lot of ugly shit. 

it's kind of like performative male/softboy misogyny discourse. the part people should hate is the misogyny (which can be delivered by men of all shapes, sizes, presentation styles, etc (getting intersectional with it, can be delivered by anyone, but men do the majority/worst of the harm)), not the softboy aspect/unconventional "performative" presentation style. though i do get how those dimensions add to the feeling of betrayal, to a feeling of being duped by someone who should supposedly "know better" and be above such harms.

(been daydrinking so if i didn't phrase the point i'm trying to make well or wholly inclusively plz go easy but also lmk so i can learn) 

[-] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 7 points 17 hours ago

Like the few serial killers who had wives and girlfriends, they would bring them out with them to lure in victims

this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2026
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