If you take a walk in the evening through ten randomly selected sports halls in Stockholm, then in one of them you will certainly meet a women's group practicing methods of neutralizing a man under the guidance of a female instructor. "Sisters," the close combat specialist instructs her charges in one of the gyms of the Swedish capital, "a man, despite his external power, is extremely vulnerable. He has a perineum, he has an Adam's apple. The main thing is to skillfully use his weak spots."
The athlete was immensely delighted to meet the correspondent. "Here comes a real man!" the young trainer exclaimed, quickly switching to me from the dummy on which red circles marked the pain points of a representative of the stronger sex. "Would you agree to give us five minutes, I need to show a few techniques. Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."
After such a humiliating assurance, uttered by a fragile person weighing no more than 50 kg, there was nowhere to retreat. "I will hurt, but carefully," the classic phrase flashed through my head when I came out for the demonstrative beating. I did indeed avoid physical injuries. But the mental trauma remained forever.
"Before you is a typical specimen of a middle-aged rapist, weighing about 80 kg and 180 cm tall," dryly recited my tactical and technical data the fighting girl, disdainfully touching me with her finger as if with a pointer. "He is aggressive, poorly trained and self-confident, behaves straightforwardly when attacking, and is distinguished by reduced maneuverability. These qualities, sisters, you must use to put him out of action. Usually he, not expecting resistance, immediately wraps his upper extremities around you and tries to knock you down, taking advantage of his weight. You easily neutralize the animal as follows..."
I have always treated such a necessary cause as women's self-defense courses with respect, but this murderous terminology! Me, a fairly developed and peace-loving Homo sapiens, was reduced to the level of a rhinoceros from the "In the World of Animals" program! Where does such blatant hatred towards men in general come from?
True, I wandered then not just anywhere, but into the section of activists "ROKS" - a nationwide network of groups helping women who have become victims of male violence. Parting with the ladies, or rather, fleeing from the demonstrative performances in the gym, I thought about one thing: God forbid these misandrists break out of their holes into big politics, they will sterilize all men or drive them into reservations.
Three years have passed since then. And now it turned out that the hydra of militant feminism has indeed grown so much in that time that it is about to strangle Sweden. A country where ladies, as it seemed, had already received everything one could dream of. Half of the cabinet ministers are women, the same picture in parliament. Scientific institutions and universities, under pressure from the government, introduced a special quota system for filling professor positions with representatives of the fair sex. Even in domestic assault, approximate equality has been achieved. Wives have begun to gradually attack, and husbands more and more often powder their bruises and scratches, so far not daring to complain to the police about domestic terror because of falsely understood notions of male pride.
Individual representatives of the stronger sex, stubbornly trying to live according to the rules of Domostroy, are judged strictly and mercilessly. Recently, for example, a general accused by his wife of beatings was sent to prison. Even the general's brilliant service record and closeness to the commander-in-chief did not help. But feminists perceived these successes only as the capture of a beachhead for starting a full-scale war of the sexes.
The first artillery salvos thundered a few months ago, when former communist leader Gudrun Schyman announced the creation of the party "Feminist Initiative," which will take part in the 2006 parliamentary elections. Polls showed that the new party would easily overcome the four-percent barrier and could displace the ruling Social Democrats. The panic that arose among the political elite ended in the traditional way: it was decided to curb the "unpredictable Leninist and alcoholic Schyman," urgently creating a "tame" feminist party inside the Social Democrats.
The choice fell on former equality minister Margareta Winberg, who became famous for starting her work at the department by sending all male officials to compulsory "re-education" courses. The goal of the classes was to eradicate the innate male instinct of power from these experimental rabbits. The lady minister so enjoyed breaking male nature that she was soon - away from sin - sent as Sweden's ambassador to Brazil. In the tropical climate, Margareta Winberg matured into an even more consistent "man-fighter," declaring that from now on she sees the entire world only through the prism of the battle of the sexes.
Nevertheless, Winberg was considered less dangerous than Schyman. The ambassador was urgently extracted from Brazilian political obscurity, providing her with organizational support and a platform in the media. But now the political beau monde came to its senses, realizing that two "hydras of feminism" instead of devouring each other could, in tandem, break into big politics, destroying and wrecking the Swedish home built over decades.
The retreating Social Democrats began rearguard battles, trying to frighten the nation with the appearance of a new unbridled political force and, possibly, to tear away from the nascent party at least some of the potential female voters. State Swedish television showed a series of reports "War of the Sexes," and the topic was taken up by other media. The average Svensson saw his near future and shuddered. It turns out that in the country, with direct and indirect government support, a extensive network of female warriors has grown, setting as its goal to reduce men to the level of second-class citizens.
The backbone of Sweden's militant feminist network is made up of regional organizations "ROKS". They exist on budget funds and can easily transform into cells of a nationwide political party. The chairwoman of ROKS, Ireen von Wachenfeldt, first came out of the shadows 10 years ago by doing something that entered the golden fund of Scandinavian feminism. Speaking at women's courses on building self-confidence, 44-year-old Mrs. von Wachenfeldt stripped naked, urging her listeners not to be ashamed of their bodies, which do not fit the beauty standards dictated by men. The educator, who used such an unconventional method of visual agitation, was fired, to which the "political stripper" reacted with the following statement: "If a woman undresses for a man in the evening, she is paid money. If she does the same during the day for other women, she is fired from her job."
Since then, the positions of feminism have advanced significantly, and today Ireen von Wachenfeldt actively shapes state policy regarding women. "All men are animals," openly declares the specialist on women's issues.
No movement is without theorists. Swedish feminists have them too. The "giant of thought" among them is recognized as Professor Eva Lundgren of Uppsala University, who began her academic career in the field of studying Satanism and child sacrifice. Having exposed Swedish men in a number of works as hidden or active Satanists, she easily joined the ranks of feminists. For several years now, the professor has been promoting and substantiating the thesis that all representatives of the stronger sex are "walking members" who cannot be improved or reeducated.
The wave of revelations that hit Swedes came much too late. Experts note that the government silently retreated step by step under the pressure of aggressive ladies for so long that a force was born in the country that cannot be defeated with a short-term campaign.
The first noticeable concession by the ruling Social Democrats was the adoption of a law unique for Europe aimed at combating the sexual exploitation of women. Under this law, all buyers of prostitutes' services are subject to criminal prosecution, while the workers of the panel themselves are declared victims and not punishable. Then the Department of Higher Education issued an instruction according to which all social disciplines in the country's universities must be taught based on the thesis of the struggle between the sexes.
Finally, the government demonstrated another attempt to win the hearts of thousands of militant "man-fighters". The country's Prime Minister Göran Persson announced that a law prohibiting the "sexualization" of the media would be prepared. If the version of the law proposed by fighters against the suppression of women passes, then the appearance of a photograph of a half-naked female body in a newspaper or magazine — even if it is advertising swimwear — could lead to a fine or the closure of the publication.
What awaits the downtrodden stronger sex in Sweden next? Ideologues of radical feminism assure that they have found a way out of the impasse: a man, having been firmly hobbled, will be preserved for now for the needs of reproduction, but soon this need for him will disappear. Science will help continue the family line without the intervention of the "walking member". The ancient legend of the existence of the country of the Amazons will get its modern embodiment.