Arthurian Knights “Too Bi and Too Feminist For HIS Red Pill,” Local Man Finds

So, the main reason I’m writing this article is for that title, BUT BOY OH BOY DO I HAVE A GEM TO SHARE. A special, very whiny gem.

I would post links, but I’d rather not pingback to his blog. I don’t feel like dealing with tiny angry manosphere bots today! If you want to read further or if you doubt what I say, you can find further information by doing a few quick google searches. Sorry!

So, for those lucky, lucky people who don’t know what Red Pill is, it’s an extremely silly and extremely abusive philosophy all about how to pick up girls. At its best, it makes the men who subscribe to it look like asses. At its worst, it gets fairly rapey. The man I speak of today does not self-identify as Red Pill, but…he basically is. He’s a weird Christian offshoot of Red Pill, and instead of talking about how to abuse your many one-night stands, this man talks about the much more moral and Christian practice of abusing your wife! A truly noble man, everyone. Ladies and gentlefolk, I present to you: Dalrock!

Now, ordinarily, when I run across Red Pill…websites (so to speak) like these, I roll my eyes, get out the holy water and crucifix, and move on with my day. But I didn’t do that with this website! Because, much to my horror and fascination, I found that this man had written quite a bit on a subject I happen to love very much–Arthurian legend. I read the articles with great trepidation. How would this internet ‘warrior’ twist the tales to fit his ideology this time around?

Much to my relief, he did not twist them to fit his ideology. No. He hates these stories. Gawain and Lancelot have managed to piss off the manosphere, and I could not be more proud of my boys. I’m a little teary-eyed at the moment.*

*With laughter. The tears are from me laughing.

So, why does this man spend so much time getting angry at two (amazing and adorable, if I may say so myself) sixth century knights? I don’t know! Why do manospherians do anything! But no, seriously: He hates them because Lancelot and Gawain respect women too much. He also finds them degenerate because they are bi. This is the BEST news you possibly could have given me. They’re medieval knights! Medieval writers told these stories and these characters are still too respectful of women–and humans, really–for this man! What does Dalrock want?

Well, he wants control, and free rein to abuse other people, so perhaps we shouldn’t ask that question. But did it occur to none of the poor men who read his blog that following a man who literally has more extreme values than men in the medieval era was not a good idea?

But yes. Lancelot loves and respects women too much. He listens to Guinevere and sacrifices for her! How dare he. He should put her in her place because she’s a woman and women are gross. Dalrock also has the, ah…interesting view that Lancelot, in rescuing Guinevere from Meliagrance, was trying to defend Guinevere from Meliagrance’s ‘slut shaming,’ rather than saving her from literally being burned at the stake. Heh. But Lancelot is not only polite to his girlfriend! He also, horror of horrors, is nice to a girl he’s not into. A girl attempts to pressure Lancelot into sleeping with her, and Lancelot is polite when he turns her down! What next, will Lancelot advocate for women’s right to vote or something?? God, the degeneracy.

I wouldn’t blame Lancelot at all if he were rude to the woman. Pressuring someone into having sex with you is a horrible thing to do. But Lancelot is not rude, and I think that says nothing bad about him, and I think Dalrock taking such offense to this says everything bad about Dalrock.

Anyway, no one tell him about Gawain, the knight who respected his wife so much that there was a whole ballad about it, and who also had a very famous story where he kissed a fairy knight–oh wait. Someone already did tell him about these stories. This should be fun.

At least in the tale of St. George there is no three way make-out session between the knight, the nobleman, and the nobleman’s wife.

–Dalrock

Amazing. It’s lucky he hasn’t heard of that time Gawain told Lancelot that he wished he were a girl so he and Lancelot could fall in love. Dalrock’s head might explode.

He also manages to miss the moral of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, of course (but doesn’t he miss the moral on everything!). It’s…not about how you should be perfectly okay with making out with another man’s wife. Gawain actively tries to not make out with the man’s wife. Gawain is caught, not between some distinction between the rules of chivalry and the rules of courtly love, but simply between two conflicting rules of chivalry. If he sleeps with the man’s wife, he has betrayed Bertilak, his host, but he cannot be rude to Bertilak’s wife, either. So Gawain compromises by giving Bertilak’s wife a brief kiss. Gawain simply finds himself in a situation where there is no good answer according to the morality structure in the poem, and he does as best as he can. The moral of the poem is not ‘making excuses for adultery.’ No, the moral of the poem is forgiveness.

Gawain messes up. He promises to give Bertilak the things he found, but when Bertilak’s wife gives Gawain a girdle that she says will save him, he keeps it for himself. He breaks his promise, and the Green Knight criticizes him for it. But the Green Knight is also not going to let Gawain wallow in guilt. He laughs at him a little and tells him, essentially, to move on with his life. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is about accepting that you’re human. It’s about not letting a mistake define you–even though it was a bad mistake! Your mistake doesn’t make you who you are, and it’s not even that important, in the grand scheme of things. Eventually you have to set down your guilt and focus on being a better person in the future.

But of course forgiveness is something that Dalrock wouldn’t understand anyway, so it’s pointless engaging with his writing in this way, and I don’t know why I bother. But it’s something that upsets me to a strange extent–although the article is certainly too foolish for me to rationally get upset over it! Perhaps it only makes me sad that someone would have so hard a time understanding compassion and empathy. And he claims to be a Christian! (I think he’s a heretic. If your only purpose in following Christianity is to take biblical passages out of context as an excuse to abuse women, then you are a heretic.)

The comment section for one of his articles on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (yes, he wrote more than one misbegotten article about this) is also rather amusing–oh look, some poor schmuck doesn’t know what a girdle is!–OH NO SOMEONE BROUGHT UP THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM I HAVE TO RUN. Get your filthy paws OFF my religious doctrine.

Oh, and he also wrote more than one article on Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, and they probably aren’t worth looking up because they aren’t especially amusing, but all I’m going to say is this. If you aren’t human enough to understand why Gawain let Ragnelle decide something for herself instead of selfishly choosing what would benefit him, then you aren’t human enough to have a wife. God, I hope women stay away from these men. I hope the ones who claim to be married have made up their wives. Just…I can’t. How is it so hard for some people to comprehend making an unselfish, kind decision?

Anyway, my sons Lancelot and Gawain have made the manosphere very angry and I could not be more proud of my boys. But Dalrock is right about one thing and one thing only: The alt-right should reject these stories. If Nazis, the manosphere, and the rest of the alt-right were to truly read the tales and look at them for what they are, they could never love them. Arthurian legends are not for the alt-right to take, and they never have been. I fully believe that even Mordred and Agravaine would hate Nazis, and you cannot change my mind! But to be more serious, these tales, while certainly not always perfectly moral, are antithetical to the alt-right’s beliefs. Gawain is willing to respect his wife Ragnelle and treat her like a human being. Lancelot is willing to respect Guinevere and, again, treat her like a human being–or perhaps something greater than a human being, because Lancelot and Guinevere are Like That. Gawain and Lancelot both certainly come off as bisexual in some tales! Bedivere is disabled in some stories and everyone still treats him with a lot of respect–and he’s also portrayed as a very good fighter and quite badass. πŸ™‚ Palomides and his brother Safir are Middle Eastern and Feirefiz is biracial! These Arthurian knights aren’t the symbols you think they are, Nazis. They’re the people you hate.

The Arthurian legends are certainly NOT perfect, morally or socially speaking. They were written by people in the medieval era, and there is values dissonance contained in a lot of these stories. But they’re also not stories that the alt-right can logically claim.

Anyway, Nazis and the alt-right need to stop misappropriating European folklore and mythology. /rant

But I digress. ‘Arthurian legends are too feminist’ is not all Dalrock has to say! Dalrock also has some…interesting ideas about the modern conservative’s beliefs. He, ah…seems to think that conservatives subscribe to some form of courtly love?

Look, I’m not conservative, but even I know that conservatives don’t have a fantasy of their wife falling in love with the company employee and having a beautiful, star-crossed romance with him until the husband’s evil nephew-who-is-also-his-son exposes the affair in a bid for power, upon which the husband and the nephew-who-is-also-the-son fight in the company parking lot and then the company falls. Or at least most conservatives don’t, anyway. And it’s possible that Dalrock is merely talking about the exaltation of the woman in the courtly love structure rather than the rest of the whole shebang, but…most conservatives don’t believe in the exaltation of women either?? There are conservatives out there who have respect for women, but show me one place that the exaltation of feminine power is embedded into conservative philosophy? (Actually, don’t, I don’t want to waste my time arguing with a bunch of angry little manospherians.) I’ve heard of conservatives praising soft feminine power, as in the power women wield within the home. But I’ve never heard of conservatives arguing that men should obey their girlfriends’ every absurd command without question. I seriously don’t understand where he’s getting this from! I will say that the mental image of every modern conservative dreaming about being able to live out the Arthurian saga has brought me much joy, so thank you, Dalrock. It’s the one good thing you’ve ever done.

Update: HE CALLS THEM CUCKSERVATIVES Y’ALL HE CALLS THEM CUCKSERVATIVES.

Hold on a second. I had an inspiration. Allow me to present a short story about conservatism as envisioned by Dalrock:

And the maiden sent her friend down the bleachers to speak with her lover. β€œTell him to lose the football game for me,” she commanded her friend. The man agreed, for his heart belonged to his lady. If his heart did not belong to her, he could certainly score as many touchdowns as he wished! But he was in thrall to her, and how could he do otherwise than she wished? Her heart was his heart, and to defy the commands of his heart would be unnatural.

At half-time, the maiden sent the friend down the bleachers again. β€œTell him to win the football game for me,” she told her friend. The man’s heart leaped within his chest as he looked at the fair maiden sitting in the bleachers. At the sight of her beauty, he was inspired to greater lengths than he had ever gone to before, and in a short while, the field was his.

But I must bring a sad end to this saga. Dalrock finally laid his blog to rest in the year of our Lord 2020, January 22nd. He assures us that he has not decided to become a better person embrace chivalry or feminism, because we really needed to know that. R.I.P., Dalrock’s blog. R.I.P.

So, uh…Yeah. Finding Dalrock’s blog was a very interesting and amusing experience. I enjoyed watching the manosphere get really angry over thousand-year-old stories, so I thought maybe you would enjoy it too. I also just wanted to share Lancelot and Gawain’s accomplishment in being too feminist and bisexual for the manosphere. I’m seriously so happy right now.

Anyway, don’t get into Red Pill, people! Get over your issues and learn that Abusing People is Not Okay! Go out, learn to see people as human beings, and love yourselves! Peace out.

20 thoughts on “Arthurian Knights “Too Bi and Too Feminist For HIS Red Pill,” Local Man Finds

  1. Dear me, that blog does sound most obnoxious. I’m not a fan of people belligerently shouting about politics. It just exacerbates the toxic political climate we have already and it’s like…can we please have CIVIL CONVERSATIONS about our disagreements? Like, maybe we can see our opponents as fellow human beings and instead of taking our differences as an opportunity to bash each other over our respective metaphorical heads, we can…try to work towards the attainment of TRUTH together???

    Anyway.

    Speaking as a conservative myself, I think I agree with you that conservatives don’t uphold courtly love. Because…NO ONE in the modern world does. That’s such a medieval thing? And it has much more to do with imagination and religion and cultural ethos than it does politics. Mostly I think of it as a Christian thing, actually; even though it corrupted so easily into an admiration of adulterous love affairs, which are NOT a thing good Christians should admire, at its noblest it had a lot to do with Marian devotion. Like, if there are tendencies towards nostalgia for courtly romance in my own family (which there certainly are, I like to think), it’s because we’re Catholic and just so darn medieval, not because we’re conservative. (Not that there isn’t interplay between our religious convictions and our politics because there is, but you get what I’m saying, right?)

    Also…I’ve never interpreted the kiss between Gawain and his host as sexual? Call me prejudiced, but I would have been extremely bothered by that in high school if I’d thought it was and it never struck me that way at all. It seems no different than Odysseus kissing Telemachus’ “shining eyes” in Homer (people do that all over the place in Homer, heh) or Ganelon and his enemies-turned-partners-in-crime kissing over gifts and promises in The Song of Roland, or even the souls in the top cornice of Purgatory exchanging chaste kisses in Dante. In our culture, we see kisses as inherently sexual much of the time; but historically, they can be signs of respect and affection without indicating sexual attraction. Y’know? Basically, I disagree with you that Gawain is necessarily bi, but I agree with you very much that it’s ridiculous of Dalrock to judge King Arthur and Co. by our fleeting cultural standards.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Oh, goodness, I hate people who vehemently shout about politics, too–topics shouldn’t be more important than people. Though I guess I do understand it when it’s people who are at risk. I’m way more sympathetic to people who shout about rights for the disabled (for example) rather than people who vehemently shout about economic policies or people who vehemently shout about why gay people shouldn’t have rights because it makes them uncomfortable. (I’m not necessarily talking about people who think of homosexuality as a sin–it wouldn’t be fair for me to complain of people having a different interpretation of Christianity. But I don’t understand why people have this hatred in the name of God. We’re all sinners! Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.) We’re talking about people when we talk about politics! We can afford to have compassion and realize when something is a complex topic that people might feasibly have different takes on! /rant
      Though the manosphere is a movement that’s just inherently bad–it mainly argues against women (and other people who are not the manosphere) having basic rights. My rant applies more to how liberals and conservatives talk to each other.

      Lol I know! No one upholds courtly love anymore! Why does he think this? I don’t understand. *facepalm* Yeah, and (while I DEFINITELY don’t approve of adultery) I can kind of even see why courtly love would be a nice fantasy for a lady in the medieval era in an arranged marriage. It must have been kind of nice to dream about being able to escape your marriage in some way! But like…that social context has been removed, and we don’t really have courtly love as a concept in our cultural milieu anymore. And I agree about Virgin Mary! I love her so much and yes, in courtly love’s purest form I think it does echo the devotion we feel for her! πŸ’™ Lol, I’m Orthodox and gosh darn medieval, which is why I have nostalgia for it.

      Oh, it’s definitely valid to not interpret the kiss between Bertilak and Gawain as sexual! The Green Knight is kind of a force of nature, and I think I might hesitate before proclaiming a kiss between a fairy and a woman necessarily sexual. It’s just so…I’m not sure if I have the word I’m looking for. Fairy tales can be very dreamlike, I guess.
      What I was talking about as far as Gawain being bisexual was a time in the Vulgate cycle, a story written in about the thirteenth century. Apparently (I haven’t read the story yet, but someone posted quotes), Gawain said about Lancelot, β€œIf God were to grant me my health,” he said, β€œI’d immediately wish to be the most beautiful maiden in the world, happy and healthy, on condition that he would love me above all others, all his life and mine.” It seems to me like he felt something like romantic love for Lancelot.

      Like

      • Heehee, I love long comments, as you know. I’m especially glad we can talk about this kind of stuff. πŸ™‚

        Mmmhmm, there are definitely issues where passion and just anger are warranted. But even and especially then, we ought to foster true dialogue. (And I’m so glad you feel that way about people who think homosexual behavior is a sin. I’m against the LGBT movement because I love everybody, not because I hate anybody, and I’m thoroughly convicted that these kinds of lifestyles will ultimately bring no one any true happiness. Hatred of people is NEVER okay, especially not in the name of God. But we can only truly love sinners by hating sin.)

        I meant to comment way earlier that it’s so cool you’re Orthodox! I don’t think I’ve ever really talked to a member of the Orthodox Church before? But apparently our churches are, like, super close to communion so that’s intensely cool.(And haha, part of me really likes the idea of arranged marriages? Not that it couldn’t be abused and done WRONG, but I think studies have been done finding that spouses in arranged marriages actually tend to be pretty content? cuz it takes out the unrealistic expectation that “oh since this is a marriage of LOVE everything has to be fairy-tale perfection and if it’s not 100% perfect I must’ve made a mistake and I need a divorce so I can find the RIGHT ONE.” and instead there’s just a steady, realistic expectation of hard work and commitment and reasonable affection and making it work over time. I dunno. I did a blog post on the idea a long time ago, somewhere.)

        Yeah, I get what you’re saying. And obviously, I don’t know a quarter of what you do about Arthurian Legend, so I shan’t attempt to argue it. πŸ™‚

        Again, thank you for the monster comment. πŸ™‚

        Like

        • I love long comments too, lol!

          Oh yes, sometimes I see people who will shut down people who are just trying to learn, and…Sure, they may have been ignorant, but they weren’t TRYING to be! I guess I do understand how it can be easy to get frustrated, though, especially since so many people ARE trying to be ignorant. Eventually I imagine it gets kind of hard to tell the difference between someone well-meaning but ill-informed and someone who’s just a plain fool.
          (Yes, but as a biromantic person, I find myself to be very happy, lol! I think some people who preach against being queer likely mean well–although a lot of them don’t, or at the very least are very much not preaching in the Spirit of God–but I’ve never found them to be particularly helpful. Repenting for being bi has only ever sent me in a negative spiral farther away from God, rather than bringing me closer to Him. I will try my hardest to be just, righteous AND bi, with God’s help.) (And of course none of this is meant as an attack on you! Just relating my own personal experiences. I understand we have different viewpoints on this.)

          Yes, Orthodox is just a few steps away from Catholic! We don’t have a pope or the filioque, and our traditions are quite a bit different in some places, but Catholicism and Orthodoxy are sometimes similar as well! (I do find it interesting to think about how people in arranged marriages made things work out! Of course I disagree with the practice–I think giving the parents so much power over such an important aspect of their children’s lives leaves room for a LOT of potential abuse. But that is an interesting thing to think about!)

          Liked by 1 person

  2. This was such a FASCINATING read! I am absolutely in love with your blog??!! Oh my goodness, yes, Lance and Big G are definitely prime examples of how to treat a woman (although Lancelot may go rather overboard in several versions of the Arthurian tradition…) While I don’t quite know about any versions of Green Knight where Gawain and Bertilak’s kisses are viewed as sexual, I do 10000% agree with the idea of Gawain being bisexual. His random hardcore loyalty to Perceval after first meeting him, the way a knight would to a lone damsel? His love for Yvain that no one ever talks about, where he literally convinced Yvain to leave his wife and forget about her so he could spend more time with him alone??? HARDCORE BI. Anyway. I digress. Your explanation of the way conservatism ties in with feminism in Arthurian literature was a brilliant read. (Also your Gawain and Ragnelle Wedding article was SO much fun btw!) Can’t wait to read more!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Eep thank you so much! Yeah, Gawain and Lancelot really are wonderful (Lancelot goes overboard with everything and I love him for it XD). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight could probably be interpreted multiple ways, from what I know of the poem–I know there certainly are people out there who ship the Green Knight and Gawain. πŸ˜‰ I know! Gawain is very much a disaster bi. Lancelot as well.
      Thank you! I love Ragnelle so much. I’m so happy you like my blog! Thank you for your lovely comment!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I really enjoyed reading this. ^.^ I have a lot of thoughts but am having an awful time formulating them, but I must say: Gawain giving Dame Ragnelle “sovereignty” (which I took to mean basically…autonomy? like the ability to make her own decisions, not to make other people’s decisions for them or anything) was the loveliest thing, and it’s so strange to me that someone could take offense to that.
    Oh, and also, as a conservative myself, yeah. idk where this Dalrock person got his information about us but it’s wrong and now I’m laughing imagining some of my friends obeying their girlfriends’ every absurd command without question. That’s genuinely funny.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you οΌΌ(^o^)/ I know, that’s how I interpreted the ballad too, and it’s an extremely weird thing to get upset over. It’s kind of a disturbing thing to get upset over, in fact.
      That’s what I thought. XD There may be people out there who want to live out a Chretien de Troyes story, but I don’t think there are a lot of people who want to live out a Chretien de Troyes story right down to every last weird detail. It’s hilarious, and I love that image of a modern American acting like an Arthuriana character so much.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. BRUH THANK YOU FOR THIS POST TODAY- I seriously needed a good laugh ;). I loved reading this, Becky!! It made complete sense and God, this Dalrock guy’s blog sounds super obnoxious. I’m sorry he brought your religion into this! Because although people use the name of religion as excuses, it’s never really accepted in the religion.
    LMAO I love how he got mad at Lancelot and Gawain for… respecting women. πŸ˜‚ That’s just radical, you know?
    Loved reading this post!! I really want a link though lol. Could you link it in the comments?

    Liked by 1 person

    • You’re welcome, lol! Glad it made you laugh. He really is–I wouldn’t mind it if not for the fact that he had followers, though. That’s the worrying part. πŸ˜• Omg PREACH. I hate it when people misuse religion to push their own toxic ideas. Which they often do, unfortunately. πŸ˜•
      I know! Of all the reasons to get mad at a character. It’s not like Gawain and Lancelot are perfect at all, but then he goes and gets mad at them for THAT.
      Ooh, let me see if I can find the articles I referenced: https://dalrock.wordpress. com/2019/08/02/sloots-christianity-means-never-having-to-say-im-sorry/

      https://dalrock.wordpress. com/2018/05/11/the-moral-of-sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight/

      https://dalrock.wordpress. com/2017/03/15/fighting-for-his-ladys-honor/

      https://dalrock.wordpress. com/2019/01/04/fifty-shades-of-lancelot/

      https://dalrock.wordpress. com/2018/05/11/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight/

      I put a space between the dot and the com just on the offchance it would pingback (I don’t think it should? But I couldn’t completely figure out if it would or not, so I figured I better stay on the safe side), but if you put those links into google, the articles should come up as the first result. Sorry for the inconvenience πŸ˜‰ And take care of yourself of course, his articles and comment sections can get really nasty. I’m glad you liked the post! οΌΌ(^o^)/

      Liked by 1 person

      • Yeah, that’s just nasty *bleh*.
        YES! And seriously, if decency is pissing you off… maybe you should like check into a hospital for crazy weirdos. πŸ˜…πŸ˜₯
        Ok thank you!! Yeah, I’m taking a look and… this guy is actually off his rocker??
        OH MY ACTUAL GOSH THE FIRST POST IS SO HORRIBLY UGHHHH. The sl*t-shaming is just HORRIBLE and asldkfadslf 😦 :O
        Tbh he keeps bringing up religious references and damn can you shut your mouth for a moment??? like that actual IDIOT wth. >.<
        Oh yeah totally! Thanks so much for thinking of that πŸ™‚
        Btw, what's Red Pill?

        Liked by 1 person

        • I know, the fact that basic human decency offends him probably should have been a warning sign for him that he was on the wrong track, but oh well.
          The sl*t-shaming is something awful. I’m sorry for exposing you to this. πŸ˜‰ I don’t…I don’t know. Why does it offend him that some women (and men, but I don’t think he cares nearly as much about men) want to sleep with some people sometimes? He can find a community that isn’t okay with that!
          Red Pill is a misogynist community built around picking up girls. It’s part of the manosphere, which is a collection of alt-right misogynist groups. Idk, I’m probably not doing a good job of explaining, but you can think of it as what happens when a bunch of emotionally-stunted misogynists find each other online and create a community around being emotionally-stunted misogynists.
          It really gets me when people take religion out of context to abuse other people. Of course, if it weren’t religion, it would be something else. Plenty of Red Pill people are atheists who badly misapply evo-psych. I guess anything can be turned into a weapon if you try hard enough and are enough of a jerk. πŸ˜•

          Liked by 1 person

          • Yeah, I know right?? People are oblivious and kind of psycho sometimes 😦 Oh, don’t worry about it- I was the one who asked out of curiosity anyways, lol. πŸ™‚ Yeah, why can’t he actually mind his own business?? And stop being a complete moron?! (I guess being a MEH person is too much to ask nowadays innit)
            Ughhh that sounds absolutely like something that is rooted and embraces misogyny and sexism and every -ism out there >.<
            I agree! ESPECIALLY out of context because… that quote was NOT talking about this, bro.
            Thank you for answering my questions!

            Liked by 1 person

        • Or I meant to say, he can find a community that isn’t okay with that and MOVE ON WITH HIS LIFE. No one is making him participate in “hookup culture” if he doesn’t want to. I’m sorry, I didn’t finish that sentence πŸ˜‰

          Liked by 1 person

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