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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   33108 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 19, 2023

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This is the 3rd motte post I've read in the space of 24 hours that's left me wondering "wtf did I just read?". The second was the OP and the first is Mr. 73 questions. Nevermind agreeing or disagreeing I'm struggling to put myself in a mindset where this even follows.

I'm struggling to put myself in a mindset where this even follows.

Think about it logically.

Parsimonious hypothesis: An aspect of male heterosexuality is wanting to see his female partner, whether temporary or long term, degrade herself sexually—and a key aspect of female heterosexuality is wanting to oblige.

It is not clear to me why this should be "an aspect of male heterosexuality", as opposed to "an aspect of [something else]".

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Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

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