It was a case of Maxim-um misogyny.
A mere week after getting shamed over its resurfaced “unsexiest women” countdown, Maxim is under fire yet again for another “sexist” hit piece from the early 2000s.
The article in question, from 2003, taught guys how to “tame” feminist females, per a Reddit post raising eyebrows online.
Titled “How To Cure A feminist,” the controversial guide unveiled four tips for transforming an “unshaven, militant, and protesting vegan” into an “actual girl.” Included above each pointer were inflammatory photos of a woman gradually stripping down to a bikini, like a “regression of woman” chart.
The first step in this modern taming of the so-called shrew? Win her over, per the piece.
“A feminist is just like any other woman: she won’t give you the time of day if you don’t know how to approach her,” the advice read, describing how to remedy this so-called toxic femininity.
They prescribed masquerading as a feminist ally by asking “intelligent,” patriarchy-shaming questions such as “what must women do to earn equal pay for this equal work?” and “has Gloria Steinem’s marriage hurt the feminist agenda?”
The accompanying photo showed the prototype of said untamed feminist, pictured wearing a tank top, baggy jeans and no shoes and smoking a cigarette while raising her arm to reveal her hairy armpit. Meanwhile, a speech bubble beside her head read, “There’d be no more wars if all penises were cut off! Argh!”
The second tip, accompanied by a more traditionally feminine-looking gal in a pink hoodie, advised the men of the world to “open her eyes.”
This meant discussing “‘lipstick’ feminism, which is far more moderate than the combat-boot variety,” per the piece.
They even quoted Jennifer Baumgardner, who declared in her book “Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and The Future” that she can be a “girly-girl and still be a feminist.”
The article then advised men to “sign her up for Bust, a feminine-light mag that says women can be independent, strong, and relatively hairless.”
The third step, entitled “treat her right,” encouraged men to treat said feminist like they would “any other girl.”
“As long as you’re not overbearing, she won’t object to your opening the occasional door or picking up a check,” read the tip. Included was a pic of a pigtailed woman with a short white skirt, and matching top that shows off her bare midriff.
“Shift her focus” was the title of the fourth and final step, which was paired with said woman flashing the camera a sultry look while rocking a skimpy swimsuit. Stamped over her were the words “cured” in bold red lettering.
To finalize the feminist’s alleged metamorphosis, the man has to “re-shizzle her feminist-tinged interests so you can actually spend time with her,” per Maxim.
They then quoted Michelle Weiner-Davis, the author of “The Sex Starved Marriage,” who said to “focus on the things you have in common.”
“She likes softball? Take her to a major-league game,” read one of the pointers.
The mansplaining mag article didn’t sit well with Reddit commenters.
One incensed reader snarked, “Awfully bold of them to disguise their bimbofication porn as relationship advice.”
“I feel physically ill knowing that this was in a mainstream publication,” said another.
Others thought it was par for the course given the misogynist subjects that were en vogue during the aughts.
“This just sums up the nonsense that was the early 2000s,” lamented one armchair cultural expert. “The media was always taking hot wrong takes when it came to women, like all the time.”
“Absolutely … There was so much ridiculously sexist advice,” another user responded.
They added, “We were living in the wild wild west, I can’t believe some of the stuff that was allowed to air or printed.”
To wit, Maxim found itself in the crosshairs last week over an 18-year-old Maxim article that ranked the “unsexiest women in showbiz — with “Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker topping the list.
“How the hell did this [racehorse] Barbaro-faced broad manage to … star on a show with ‘sex’ in the title?” it read while ripping SJP.
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