Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Off-topic, but it feels like I'm the only person who thinks phrases like "small dick energy" are bad. When did it become acceptable to shame men for the size of their penis? Whenever I've mentioned it, people have defended its usage with arguments that didn't sound convincing to me.

Why is it acceptable to say "small dick energy" in the age of body-shaming awareness?




> Off-topic, but it feels like I'm the only person who thinks phrases like "small dick energy" are bad.

You aren't, there’s been considerable discourse on Twitter, on both this and “big dick energy”, most recently in response to the Thunberg tweet involved in this incident.

> When did it become acceptable to shame men for the size of their penis?

Its not new to do that, at all, but “small dick energy” doesn't do that, just as “big dick energy” doesn't praise for the opposite but instead references a different trait stereotypically associated with it (which “small dick energy” plays on by referencing a corresponding and opposing stereotype. (Which may be problematic on its own, but is different from shaming the target for their penis size.)


My issue is not that it shames the target, it's that it implies that "small dick = bad" and "big dick = good", and perpetuates the idea that men with small penises are inferior. It would be the same if the phrase were "short person energy", we don't need people feeling bad about their height.


Acceptable, no, understandable, yes, a petty remark to insult a man who has prioritized his identity around a shallow and abusive perception of masculinity

It’s like the hitler has only one ball thing


Only when you pose next to a supercar you probably borrowed as a prop. He is being shamed for being a colossal anus over a long enough period of time to leave no doubt.


Body-shaming awareness never ever existed in real life, especially in the mind of girls (and even less in teenager girls..)


"petty persona energy" doesn't have the ring to it.


You've read Tate's tweet? What goes around comes around.

BTW small dick energy dies say anything about the real size, it just has the same kind of energy


> You've read Tate's tweet? What goes around comes around.

No, and it's not really relevant to what I'm saying.

> BTW small dick energy dies say anything about the real size, it just has the same kind of energy

These are the arguments I hear. "It doesn't actually mean you have a small dick, just that you're petty and unimportant, like the people who have small dicks".


It's more that people who think they have a small dick try to compensate that with extremely "manly" behavior. They are the ones who reduce men to site of their dick as their main quality.

Small dick is a metaphor for a small ego, because those people think that women are only interested in well hung, successful, rich, powerful tall man.


BTW context is always important in communication.

For instance, if someone calls you a dick it does matter if you called him something similar before.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: