The terrifying 1970s manual that shaped the pickup-artist movement [View all]

That initially contained the line (changed in later editions), "For an instant, you even consider rape."

Disturbing male entitlement follows.

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/21/for_an_instant_you_even_consider_rape_the_terrifying_1970s_manual_that_shaped_the_pickup_artist_movement

The 1970 manual “How to Pick Up Girls!” opens by asking the reader to imagine what at first seems like a romantic scene. “You’re walking down the street. Minding your own business. … And suddenly you spot a girl,” it reads. “Not just an ordinary girl. Not just a fantastic girl. But the girl.” It’s a bit of a generic setup, but, OK, I’m following. “You’ve just got to see more of her long lean legs,” writes author Eric Weber. “Her fine rounded breasts. Her high, firm behind. For an instant you even consider rape.”

Whoa. As Redditor putontheglasses, who featured this passage in a post this week that subsequently went viral, said, “Well, that escalated quickly.” Later editions of the book, which was a runaway success in 1970, by the way, replaced that disturbing line with the marginally less terrifying, “For an instant you even consider grabbing her right there in the street.” So, like, rape but not “rape.”

Four decades have passed since that original line was written, and in that time there has been a lot of desperately needed awareness-raising about sexual assault. So, it isn’t particularly remarkable that a dated book espouses such disturbing attitudes. Here’s what is fascinating about that rape-normalizing passage: The book is the progenitor of what we know today as the pickup artist community. It not only helped mainstream the term “pick up,” but it’s also referred to as a biblical text among some of today’s leading “pickup artists” or PUAs.

(snip)

Male entitlement to women’s bodies is a running theme throughout the book. “As a man, it’s your right, your privilege to approach a woman any time you want,” it reads. At one point it suggests, “Next time you move in on a girl, think to yourself, I’m doing her a favor.” You see, this entitlement is justified by the notion that women are perpetually asking for it: “Why do you think they wear skintight jeans and low cut, slinky blouses? Why do you think so many of them have completely stopped wearing bras and panties? Just to look pretty? Don’t be crazy. They’re showing you their breasts and behinds to stimulate you. To make you want to go to bed with them. Because every girl knows if her body is packaged well, you’ll try to pick her up.”