Romance Novels for Men: The White Knight Hero

Originally Posted on May 8, 2012 at 7:21 AM as a gift to you from Professor Ashur

 

Make no mistake, white knighting is a fantasy, nothing more. In fact, if I had my way, I’d have it classified as a socio-sexual disorder, requiring institutionalization.

One of the worst examples I personally know is a guy I know who endures a load of insulting treatment from his girlfriend, and when questioned about it, stated straight-up that he wanted to be the white knight – the guy who saves her from her troubles. He actually used the phrase white knight, and without a hint of irony. Sick.

He tolerates minimal sex, bitchy behavior, and dismissive treatment, all to keep his fantasy alive. This, my friends, is one of the most dangerous kinds of beta men there is. One might be tempted to call him omega (I know I am), but the fact that a relatively attractive woman (for her age) is willing to screw him at least occasionally is proof otherwise. Only hookers screw omegas, and there’s probably a surcharge involved.

I’ve watched the two of them out on a date. He tries to cock his chin up and swagger, but the strong stench of Defensive Butthurt is unmistakable. Fake it ’til you make it assumes that you can fake effectively, otherwise …ABORT. She, on the other hand, has the look of a cat that has cornered her prey. This woman is cold – so cold that she is willing to be seen in public in the company of a borderline omega in order to harvest the economic benefits. He probably mistakes her smirk of indulgent superiority as admiration. I wanted to rinse both of them out the door with the nearest fire hose.

Numerous attempts have been made to give this man the red pill, but to no effect. He is reasonably well-off, and not stupid, but his commitment to this personal-fantasy narrative is cast in concrete.

White knights live in an alternate reality, and like their female counterparts, must make substantial use of their own version of the rationalization hamster to keep all contravening facts safely dammed up behind a wall of denial. Like the irrational feminist, they also use the assumed guilt of men and the imputed virtue of women as a basis to shout down whatever tiny yelps of truth their minds may produce.

The hapless white knight tries over and over to play hero to his damsel, but to no avail. Flowers, chocolates, “romantic” dinners, car-fixing, giving money, letting her move in because she’s broke, whatever. Each of these actions is played in his mind to be some sort of sword-slinging act of heroism. But they never notice that women don’t seem to get The Tingle because some guy bails her out of a bad spot or two, or ten, or fifty.

Not only does real-world experience bear this out, so does the world of the world of female romantic fantasy. If what I have heard about romance novels is correct, the damsel in distress usually gets taken right on the hood of her stranded car by a tattooed, motorcycle-riding badass. Well before he has gotten around to changing her flat tire to prove his worthiness.

There’s the alpha/beta distinction in a nutshell. The beta is cheerfully working away at fixing her flat, suffering under the delusion that a way to a woman’s heart is by being an over-eager concierge. The alpha tells her to grab the luggage rack and hang on. The tire can wait.

You would think that these men would eventually get the memo. How many non-victories do you need to experience before you re-think your view of the battlefield?

This leads us to an inescapable conclusion: That this faux white knight is more interested in his method than he is in success. If he can’t win her his way, he won’t have her. This type of guy is deeply insecure, he expects to be able to validate himself by winning a woman according to the methods he has in his narrative. To get a woman another way, or to change himself into what women want is to deprive himself of this self-image of hero. Worse, to admit the truth about the female nature is to devalue the prize that he seeks. He has to maintain his illusion of women as a pure little princesses, because only that kind of woman is worth all this effort.

If a man spends his effort and resources white knighting to get a woman who is sweet, pure, etc., he can visualize himself as having triumphed over all other men to win her.

If a man spends his effort and resources to get a woman who spent her 20s and 30s making ‘mistakes’, he would have to admit to himself that he was just high bidder at the slut auction.

You might ask why I care about how these men are treated, after all, it is not affecting me. And that’s true. But there is another angle or two here:

First, these cardboard-character white knights are enablers of feminism and runaway female entitlement. Their insistence on painting women as victims and innocents gives feminists plenty of cover from which to exercise their perfidy. Think “unwitting human shield”. Think “aid and comfort to the enemy”.

Second, these men are willing to go out and act in social and political ways to facilitate the undermining of masculinity, the demonization of men, and the promotion of misandry. Not content with their own self-flagellating behavior, they are even more eager to find ways to throw other men under the bus so as to win female approval. The feminist machine cannot cooperate without these men working as gleeful collaborators.

I propose a challenge to the UofMan alumni – during shame the beta month, make it a point to call one of these blustering hero-cowards on their stupidity and lack of masculinity.