New York Students Threatened by Supposed ‘Pro-Rape’ Rally

On Saturday, February 6th, men’s rights activist group Return of Kings, planned a meetup day for heterosexual men supporting so-called ‘neomasculinity,’ which threatened dozens of female students around New York City.

The meetup was announced by Roosh Valizadeh on January 4th on the organization’s website, but received little mainstream media pickup. On January 19th, a list of participating cities, including New York City, was announced and led followers to sign on to gather at disclosed locations.

After a flurry of activity and twitter announcements, the event was cancelled on February 3rd due to security concerns for those considering attending. Valizadeh reportedly said that he could not protect the attendees from backlash against their ‘neomasculine’ ideas.

Valizadeh wrote a piece titled “How to Stop Rape” which many, including young females, have interpreted to mean the promotion of rape. When scores of young women heard of this event, many chose to stay home out of personal safety concerns. “As a college student in New York City, I look forward to Saturday nights, but after I heard about these pro-rape meetups, I decided to stay home, and warn my friends,” Samantha C., a first year student at a local university.

Samantha C. saw the announcement on Twitter and Buzzfeed, and was concerned when she found out there was no media pickup from major news outlets. Classmate Ashley H. was sent a screenshot of the event by her friend in Rhode Island who was worried about her and warned her not to go out that day.

“It scares me that the media ignored a planned event that could have been so potentially dangerous,” adds Cassandra C. who studies at the same college.