Name change! Banner/Logo contest! [UPDATED]
He’s getting a promotion!
UPDATE: See below for updates, marked with UPDATE in bold
Man Boobz is about to become We Hunted the Mammoth.
That is, I’m changing the name. And I may end up fiddling a bit with the look. The actual content of the blog itself won’t really be changing.
I’ve been kind of frustrated with the old name for a while. I came up with it on the spur of the moment when I first started this blog and, to be honest, it’s kind of a dopey name. It doesn’t really fit what the blog has become, and I’m a bit tired of explaining it to people (“no, boobs as in nincompoops, not breasts”).
The new name, as all you regular readers know, is based on a phrase that’s already associated with the site. Granted, I’ll have to explain its meaning to people, just as I’ve had to do with the old name, but at least it has a better story behind it. (See the FAQ for more details; the relevant stuff is at the end.)
Naturally, a new name means a new banner, and that’s where you all come in. Yep, we’re having a BANNER/LOGO CONTEST. It will run for a week, more or less, and then I’ll pick a winner or two. The prize is … your banner will be the banner! Also you will receive my undying gratitude. [UPDATE: Some commenters here have started talking about setting up a fund to provide the winner with prize money; if you're interested, check the comments. I'll make an official announcement if/when we get something set up. And of course I'll donate!]
The rules are simple: You can submit artwork, or a logo, or a finished banner. It should have a mammoth in it. I like the mammoth artwork above – and if you click on that image you’ll get a high-resolution version of it. But you can use some other public domain mammoth art, or draw your own mammoth. Stick to black and white and perhaps red.
The text should read: We Hunted the Mammoth. In smaller letters, the tagline: “Men’s Rights” and the New Misogyny. I’m inclined to go with the same font I’m using now – the free font Magnum. But if you’ve got a better idea, go for it. You can do the text by hand it you want. [UPDATE: Scratch that tagline, and replace it with The New Misogyny, tracked and mocked.]
If you’re making a banner, make it the same size of the current banner. Give it a transparent background. If you absolutely can’t fit everything into that space, I suppose you could make the banner a teensy bit taller.
I want to thank JohnnyKaje for her outstanding work on the current Man Boobz banners – including that amazing Cock Carousel artwork. I’ll put the old banners up on the FAQ page when the new banner goes up.
Feel free to submit rough sketches, to ask questions and make suggestions about the banner/logo — and about the site look and layout. You can post them online, or email them to me at futrelle@manboobz.com.
Posted on April 13, 2014, in announcements, we hunted the mammoth. Bookmark the permalink. 137 Comments.
I approve the name change, David. Please please keep commenting open, because comment registration systems hate me.
If you want to have a mammoth reference in the title, maybe “Mammoth hunters” would be succinct and even sound a bit like the old title.
I also like the old tagline, but the title and tagline should perhaps form a combo that’s not too obscure to casual readers. Maybe something like:
“Mammoth hunters - Mocking the misogynist meat providers of modern stone age”
I’m with dlouwe and pineapplecookies. “They Hunted The Mammoth - I/We mock the misogyny” sounds like the superior choice.
Robert:
I’ve seen some speculation that the Uralic source language of “mamont” was Khanty or Mansi in Western Siberia. These are distant relatives of Finnish, somewhat closer to Hungarian. In Finnish, earth is “maa” and “manala” is archaic for underground, also meaning the realm of dead (with connotations of Hell in modern Finnish).
I have to wonder if there was a similar double meaning, in that mammoths lived not only “underground” but actually in the Land of Dead, and that’s why you only saw them as bones or at best corpses. If that were the case, “mammoth” would be an awesomely appropriate name for a mighty extinct animal.
“No More Mammoths”, you could add “To Hunt”.
I like “They Hunted the Mammoth”, maybe employ the use of the two dot ellipsis at the end.
I do think changing the tagline to “mocking misogyny” would be better. Not that the trolls will read it anyway.
And I’m totally imagining Elam riding that mammoth like the Cock Carousel girl is riding the horse. With a poorly worded sign in his hand. Oh, yes, that would be awesome, and it makes me wish I could draw.
Long time lurker, rare commenter, but just wanted to interject here. First, I do like the idea of a rename. Honestly, I cringe everytime “manboobz” is spotted amongs my browser shortcuts - I feel an immediate need clarify that it is not a link to a pornographic website.
Main thing I wanted to say though: if you want a polished and professional banner design, you’ll want a professional artist to do the work. You’ll also want something that the professional spends several hours doing. Asking professional artists to do their work for free as a contest is… kind of shitty (IMO), especially given the struggle it can be to string a career together as an artist.
Might I recommend having
1) a competition for best banner-design idea/concept
2) a fundraiser to commission a professional graphics designer to implement that idea
#2 would probably still be okay for a “split funds 4-ways, commission 3 designers, each gets 25%, and have vote across the 3-best final products, with chosen desing getting last 25%”.
I don’t want to overly complicate this, but the generic “I’ll do a contest so I can get something for free and struggling artists don’t have to be paid for their work” appeal always raises my hackles a bit, and I’d love to see at least some consideration given to a way to pay someone for their hard work.
I’ll kick off with an open offer; I pledge $20 to a commission fund for this banner design, should such a fund be opened.
First comment here. Been following this blog for several months now. I definitely agree with the others on here that the “Misogyny. I mock it.” slogan has to stay (plus I think that picture of that child is absolutely hilarious) in some form or another. I think “We Hunted the Mammoth” is a great name though (especially after having only just learned the meaning behind it, and it’s hilarious as well).
Now, I don’t know anything about banners and such, but I have a great idea for the slogan. I suggest: “Mocking the Mammoth Misogyny of the Manosphere.”
What do you think?
I’m all for changing the site title, but add me to the host clamoring to keep “Misogyny, I mock it,” as the title. Not a big fan of “We Hunted the Mammoth” either, since that makes it sound like we’re the ones saying that. They Hunted The Mammoth, I’d be okay with, like Auntie Alias suggested. We’re a mockery site, and I think the title should reflect that. As for suggestions, hmm…
Cockblock Carousel?
Bonbon Brigade?
Mockery and Cats?
Mocking Misogyny?
RE: David
Mocking the new misogyny?
Honestly, I don’t see anything ‘new’ about these guys’s schtick. They don’t deserve the adjective.
RE: cloudiah/AL3H
I hope katz and/or LBT submit designs. I would be willing to help subsidize if they don’t want to work for free. (I like that I’ve become a little patron of the arts around here.)
Whoo. If I’m paid, I’m happy to submit, but you’d have to be willing to wait a week; I just came back from a con, have two commishes stacked up, PLUS the writeathon is still going. April has been hella busy for me, and I’m definitely feeling the strain.
RE: Lili Fugit
I suppose the overly sensitive could read some kind of transmisogyny into it,
Uh, it’s not overly sensitive. Have you HEARD the sort of shit people say about trans women’s bodies? They have all the right in the world to be pissed! I’m a trans guy, and I’ve been uncomfortable with the site title here sometimes.
RE: Lionel
“Imaginary Mammoths”, viz; the kind that MRAs think they’d be able to catch, & act as though though they would catch.
I actually think this idea isn’t bad either.
The Mammoths of Misogyny? (Gawd, that sounds like a rather good Jean Auel book.)
I noticed wehuntedthemammoth.com links to this site, but it’s really too long and clumsy to remember and refer to.
Also, you could have a theme of: “hunting the mammoth: the elephant in the room of the MRA movement is its misogyny”, but I don’t know if it’s catchy.
Here’s something rough:
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww218/poopyletter/Untitled-2.png
@leocigale the expression on the mammoth’s face is just classic!
That’s some great artwork, leocigale!
@everyone
How about “We Hunted The Mammoth” with the tagline “Mocking the misogyny of the manosphere”?
What is “Mocking Misogyny” was the blog title and “They Hunted the Mammoth” the tagline. Because I agree that it shouldn’t sound like *we’re* the ones who hunted mammoths, and also that it’s kind of long for a blog name.
leocigale’s art makes me laugh! It ought to be used somehow.
@ leocigale, the illustration is wonderful! I love the added touch of the trilby.
@Ally, it’s pretty wordy. So is “We Hunted The Mammoth” for that matter. I don’t think that’ll work with the Magnum font. leocigale’s version kind of drives home how much space is going to be needed for the text.
I’m thinking of taking a run at a design but don’t want to give it much thought until David confirms what the text is going to be. If the name is “We Hunted The Mammoth”, is that supposed to appear in quotation marks in the logo?
I like Mocking Misogyny, myself. Reminds me of chanting slogans in the Pride parade years ago.
“What do we mock?”
MISOGYNY!
“When do we mock it?”
ALL THE TIME!
@Auntie Alias
Yeah, I guess it is pretty wordy. =/
I really like that idea. “Mocking Misogyny” is short and gets right to the point.
Leocigale, did you draw that? I love it!
Leocigale, NICE!
Yeah, I like Mocking Misogyny too. Mammoth references something, but Mocking Misogyny gets to the heart of who we are and what we do. I love having the mammoth and the woman on the rooster carousel as images, which are in-jokes, but I feel the title of the site shouldn’t be.
Also, if I designed logo stuff, not gonna lie, I’d be tempted to draw one of those terrifying scary fat ladies riding a mastodon into battle, waving a spear.
Terrifying and scary to THEM, I mean. Not to us.
Here’s a better version. Anyone feel free to use it.
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww218/poopyletter/Untitled-0-1.jpg
@Kevin Kirkpatrick
Actually, it’s more like “I’ll do a contest so the hobbyists who frequent the site can have a bit of fun coming up with a funny image for a blog”. Not every artist is a professional.
I can save it with a transparent background too, if you guys need. And if you have ideas for other pictures I can draw them and post them. :)
Kevin: “I don’t want to overly complicate this, but the generic “I’ll do a contest so I can get something for free and struggling artists don’t have to be paid for their work” appeal always raises my hackles a bit, and I’d love to see at least some consideration given to a way to pay someone for their hard work. ”
I doubt many submitting art are struggling artists. I love this site, so if I have the talent to contribute something I will. Besides, I love drawing cartoons. Especially when they involve cute mammoths.
Yeah, I’m a pro artist, and not gonna lie, I don’t plan to submit anything without getting paid, because I don’t work for free, ESPECIALLY not during con crunch and with two commissions and writeathon going on.
leocigale, I love it!
I really appreciate the suggestion of a fund for a commission, and the fact that some people have pledged actual $ for it. I put this forward as a contest with no cash reward because I’m broke and because there are so many people here who are really talented artists who enjoy doing manboobz-related art already.
But if there are people who want to contribute to a prize, I would be more than glad to set up a prize fund. The easiest way to do this would be for people to donate to Manboobz using the regular donation button, but specifying that the money should go to the prize. (You can send along comments when you donate.)
I could make the process transparent by noting the donations publicly — though without referencing anyone’s name. Everyone donating could include some unique word or phrase in the comments on Paypal when they donate, and I could reference this instead of their name.
If anyone else has another idea of how to do this, let me know.
I’m definitely going with We Hunted The Mammoth. I agree that the url is a little cumbersome. If anyone has any good ideas on good ways to shorten it, let me know and I’ll see if those URLs are available. I can have multiple urls pointing to the site.
Maybe TheMammoth.net? (TheMammoth.com is taken, though no one is using it.)
As for the tagline, my inclination right now is to go with:
The New Misogyny, tracked and mocked.
Yes, most of the ideas of the misogynists we talk about here are pretty old. But this online backlash is something new, and it’s these guys (MRAs, PUAs, manospherians) that we focus on here, rather than on more old-fashioned sorts of misogynists (religious fundamentalists and other traditionalists, say). I’ll write up an explanation of the term when I announce the name change officially.
The “tracked” part is because this blog isn’t completely about mocking; it’s also about keeping track of these guys, in the way that, say Right Wing Watch keeps track of right wingers.
Oh, and obviously I’ll contribute to the commission fund too!
Oops. All the standard variations on TheMammoth (.com, .net, .org) have been taken. So has whtm.com.
Hello, I have a suggestion, leocigale should add a cavewoman riding a giant mutant rooster. Since the new title refers to the usual MRA chestnuts, it would be fitting.
I like We Hunted the Mammoth, but I think it needs to be in quotations - “We Hunted the Mammoth!”, in order to show it’s a paraphrased quotation of the shit MRAs say.
Possible urls…. squashedbymammoth.com scentedmammothcandles.com
I’d keep going, but now I keep reading mammoth as manmoth, and now I want to watch the Tick…
Should there be a reference to “we hunted the mammoth for you” in there? IMO it needs that “for you” to drive home the point that these losers are claiming credit for things they’re assuming only men did, while the ladies sat around eating Palaeolithic bon-bons (that some mysterious other people must have made, since ladies don’t cook).
leocigale, love your art!
kittehserf, I sort of think the name is long enough as it is. I’ll provide an explanation in the FAQ and possibly in the sidebar so the meaning of the phrase is made clear to everyone.
But that gives me an idea for a url. …
Yeah, the name is pretty long already; it’s one reason I’m not wild about the choice, actually (that, and variations on Mammoth Hunters being too close to the Jean Auel book).
My local lacrosse team has is called the Mammoth.
Their logo:
http://inlacrossewetrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/coloradomammoth1.jpg
mockingmisogyny.com is available.
Cockcarousel.com is up for grabs too. :)
That’s a clever logo they’ve got, Guy Noir.
Here’s a mammoth hunter, in a thong:
http://frankfrazetta.net/images/Frank%20Frazetta-Mammoth.jpg
Good grief.
Real reason he’s twisting around - nothin’ to do with trying to stab that mammoth (who has a very WTF? look on its face), it’s “Owshitthisthing’stwistedroundmybitsaaaaarrrghgetitoffOMGthere’samammothinfrontofme!”
Also, if it’s territory cold enough to support wooly mammoth, why is this dude running around in almost nothing? Silly fellow, he’ll get frostbite.
That guy looks like He-Man. Gross.
Is it misandry that I like She-Ra way more than He-Man?
That pic reminds me of Boris Vallejo’s (sp?) stuff. That’s hurl-worthy all by itself.
No wonder - look at the URL, it’s a picture by Frank Frazetta, another famous artist in that genre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Frazetta
Yes, I didn’t know the name Frazetta. I’d have probably thought it was a Vallejo pic otherwise. The thought of two of ‘em (at least) churning out that stuff … gah.
Forgot to add to my post….The rooster girl is hanging with the mammoth bunch.
I can picture a MRA reading a Conan or John Carter story, thinking it’s real history.
“By Crom, life was really like this before feminism! Crom!”
I tried to draw a mammoth in MS Paint. I think it looked like Jackson Pollock made a kangaroo.
Shaun: Share! Gotta be better than MRA art!
Here’s my entry :) I hope this link works
http://secretsupernova1414.tumblr.com/post/82792836573/heres-a-drawing-i-made-for-the-new-manboobz-logo
Those are great, Supernova!
I made some banners last night but I only had my laptop handy. I need to plug into my big monitor and edit them because I think I misaligned some mammoth bits (and text!). However, the weather is supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow so it might have to wait.
Yeah, Vallejo is basically inspired by/copying Frazetta.
My dad is kind of a Frazetta fan. I think part of the reason he likes Frazetta is because my dad is not attracted to thin women, and likes to kind of make a big deal out of it.
I don’t particularly dislike Frazetta, but his pictures certainly had a lot of Male Gaze goin’ on.
I went and looked a bit at the site that the Frazetta mammoth image came from.
My inner middle-schooler keeps saying, “Look, it’s a butt! Look, there’s another one!”
Butts are inherently funny, IMO.
OK, last Frazetta post.
What the title should be: “Misandry”. (The snake represents feminists.)
That snake picture is…Freudian.
I actually laughed aloud at the snake painting, for real.
Thanks, Supernova!
OK, that snake painting reminded me of that one Buffy where she goes to a frat party and is almost sacrificed to a giant snake monster.
Supernova, that is great!
And that snake picture nearly made me spit up my wine.
I think that would be a great name if it weren’t for its potential to make this blog sound like a porn website.
If you’re a woman, anything you do is misandry.
She-Ra is the superior cartoon, though.
RE: Guy Noir
Here’s a mammoth hunter, in a thong:
*smirk* Say what you will about Frank Frazetta, at least dude was equal opportunity in his almost-naked people.
RE: Kittehs
That pic reminds me of Boris Vallejo’s (sp?) stuff.
Frazetta was basically the guy who STARTED all that. He way predates Vallejo and come on, I actually kinda like his wife’s stuff! Julie Bell is cool!
Also, I feel guilty for liking this shit, but come on, I’m a fantasy and superhero fan! And my favorite pizza joint back in Texas (Conan’s) was COVERED in these prints! NOSTALGIAAAAA!
That’s why I suggested cockblockcarousel, Ally!
I rather like Frazetta’s art too. It’s really well done.
*googles Julie Bell* Hey, she does have some good stuff!
Anything with the word “cock” in it would rather undermine the goal of making the name less awkward to explain to other people.