Salon.com > ken hoinsky

How to get chicks without being a jerk

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:59:00 +0000

Is all pickup advice sexist? That's what I found myself wondering after "pickup artist" Ken Hoinsky made headlines last week by raising more than $16,000 via a Kickstarter campaign to publish his book, "Above the Game: A Guide to Getting Awesome With Women." Critics say Hoinsky's idea of a pickup is actually predatory -- for example, he advises men to “continue to try to escalate physically" with a woman until she responds by shouting "STOP" or "GET AWAY FROM ME."

The controversy inspired Maria Bustillos at the Awl to write a defense of Hoinsky with a great big nod of sympathy to all the "shy fellows" out there. I disagree with her contention that Hoinsky's advice is harmless -- but we do agree on one thing: There is nothing wrong with wanting to attract women -- whether it's for a one-night stand or a long-term relationship. The problem arises when the advice is sexist, demeaning or hostile.

Ken Hoinsky’s Reddit AMA reveals dark incidents from his “seduction” history

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 21:13:00 +0000

Pickup artist Ken Hoinsky has been the subject of a lot of debate and criticism lately, and his Tuesday "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit is certain to generate more conversation about the would-be self-help author.

As has been well documented on Salon and elsewhere, Hoinsky's "seduction guide" offers dubious and sexually predatory advice that many feminist writers (hi) have denounced for encouraging sexual assault and violence against women. But as one Redditor pointed out on Tuesday, the advice threads that didn't make it into Hoinsky's book proposal are far more troubling than those that did, as this archived "field report" from Hoinsky shows:

Pickup artist Ken Hoinsky apologizes for promoting predatory behavior

Mon, 24 Jun 2013 20:38:00 +0000

In a Monday interview with the Awl's Maria Bustillos, pickup artist and would-be self-help author Ken Hoinsky responded to criticism that excerpts from his book "Above the Game" promote sexual assault by claiming that he did not think his book advocated violence against women, which he says is an issue he does not "take lightly."

In a reveal that will surprise precisely no one, Hoinsky is very concerned by accusations that his book promotes sexual violence. "When someone accuses me of encouraging violence against women, or says something like, 'somebody is going to use this guide to rape a woman,' those are not allegations that I take lightly," he says. "In the intention of anything that I've written, there is nothing that encourages violence against women, that's absurd; I would never ever do that, that goes against every value that I have."