The anti-trans far-right activist behind What Is a Woman? has a new definition for peak gayness. According to Matt Walsh, a man buying gifts for his wife is the “gayest thing you can do.”
Of course, it’s hardly surprising that Walsh would say this, considering he has quite the track record of saying the most ridiculous things a person could think of. Often, it’s quite humorous to see him get brutally roasted when he feels the urge to spew more nonsense. However, it’s quite sobering to know that the outrageously homophobic, transphobic, and sexist ideals he voices are often being taken seriously by far-right men.
He was labeled “transphobe of the year” in 2022 after his documentary What Is a Woman? released, further spreading his hateful ideologies and conspiracy theories about the LGBTQ+ community and even allegedly tricking members of the trans community into providing commentary without disclosing his involvement in the project.
Walsh has also insisted that depression and anxiety aren’t mental health illnesses, that all left-wing women are fat and ugly, that a woman’s success is always solely attributed to her attractiveness, and that it’s harmful to men for women to be able to secure a divorce. Needless to say, there is no lack of gross and hateful things Walsh has said and promoted. So, making a complete and utter fool of himself in his desperation to encourage right-wing men not to show an ounce of respect towards women is right up his alley.
A clip of Walsh speaking for The Daily Wire quickly went viral for one comment that was more absurd than usual. Walsh was speaking of the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday, stating, “Of course, 97% of us are buying the Valentine’s gift on the way home from work on February 14th, but buying a Valentine’s Day gift for your wife a month early is the gayest thing you could do.” Wait a minute? A man having a wife and buying her a gift outside of February 14 is the “gayest” thing someone could possibly do? Isn’t it … the literal opposite?
Walsh may have finally reached the peak of the “Fellas, is it gay to …?” meme, which mocks just this kind of fragile masculinity and homophobia, which is so extreme that it becomes self-parody. In fact, if you’ve ever been on X (formerly Twitter), there’s a good chance you’ve already seen the meme used to make fun of other conservative men showing this same kind of blatant hatred for women in the same breath that they use not being attracted to women as an insult. Yet, Walsh doubled down, going on to tell men not to buy their wives an early Valentine’s gift because their wives might call them “gay” if they found out.
Needless to say, everyone was extremely confused about Walsh’s statement. Of all the gay things someone could possibly do, being nice to your wife is the gayest thing Walsh could think of? He’s basically saying a man being attracted to and showing affection for a woman … is gay… Also, we’re starting to doubt he’s ever actually met a woman before. Every woman I know, whether conservative or liberal, would probably be so touched they would cry if their husband were thoughtful enough to buy their Valentine’s Day gift a month in advance.
Despite the humor in how unhinged that statement is, it is also very sad. The whole statement insinuates that being gay is bad and that it’s some kind of insult to men. However, it’s the sheer hatred of women underlying that statement that is especially disconcerting. He is encouraging right-wing men to pat themselves on the back if they grudgingly drag themselves to the store at the last minute to get their wives cheap gifts because genuinely caring about them and wanting to make them happy is somehow bad.
His statement really isn’t about gift-giving on Valentine’s Day; it’s about pushing the idea that men should be afraid of accidentally making their wives think that they actually like them and that they’re somehow less of a man if they happen to briefly think of their wives outside of Valentine’s Day and anniversaries.
It’s quite scary that men being encouraged to think absolutely nothing of their wives and the mothers of their children are going to be voting in the upcoming election. It may sound like just another stupid statement from Walsh, but it has so many depressing connotations in pushing men to be so firmly against women’s rights that they’re scared to be vaguely kind to their wives, even within the privacy of their own homes.
(featured image: blackCAT/Getty)
