'Anti-feminists' attack store Facebook page for stocking Clementine Ford's book

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This was published 6 years ago

'Anti-feminists' attack store Facebook page for stocking Clementine Ford's book

By Mary Ward
Updated

A Brisbane bookstore was bombarded with one-star ratings on its Facebook page after an "anti-feminist" online group became angry at the store's excitement for an upcoming book by Daily Life columnist, Clementine Ford.

Avid Reader Bookshop and Cafe, in Brisbane's West End, was the target of a large number of negative reviews on its page last night after it shared a post from Ford's page announcing she would be publishing a second book in 2018.

The bookstore, which hosted a Brisbane launch event for Ford's first book, Fight Like a Girl, last year, commented on the shared post, "Such brilliant news!"

Shortly after making the comment, the Avid Reader Facebook page received more than 200 one-star reviews, with accompanying comments accusing the store of "hating men" and being "anti-equality".

Avid Reader social media manager Christopher Currie said that, while initial feedback to the post was positive, around 6:30pm he started to realise something had gone awry.

The source of the campaign appears to be "anti-feminist" Facebook page, Anti-Feminism Australia.

According to their website, they were founded in 2013 as a closed Facebook group, but moved to a public page the following year. After Facebook closed the page last year, following a public campaign, the group returned and now has 69,000 likes on Facebook.

"Avid Reader Bookshop and Cafe in Brisbane are promoting Clementine Ford's man hating book," the group's Facebook page posted last night. "Be sure to leave them a one star review for promoting the hatred of men."

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The group has also organised a change.org petition calling on Ford's publisher, Allen & Unwin, to not publish her "second man-hating book".

Anti-Feminism Australia did not reply to Fairfax Media's request for comment before publication.

The same group was in the news yesterday for allegedly trolling Queensland women-only tradie company, Tradettes, both over the phone and on social media.

Ford's second book, Boys Will Be Boys, will be a reflection on "toxic masculinity and the bonds of brotherhood that are used to codify male power, access and protection", she described in her Facebook post.

The Melbourne author told Fairfax Media the events overnight would give her "more material" for the book.

It is by no means the first time Ford has dealt with online trolling.

The author is known for sharing examples of the abuse she receives online publicly on her Facebook page, occasionally bringing the men responsible to national attention.

As for recent events, Ford said, although she found the reviews accusing the bookstore of being a bastion of misandry amusing, the backlash from the group was "generally tedious".

"I had a jolly good time laughing at the responses on the Avid Reader page but I do find it generally tedious and exhausting," she said. "The hypocrisy is most galling - the same people who whine about 'triggering snowflakes' and feminists trying to silence men are the ones who lead these pathetic charges against women who terrify them."

However, there was an unexpectedly positive end to the story.

After fans of Ford and the independent bookstore got wind of the online hate campaign, they responded promptly with an overwhelming show of support.

Sharing an example of one of Currie's humorous replies to the negative reviews, author Benjamin Law, a former employee of the store, called on Twitter users to give them a five-star review, to counter the damage.

Currie says Avid Reader has gained more than 2000 five-star reviews overnight and 5000 new likes.

"I had expected a defence from our wonderful customers, but I started to see people from all over Australia (and indeed the world) writing the most wonderful things about our shop," he said.

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"That certainly gave me the strength to extend my workday well into the night."

Currie has continued to reply to the reviews left on the page, with tongue-in-cheek remarks for the negative ones and words of thanks to those who expressed support.

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