The 180

OPINION: What we can learn from pick-up culture

Writer Nico Lang says the people profiting from the pickup artist culture deserve denunciation, the people attracted to it deserve sympathy and understanding.
Daryush Valizadeh, known as "Roosh V," is the founder of controversial website Return of Kings (Youtube)

This week, the Mayor of Toronto publicly denounced a controversial American author, blogger, and so-called "pick-up artist" called Roosh V.

Roosh, whose real name is Daryush Valizadeh, is an author of several guides for men on how to entice women into having sex with them.

He has made several controversial statements on his blog, including an argument that women would be safer if rape were legalized on private property.

In advance of a speaking tour with a stop in Toronto, civic politicians including Mayor John Tory criticized Roosh, and objected to his presence in the city. 

In this interview, guest host Stephen Quinn speaks with Nico Lang, a writer for the websites The Daily Dot and The Good Men Project.

Nico has observed what's known as "pick-up artist" culture for several years.

He feels the people making money from the culture deserve denouncement, but the followers of people like Roosh V deserve empathy and understanding.

I think it's easier to just dismiss them and say "this culture is problematic and it just shouldn't exist" but I think we also need to look at the reasons why a lot of those men get involved in the movement and critique that too.- Nico Lang

He says many men struggle to find a place in the world, and pick-up artist culture provides one path to fulfillment. 

Men like Roosh are really exploiting men's vulnerabilities. Here you have a generation of men who are lost. Who are feeling unfulfilled, who are feeling broken, who are angry, and don't have the right outlets to vent that anger.- Nico Lang

Nico feels we should take those feelings seriously, but question why social and cultural expectations of men often rest on their ability to seduce women.