I would like to thank you for your light-hearted coverage of Dimitri the Lover in your recent issue (“Tough-talkin’ love,” Cover, April 3). Inspired by your promotional piece on the “pickup artist,” I went to his website and learned all about how to be a woman and my place in society.
For example, before I learned from him, I didn’t know that I am “a belligerent slut” that is like “a wild horse” that needs to be “broken” by a man using my “insecurity to psychologically overpower [me] and force [me] to sexually submit.” Also, I am glad that he taught me, in the Ten Commandments for Men and for Women, that a man is “BORN MURDERER AND RAPIST” and that I, as a woman, have the obligation to “NOT PROVOKE HIM.” As a result of this revelation, I now understand what Dimitri means by “erotic anal rape” as an acceptable behaviour “administered on one’s spouse or girlfriend as a form of punishment when she has displayed a bad attitude, has a virtually 100 per cent success rate in correcting the problem.” These are a few examples of the lessons that your publication has kindly not discussed in your coverage of Dimitri the Lover, to allow your readers to explore ourselves.

How enlightening, now I can offer my “dog-like submission” to my boyfriend as he exercises “his natural urges of raping my brain psychologically” as Dimitri the Lover suggests repeatedly for women and men to do respectively. VIVIAN LEE

I am very disturbed by the article. This “Dimitri the Lover” character is not contributing to any kind of “seduction community,” but strengthening a community of misogyny and violence against women (with racist undertones — “cold rejections ... he attributed ... to ethnicity”). If EYE WEEKLY does not explicitly name how dangerous, disgusting and regressive to society his actions and ideas are, they are also condoning and encouraging an unjust community of violence and oppression against women. SHAUNGA TAGORE

Your article this week on Dimitri the Lover in no way fully expressed the extent of Dimitri’s deeply sick behaviour. I think it should be highlighted that a man who advocates anal rape, mind control and says that no means maybe shouldn’t be seen as some quirky miscreant, but a seriously sick and dangerous pervert who needs to be in jail or under 24-hour psychiatric care. PAUL MCCRADY

Please explain yourselves and the article on “Dimitri the Lover,” for the benefit of me and 400 of my friends who are part of networks of feminist coalitions, groups, Ontario government ministries and non-profit organizations. Please explain to me why you are promoting hatred towards women by publishing uncritical essays such as these. Do you have idiots for writers? Do you completely lack ethics? Was this supposed to be funny? Because I don’t get it.
 AYESHA BASIT

I assume you printed this misogynist piece of crap as a “troll” — to see how many outraged letters you’d get. Well, I’d hate to disappoint you. Note to Dimitri: women are individuals, not machines that respond when certain buttons are pushed. If you’d recognize that, you could probably get laid without resorting to trickery.
RHONDA SUSSMAN

EDITOR’S NOTE: For EYE WEEKLY’s response to these letters, please see our Editorial Digest on page 6.

CORRECTION: Roger Mooking is now and always has been the executive chef of Kultura restaurant. Incorrect information appeared on last week’s letters page. EYE WEEKLY regrets the error.

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