A Comparison Of Pentheus And Milo Yiannopoulos

“Only 20% of girls are a level physics students. BECAUSE girls don’t like physics. They are not being pushed out, they are not becoming physicists because they have no interest in it (“The Hopeless arrogance of Milo Yiannopoulos”),” Milo Yiannopoulos explains to College of Cambridge researcher Emily Grossman. Similarly, Pentheus of Euripides’ Bacchae believes that women do not deserve the right to practice what they want. Both leaders also believe that outsiders are a threat to themselves. However, Yiannopoulos and Pentheus are not completely alike. Yiannopoulos, a proud gay man believes that everyone should accept homosexuals. In contrast, Pentheus, a closeted homosexual, hates himself and wishes to change his sexuality.
Milo Yiannopoulos

and Pentheus of the Bacchae share similar views on xenophobia and women but differ heavily in their opinions of homosexuality even though both of them are homosexuals themselves.
Yiannopoulos and Pentheus both see outsiders with different practices as dangerous, barbaric, or uncivilized based on assumptions with no concrete grounding. Yiannopoulos, a “tech editor” for Breitbart.com, flaunts his blatant xenophobia in the many articles that he writes. Yiannopoulos’ arguments, like Pentheus’, are not backed up with evidence or are supported by warped data. In an article he wrote for Breitbart, Yiannopoulos explicitly says that all Muslims are dangerous to the United States:
“America has a Muslim problem. Notice my wording carefully here. It isn’t a radical Muslim problem. It isn’t an ISIS problem, an Al Qaeda problem, a Taliban problem, or any of the Muslim terror groups that have sprung up in 2016. The terror attack on Saturday [Orlando shooting] is an expression of mainstream Muslim values” (Yiannopoulos, “Here's Everything I Wanted To Say About Islam Yesterday, But Couldn’t”).
Yiannopoulos’ claim that all Muslims are dangerous lacks any hard facts or numbers. In reality, only a fraction of Muslims actually believe that suicide tactics are justified. According to the Pew Research Center, only 86% of Muslims in the U.S. say that suicidal tactics are never justified ( Michael Lipka, “Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the U.S. and around the world”). Similarly, Pentheus finds that anyone who doesn’t act Greek is uncivilized and barbaric. In Pentheus’ first stichomythia with Dionysus, he says, “I’m not surprised. They’re [outsiders] stupider than greeks.” Pentheus assumes that those who are different than him must be stupid and uncivilized because they are not like him. Equivalently, Milo Yiannopoulos perceives all Muslims to be threatening because of a few people.
In addition to their xenophobia, Milo Yiannopoulos and Pentheus believe that women do not entitled to rights that men have due to their fear that women will eventually control men.

Of all the things Yiannopoulos is known for, it is his burning hate for feminism and women’s rights. Yiannopoulos frequently appears on news networks to debate feminists and say that women do belong in the workplace. In a talk on a college campus, Yiannopoulos explained that “The only bit of feminism left is that which is more interested in hurting men than empowering women” (Thornberry and Nguyen, "Milo Yiannopoulos Talks on Campus, Targets Feminism, Rape Culture and Muslims"). Yiannopoulos displays his pronounced fear of women. Identically, Pentheus sees women as threatening as the go out to the mountains to perform bacchic rituals. During Pentheus’ dialogue with Tiresias and Cadmus mentions, “but I hear about disgusting things going on / here in the city—women leaving home / to go to silly Bacchic rituals.” Pentheus sees the Bacchic rituals as a rebellion against men. When the women leave for the mountain, they are doing acts that would be prohibited when men are around. Pentheus immediately tries to quell the Bacchic rituals.
Yiannopoulos openly promotes rights for homosexuals like himself due to his belief that Islam threatens his way of life in contrast to Pentheus’ fear of homosexuality despite the fact that he himself is gay. Yiannopoulos, openly gay, enthusiastically promotes his lifestyle

for others like him, albeit his very conservative views. Yiannopoulos calls upon conservatives and homosexuals to put aside their differences to unite against the “common enemy.”:
"Donald Trump is best placed to end the tyranny of political correctness in this country," said Yiannopoulos. "Many Trump supporters and Republicans have their challenges with the gay thing. But there's a world of difference between refusing to bake a cake and opening fire [on a gay nightclub]” (Soave, “Milo Yiannopoulos Proposed a Gay-Conservative Alliance and the Pro-Trump Crowd Loved It”)
Yiannopoulos embraces himself as gay and loves himself for it whereas Pentheus rejects himself. It is evident that Pentheus is gay in his many dialogues with Dionysus. Amid the earthquake, Pentheus appears to be hallucinating and swiping at nothing. Later when Dionysus is describing Pentheus to the chorus, he says, “…Pentheus charged it [image of Dionysus] / slashing away at nothing but bright air/ thinking he was butchering me. There’s more—….” Pentheus tries to attack what he loves because he does not accept it; however, it is impossible for him to rid of his homsexuality. Pentheus’ rejection of himself is a stark difference to Yiannopoulos’ call for acceptance among conservatives.
Yiannopoulos’ view of homosexuality for himself and for others differs from Pentheus’ rejection of himself as a homosexual but his opinion on outsiders, particularly Muslims, and women are akin to Pentheus’ opinions. Yiannopoulos shares many prominent characteristics with Pentheus. Both see outsiders with different practices dangerous. He also believes that Women are dangerous towards men, just like Pentheus. The only difference is that he embraces his homosexuality, a divergence from Pentheus’ shame of himself. What is remarkable and is that Yiannopoulos attracts so many men, especially college students, despite his seemingly repulsive behavior. It is no wonder why Yiannopoulos is considered to be one of the most dangerous people on the internet.