I agree.
Stop saying you have a boyfriend. It means, "I'd be interested, except..."
Start standing up for yourself. Say "I'm not interested." It means, "I'm not interested, now or ever."
Save "I have a boyfriend" for those moments when you're a terrible person and you really mean you'd be interested, except you can't. (This last sentence directed at me, especially re: use of phrase "terrible person," so please don't whiplash me over this. I know when I'm a terrible person. (It is possibly frequently.) I'm not calling you terrible. Chill.)
Completely wrong on every level.
The article argues that "I have a boyfriend" means:
When in fact, "I have a boyfriend" means "I have committed to another." Respecting that does not mean regarding women as property, it means respecting a woman's choice in relationships. Turning that into an instrument of male oppression is, frankly, insane.
Further, "I have a boyfriend" is what we call a white lie. Telling someone you're not interested in that you have a boyfriend when you don't allows that person to save face. Allowing that person to save face skips this conversation:
Here's the subtext of that conversation:
"Hello, I find you attractive and/or interesting."
"I find you unattractive and uninteresting."
"Wait...what?"
"Yep."
"Are you seriously going to stand there and insult me? There's no way you could pad this a little bit?"
"None whatsoever. I refuse to support the male paradigm."
"This isn't about the male paradigm, it's about hurting feelings - "
"How male of you. Allow me to lecture you on how you're not allowed to have feelings because you're male."
Flip it. When a girl comes up to me at a bar and I don't say "I have a girlfriend" is it better for me to say "I'm not interested?" Because from a male perspective, the initial dance is almost entirely "are you hot or not?" So "I'm not interested" is effectively "you're too ugly."
Who is that empowering?