Opening
GamerGate: Just the Facts
The argument I made is that facts don’t exist in
a vacuum. We have to consider the society that goes into them. The tone of this
piece screams Men’s Rights Activists. I’m already going in with minds fairly
set against mine but these lack complete context.
Lifespan
A popular theory about why men have shorter
lifespans is the forced stoicism forced on American men. Men aren't supposed to
cry or be depressed. They get angry, chill, or happy. God forbid a man ever
sheds a tear. The stress of a lifetime of internalizing emotion can cause a lot
wear and tear on a body. Keeping a lid on your emotions doesn't help the
individual or our society's problematic definition of what it means to 'be a
man.'
Another factor that could contribute to shorter
lifespans is how we socialize our kids. Boys are permitted to be adventurous
while girls are trained to be more demure. "Boys will be boys" vs.
"That's not ladylike." This may be why I've never heard a woman tell
a story involving shenanigans and fireworks.
Politics
Electing someone into power does not make anyone
have a servant/master relationship. The language here is inherently flawed.
Secondly, there are not enough women running for
political office on a variety of levels. Social change happens when the
underrepresented group is given a voice in a situation where change can happen.
Latinos are expected to outnumber white Americans in the near future but they are
still an underrepresented group where it truly matters. Sheer numbers do not
equal power.
Education
Women do not ‘control’ education. Teaching has
long been considered a pink-collar profession and therefore is underpaid and
undervalued. Some men don’t go into teaching because it doesn’t pay well or is
considered ‘women’s work.’
The ‘power’ here is not in the numbers alone.
How many women are on the school board? How many are principals? What about the
Secretary of Education? Are women making the funding and hiring decisions? What
about university presidents and deans? Teachers are fairly low on the power
structure of how education decisions get made.
Reproduction
That number is completely false. I would like to
know where whoever wrote this got that number.
Having a uterus doesn’t not inherently give us
control. Many states are trying to ban abortion or stopping just short. Other
states want to or have installed a 24 waiting period. Anyone who is making the
decision to terminate a pregnancy is not doing this willy-nilly. It’s a way to
stick it to poor women who have limited resources, time, and money to get to
the locations that provide the service.
Many other states allow a pharmacist to refuse
to fill prescriptions for Plan-B or birth control based on their religious
beliefs. Some politicians lobbying against women and reproductive rights have
actually put little thought into why women want them. That is terrifying.
The personhood amendments that have been
bouncing around the south the last few years would give more power to the fetus
growing inside the woman than the woman carrying it around. They would deny the
right of the human woman in favor of a fetus.
Again facts don’t exist in a vacuum. Many women receiving
abortions are mothers. Should a woman stop having sex with her husband because
the pharmacist denied her the right to make decisions about her family?
Genital Integrity
Female genital mutilation is illegal in America.
It is still a routine practice in many undeveloped countries.
‘Male genital mutilation’ or circumcision is a
decision made by parents for infant sons. It is considered necessary by the
standard of some major religions. Other parents do it so father and son will
match. I suspect it historically became popular for regions surrounding ideas
about hygiene but I’m not an expert. It has retained popularity in western
cultures but many are choosing not to circumcise.
This procedure almost always occurs when the
male is still an infant and retains no memory of the event or pain. Some men
retroactively take issue with this decision being made for them. If I have a
son, I plan to leave that choice to the father.
Female genital mutilation is almost always done
when the girl is old enough to remember the pain and trauma. Since it’s done in
less developed nations, the healthcare surrounding it is not nearly as good as
an infant’s circumcision.
Judiciary
Two words: Prove. It.
If it is happening systematically, where are the
numbers? What is the evidence? Don’t just give me personal rants and casual
observation. If it’s systematic, there is a paper trail and documentation to
support your argument. Find it.
Based on casual observation alone, mothers are
generally favored because women are the nurturers in this culture. It’s how
society sets the dynamic for men to be the breadwinners and women to be the
caregivers. This has been the system for hundreds of years and that doesn’t
change overnight.
I have heard plenty of stories of reasonable
joint custody arrangements or fathers getting custody. If the men in this case
are spouting hateful vitriol toward women, especially the child’s mother, the
court will favor the more neutral party.
As for prison, are the men doing all this hard
time white? The oppressed men in prison statistics are almost always racial
minorities. MRAs are almost always white men. Facts don’t exist in a vacuum.
This presentation ignores the racial and socioeconomic context that goes into
prison sentencing.
Social
This is a casual, observational statistic with no
sociological evidence to back it up. If it exists, I would love to see it.
This argument also lacks all context of what is
meant by behavior and clothing. Is it the standard of girl’s shorts getting a
1-inch inseam to a boy’s 6-inch inseam. Mothers and young girls didn’t decide
that and are fighting against the limited options.
What is the behavior meant here? Is it having to
respect a woman in a bar when she turns you down? Is it not catcalling?
This is too vague an argument for me to counter
act. I could make the exact same argument about men with this lack of detail.
Employment
How many female loggers, construction workers,
roofers, fishers, and machinists do you know?
For a long time women weren't allowed to do
those jobs. Even now that women are getting jobs in these industries, many men
in that field don't want them there. The easiest solution is to make the
workplace as hostile as possible. North Country focuses on that type of harassment and the first
class action lawsuit against it. My explanation is oversimplified but that's a
big part of this statistic.
Suicide
I think the suicide statistic ties back into men
repressing their emotions. Men aren’t supposed to be sad or depressed, remember?
Society gives them few outlets for their feelings while still “being a man.”
I have struggled with depression and if you’re
conditioned to never ask for help or talk about it, of course suicide will look
like a valid option. It’s the toxic masculinity of our culture.
Sexuality
This is patently false.
Female sexuality can be seen as liberating but women risk being sucked into the
virgin/whore dichotomy. We’re supposed to be sexually appealing and sexually
available but not so available that we’re giving it away for free. Once we do
that, we’re just sluts.
When was the last time a man was called a slut
for no reason other than what he was wearing? If a man has a one-night stand,
he’s a player. He’s praised. Men further this dynamic by ragging on each other
if they don’t get laid and elevating ones who do.
The reason female sexuality may seem liberating
is that some women are trying to reclaim the entire idea of it. We’re taking it
back and defining it on our own terms. This is not demonizing men or their
sexuality.
This whole thing goes sooooo much deeper than I
can say in one blog. I'd recommend doing your own homework.
Homelessness
Part of the homeless statistic is veterans. For
a long time, women were kept in very limited military roles. Several homeless
men are veterans who have trouble readjusting to society coming back from war.
It’s a job not often open to women so this is a contributing factor.
I don’t know much about homelessness beyond this
issue so I won’t try to speak to it.
Violence
Men are victims of various kinds of violence for
several reasons. Our culture encourages
fighting and aggression in men because it’s what it means to “be a man.”
Rape is thought to be the most underreported
crime in North America. Women are more likely to come forward than men because
a man being sexually assaulted, by either gender, is seen as shameful. He’ll
lose respectability as a man. It’s another part of the toxic masculinity in our
culture.
Women are statistically more likely to be a
victim of partner abuse. I’ve heard everything from 1 in 3 or 4 to 1 in 6. The
point being that if you get 12 women in a room, the numbers say that at least 2
have been abused by their partners. I doubt the numbers for men are that
extreme.
I won’t change everyone’s minds but almost
everything I’ve said here can be backed up in a simply Google search with
reliable sources. Can MRAs say the same?
