Who are more oppressed in modern western society? Men or women?

I hate that feminists get such a bad name... people forget that not all feminists are man haters or think men is the enemy- that is just radicals. The rest of us are perfectly logical thinkers who are up for a good debate and open to listening to the other side

I'll just drop a few statistics and be on my way, be aware that these are a bit old but little to no improvement has been made since. Since the question is about modern western societies, I think these will be fine since most are American because the website I got them from was American and in most countries the statistics are similar anyway. Here they are:

Unsheltered Homeless (2009)
Women – 12,000 – 4%
Men – 240,000 – 96%

Life Expectancy (2006)
Women – 80.8 Years
Men – 75.7 Years

Suicides (2008)
Women – 7,585 - 19%
Men – 28,450 - 81%

Deaths by Homicide (2004)
Women – 3,856 – 20%
Men – 14,717 – 80%

Deaths from Cancer (2004)
Women – 269,819
Men – 290,069

Deaths from HIV/AIDS (2004)
Women – 3,357
Men – 8,756

Federal Funds for Sex Specific Cancer Research
Women – Breast Cancer – $631,000,000 - 40,000 Deaths
Men – Prostate Cancer – $300,000,000 - 33,000 Deaths

Deaths on the Job (2010)
Women – 355 - 7%
Men – 4,192 - 93%

Injuries on the Job (2007)
Women – 36%
Men – 64%

College Enrolment (2009)
Women – 58% - 11,658,000
Men – 42% - 8,770,000

Affirmative Action Education Programs (Gender Specific)
Women – Yes
Men – No

Unemployment Rates (2010)
Women – 8.6% – 6,199,000
Men – 10.5% - 8,626,000

Average Hours Worked Per Week (2010)
Women – 36.1
Men – 40.2

High School Graduation Rates (2005)
Women – 72%
Men – 65%

Incarceration Rates (2009)
Women – 114,979 - 7%
Men – 1,502,490 - 93%

Child Custody Rates
Women – 11,268,000 custodial mothers
Men – 2,907,000 custodial fathers

US Military Deaths From 1950 – 2010
Women – 139 - 0.001%
Men – 100,063 - 99.99%

Federally Funded Battered Shelters
Women – 2,000+ $300,000,000 per year
Men – None – $0

Federally Funded Health Offices and Research 1970 – Present (not including cancer research)
Women Only – Office, Projects and Programs 70+ – Funds – $100,000,000,000
Men Only – None – $0

Forced Selective Service
Women – No
Men – Yes

Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Abuse Rates (2010)
Women – 5.8%
Men – 12.2%

Divorce filings
Women - 85%
Men - 15%

Doctor Degrees(2010)
Women - 51.6%
Men - 48.4%

Master’s Degrees(2010)
Women - 60.3%
Men - 39.7%

Receive Alimony
Women: 97%
Men: 3%?

I was recently debating with a feminist & this topic crossed my mind, opinions???[/QUOTE

As a group women are still oppressed more in the world than men. It is easy to focus on western societies where the differences are less than the majority of the world where women can be little more than the property of there male relatives. In the Uk things are much better but there is still some way to go.

Human beings are discriminatory by nature and it is my opinion that it is not sex v sex or race v race but strong v weak, at least on an individual level. then in group v outgroup when people come together.

There are groups that are discriminated against much worse than women. An ugly or at least unattractive person finds it harder to make friends find a mate, are less likely to be loved by there parent and less likely to be adopted if in care. They find it harder to succeed in career or education, more likely to be bullied or ostracised.

We do this to each other because we are just smart chimps, more evolution needed.

BS. Here's a couple facts for you. The pay gap does NOT exist. A man touching you is not rape. Better?

Both men and women are equally oppressed in different ways, it's not down to feminism but rather the flaws of human society.

I'll just drop a few statistics and be on my way, be aware that these are a bit old but little to no improvement has been made since. Since the question is about modern western societies, I think these will be fine since most are American because the website I got them from was American and in most countries the statistics are similar anyway. Here they are:

Unsheltered Homeless (2009)
Women – 12,000 – 4%
Men – 240,000 – 96%

Life Expectancy (2006)
Women – 80.8 Years
Men – 75.7 Years

Suicides (2008)
Women – 7,585 - 19%
Men – 28,450 - 81%

Deaths by Homicide (2004)
Women – 3,856 – 20%
Men – 14,717 – 80%

Deaths from Cancer (2004)
Women – 269,819
Men – 290,069

Deaths from HIV/AIDS (2004)
Women – 3,357
Men – 8,756

Federal Funds for Sex Specific Cancer Research
Women – Breast Cancer – $631,000,000 - 40,000 Deaths
Men – Prostate Cancer – $300,000,000 - 33,000 Deaths

Deaths on the Job (2010)
Women – 355 - 7%
Men – 4,192 - 93%

Injuries on the Job (2007)
Women – 36%
Men – 64%

College Enrolment (2009)
Women – 58% - 11,658,000
Men – 42% - 8,770,000

Affirmative Action Education Programs (Gender Specific)
Women – Yes
Men – No

Unemployment Rates (2010)
Women – 8.6% – 6,199,000
Men – 10.5% - 8,626,000

Average Hours Worked Per Week (2010)
Women – 36.1
Men – 40.2

High School Graduation Rates (2005)
Women – 72%
Men – 65%

Incarceration Rates (2009)
Women – 114,979 - 7%
Men – 1,502,490 - 93%

Child Custody Rates
Women – 11,268,000 custodial mothers
Men – 2,907,000 custodial fathers

US Military Deaths From 1950 – 2010
Women – 139 - 0.001%
Men – 100,063 - 99.99%

Federally Funded Battered Shelters
Women – 2,000+ $300,000,000 per year
Men – None – $0

Federally Funded Health Offices and Research 1970 – Present (not including cancer research)
Women Only – Office, Projects and Programs 70+ – Funds – $100,000,000,000
Men Only – None – $0

Forced Selective Service
Women – No
Men – Yes

Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Abuse Rates (2010)
Women – 5.8%
Men – 12.2%

Divorce filings
Women - 85%
Men - 15%

Doctor Degrees(2010)
Women - 51.6%
Men - 48.4%

Master’s Degrees(2010)
Women - 60.3%
Men - 39.7%

Receive Alimony
Women: 97%
Men: 3%?

In which relationship between the genders are part of.

you are the reason we need feminism...
I need feminism because only 29% of the government are female in the UK
I need feminism because in many professions women still have no broken the glass ceiling
I need feminism because girls are still socialised into being subservient, passive and obedient to men and to the patriarchal society
I need feminism because attitudes have not changed towards women
I need feminism because in some countries FGM, arranged marriages and honour killings still happen
I need feminism because people still say things like "it wasn't rape, she was asking for it"
I need feminism because women experience an average of 35 acts of domestic violence before reporting it...
I need feminism because people still think it is okay to treat women as inferior, deny the pay gap and blame shift the responsibility of rape to the victim...

No one thinks like that. I've literally never heard anyone say that and I can bet that you haven't either.
It has been shown that women and men suffer from pretty much the same when it comes to domestic violence, in fact men are less likely to report it and even when they do they are taking seriously a lot of the time, very very few shelters for men but loads for women.
The pay gap is a myth, a feminist lie. It may be true that on average men get paid more than women, but that does not mean discrimination (I advise you to learn a thing or 1 about stats (standard deviation, variance, covariance, normal distribution - terms I hope you know as you're using stats like a pro)) it had been shown that women work less and typically in lower paying jobs. This agrees with what we see in daily life.
You know there are female dominated courses at university (in fact most of them are female dominated) with the major ones being medicine, biology nursing. Why aren't these problems but male dominated courses are?
There is no glass ceiling. I truly believe that if a woman does exactly the same things as a man does in their profession, they will achieve the same things.

Also you talk about FGM but I bet you don't even think twice about male genital mutilation do you?

Are men oppressed? It seems rather odd to take that position.

You only have to look at who holds the major positions of power in our society to see which sex has the upper hand.

The Prime Minister is a man. 22 out of 32 members of the cabinet are male. The head of the Bank of England is male. The Chief Executives of the top 10 largest companies are male. The heads of the Navy, Army and Air Force are men. The heads of the intelligence services are men. Almost all of the civil service permanent secretaries who run government departments are men.

While women have complete legal equality and have equity with men in the de jure sense, in the de facto and real sense men are very much the dominant sex. Of that there is no question.

Exactly. Just think of all those poor women who were forced to fight and die in the trenches during WW1, whilst all the men were allowed to stay at home and raise their families and...... oh wait.

-I have heard people say that... that is what my comment was in reply to- some idiot saying "if a man touches you that isn't rape" - it is if you do not consent, and I have met guys who think they own your body and can touch it whenever they like too, and there are plenty of men that think that rape is the victims fault
-I am not disputing that men suffer domestic violence and yes I agree that they are less likely to report it, that is why statistics on domestic violence are extremely misleading... I think that domestic violence on men should be dealt with extremely harshly and is a major issue, I simply did not mention it because I was arguing against someone saying women have no issues...
-I understand about the pay gap and that women work less and that is why they generally earn less- but we must consider WHY they work less- probably because they cannot return to work after having children as the responsibility usually falls to them and the costs of childcare are so high they would end up worse off financially by returning to work... or the fact that 90% of lone parent families are matrifocal so the men can move on and work and the women are left to look after the family. why is it that the custody of the child after a divorce usually goes to the mother? Gender norms? therefore, we must consider why women work less and subsequently earn less rather than taking the stats at face value
- I believe that women can do as well as men too, but there are more barriers, in my opinion, for them to reach the top... (this is just my opinion though, I admit that)
- Well, male circumcision is wrong too, especially on children who cannot consent or understand the procedure, however there are medical reasons for it, whereas there are none for FGM and far more risks
(I understand standard deviation and the other aforementioned stats issues)

I've been applying for Masters degrees recently and I've seen gender specific scholarships, and none of them are for men.

-I have heard people say that... that is what my comment was in reply to- some idiot saying "if a man touches you that isn't rape" - it is if you do not consent, and I have met guys who think they own your body and can touch it whenever they like too, and there are plenty of men that think that rape is the victims fault
-I am not disputing that men suffer domestic violence and yes I agree that they are less likely to report it, that is why statistics on domestic violence are extremely misleading... I think that domestic violence on men should be dealt with extremely harshly and is a major issue, I simply did not mention it because I was arguing against someone saying women have no issues...
-I understand about the pay gap and that women work less and that is why they generally earn less- but we must consider WHY they work less- probably because they cannot return to work after having children as the responsibility usually falls to them and the costs of childcare are so high they would end up worse off financially by returning to work... or the fact that 90% of lone parent families are matrifocal so the men can move on and work and the women are left to look after the family. why is it that the custody of the child after a divorce usually goes to the mother? Gender norms? therefore, we must consider why women work less and subsequently earn less rather than taking the stats at face value
- I believe that women can do as well as men too, but there are more barriers, in my opinion, for them to reach the top... (this is just my opinion though, I admit that)
- Well, male circumcision is wrong too, especially on children who cannot consent or understand the procedure, however there are medical reasons for it, whereas there are none for FGM and far more risks
(I understand standard deviation and the other aforementioned stats issues)