The Student Room Group

Men -- The new second class citizens?

While going through twitter, i stumbled upon a shared link to an article regarding the alleged shift in society; from being a "man's world" to a "woman's world". Here is the closing paragraphs:

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What are your thoughts???? Are men second class citizens??? :confused::confused::confused:


Personally, I believe in equal rights for all, yet there are still unfortunately gender inequalities for both males and females :frown:

Here's the link to the article: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/07/12/men-new-second-class-citizens/#content
Reply 1
"His oppression is unlike anything American women have faced"
Not really, but whatever...

When are people going to stop making these stupid threads about sexism etc? Everyone just defending their own gender without considering the other's viewpoint, insulting each other and acting like little kids.

There is sexism present towards both genders, women and men.

Why are people arguing about which gender is oppressed more instead of trying to eradicate the sexism in the first place?
Reply 2
Original post by Seb.
There is sexism present towards both genders, women and men.

Why are people arguing about which gender is oppressed more instead of trying to eradicate the sexism in the first place?

Because there is one group that is promoting and supporting laws that discriminate against men.

It doesn't matter whether one is talking of the USA or the UK, there is no legal discrimination against women but there is legal discrimination against men. There are government policies, government (taxpayer funded) groups, ministers (or the equivalent), etc. for women but not for men - even though men are the minority voter.

If one group were not pushing for still more advantages over the other group then men could work at removing their second-class citizen status without further interruption. But that's not what is happening in real life and some men are getting fed up with the legal subjugation, and with anyone who promotes it or fights against them gaining equality.
Reply 3
Original post by Seb.
"His oppression is unlike anything American women have faced"
Not really, but whatever...

When are people going to stop making these stupid threads about sexism etc? Everyone just defending their own gender without considering the other's viewpoint, insulting each other and acting like little kids.

There is sexism present towards both genders, women and men.

Why are people arguing about which gender is oppressed more instead of trying to eradicate the sexism in the first place?


I think it's because no group in this is a minority - society being (roughly) a 50:50 split between men and women, there is no minority to stick up for in the same way there is with racism. As such, it's harder to see the other gender as being victims of sexism in any way; after all, it's a bit weird to imagine 1 in 2 people you see being in an oppressed group.

Of course, the truth is that men and women are both oppressed in different ways. Women may face discrimination and objectification in the workplace; men are often overlooked when it comes to family law. Women are often seen as sex objects and 'blamed' for being raped just for wearing something that makes them look pretty; however men face discrimination in that as soon as they are accused of rape, all consideration of the 'innocent until proven guilty' principle goes out the window.

As such, it's hard to fight sexism, as it's extremely tit-for-tat. It doesn't help that women still use the fact that they couldn't vote 95 years ago as evidence of discrimination today; if one wants to overcome the difficulties caused by the discrimination being spread across two equally sized groups, one has to be very careful to keep points relevant to the other group.

Another issue is that the discrimination often comes as much from one's own gender: there are women who believe that all other women should stay home and look after the kids, and there are left-wing student-revolutionary men who think all other men are degenerate sex offenders, with a desire to rape running through their souls.

Finally, what seems the biggest issue to me is that society doesn't accept that men and women are fundamentally different. We're equal, and that's great - but don't try and say that men are the same as women. If you look throughout the animal kingdom, the males usually perform a role very different from the females; whilst it's important to recognise that everyone has the right to buck a gender stereotype, it's equally important to recognise that everyone also has the right to live up to one. Thus, if a woman wants a career, she can work towards one; if a woman is genuinely happy to be a home maker and look after the kids, that's what she can do. We should stop telling people that they should challenge the established order in this way: let people do what makes them comfortable, without telling them that by living up to a stereotype, they are doing their gender a disservice.
Reply 4
I recognise that women have been and are still (in some places) treated badly in the society. However, I think that there is a growing trend that is determined to have men in a disadvantageous position.

I agree with the article that some women work in groups and can fend off any man, if they stick together; but for men, it is a different story because they hardly move in wolf packs except on rare occasions.

I know of someone that went out with a girl and was "successful". The girl accused him of rape, the next day, and the man was kicked out of the university campus before he was even formally charged. The police later found out that the girl lied and she was let off with a warning, while the guy had to struggle to get his reputation back. Now, he is being known around campus as "rape-y weirdo".

This is not a single case, there has been numerous accounts of women accusing men and the men getting in serious troubles. I read about a woman that accused 4 of her ex-boyfriends of rape when they broke up with her and they were all false accusations. It was by the fifth accusation that the police had to jail her for 'gross misconduct' or something like that.

If there should be true equality then this issue must be solved.
(edited 10 years ago)
People need to stop letting society dictate their actions.
At the end of the day, both are harassed in someway. In order to change it will require some decent thinking, not revenge tactics.

Or should I say "sis" ? :colone:
Reply 7
shutup
Reply 8
Original post by tufc
I think it's because no group in this is a minority - society being (roughly) a 50:50 split between men and women, there is no minority to stick up for in the same way there is with racism. As such, it's harder to see the other gender as being victims of sexism in any way; after all, it's a bit weird to imagine 1 in 2 people you see being in an oppressed group.

Of course, the truth is that men and women are both oppressed in different ways. Women may face discrimination and objectification in the workplace; men are often overlooked when it comes to family law. Women are often seen as sex objects and 'blamed' for being raped just for wearing something that makes them look pretty; however men face discrimination in that as soon as they are accused of rape, all consideration of the 'innocent until proven guilty' principle goes out the window.

As such, it's hard to fight sexism, as it's extremely tit-for-tat. It doesn't help that women still use the fact that they couldn't vote 95 years ago as evidence of discrimination today; if one wants to overcome the difficulties caused by the discrimination being spread across two equally sized groups, one has to be very careful to keep points relevant to the other group.

Another issue is that the discrimination often comes as much from one's own gender: there are women who believe that all other women should stay home and look after the kids, and there are left-wing student-revolutionary men who think all other men are degenerate sex offenders, with a desire to rape running through their souls.

Finally, what seems the biggest issue to me is that society doesn't accept that men and women are fundamentally different. We're equal, and that's great - but don't try and say that men are the same as women. If you look throughout the animal kingdom, the males usually perform a role very different from the females; whilst it's important to recognise that everyone has the right to buck a gender stereotype, it's equally important to recognise that everyone also has the right to live up to one. Thus, if a woman wants a career, she can work towards one; if a woman is genuinely happy to be a home maker and look after the kids, that's what she can do. We should stop telling people that they should challenge the established order in this way: let people do what makes them comfortable, without telling them that by living up to a stereotype, they are doing their gender a disservice.


After a big rant on my thread then reading this, I realise you're right Nothing wrong with playing to conventional gender roles if you're OK with i at all. Just I know many people in both sexes feel they have to when they don't want to or disagree with an aspect, and that's my concern. :smile:
Why is it talking about "white males" as opposed to just males? In reality it is always a Woman's world, and would any real man have it any different?

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