General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Man-bashing." My favorite DU pule. [View all]Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)I can also disagree and point out relevant facts that support my assertion. That's what discussion is all about.
Turn all those negatives for men around and you have positives for women. Every single one of them. Women are 24 times less likely to be homeless and unsheltered. Women are 4 times less likely to commit suicide. Women are 3 times less likely to die from HIV/AIDS. Women are 13 times less likely to die on the job. Women are 2 times less likely to be addicted to drugs or alcohol. All net positives for women. The list seabeyond posted (several times just in this thread) listed the female-centric POV so I'm pretty sure that one is well covered if you want to see it. If she can count as privilege that women have more trouble finding a pants suit that fits, I think I can counter that with a list that points out that men are 12 times more likely to be incarcerated.
I have looked at how women are portrayed on TV. Generally they are mythologized while men are pathologized. More often than not men are portrayed as dumb apes that are slaves to their sexual desires and need to be shown how to empathize. Women are portrayed as more intelligent and more emotionally stable almost without exception. Look at "chick flicks" in the movies. In practically every one, men are portrayed as sex addicts that just need to be fulfilled by a good woman in order to achieve normalcy and peace. Even in guy films, men are portrayed as canon fodder that love violence. So yes, great example and I'm glad you mentioned it.
This very day I was talking to a married, childless co-worker. He told me if he had a boy he would be out on his own at 18, but he'd let a girl "stick around for a while". And you probably don't want to even get me started about the advantages that girls have over boys growing up both at school and at home.
Whether I would prefer to be a man or a woman is an utterly ridiculous and meaningless argument unworthy of response that would add exactly zero to the discussion regardless of how I responded. I've lived the better portion of my life as a man and don't really care to entertain alternatives hypothetical or realistic and I suspect most women my age wouldn't care to either. Regardless of how you think gender works, men and women aren't identical units that you can just swap the naughty parts and arrive at the same perspective. Gender is both physical and mental. Ask someone in the LGBT community and I'm sure they can explain it better.
And "nuff said" is the typical response men get if they try to counter "male privilege" arguments with reality and facts. After all, we are just dumb apes that don't get it and never will. That's why we need to be taught empathy (as seen on DU), and that's why we can't be feminists even if we strongly believe in gender equality (as seen on DU).