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I start this column with a challenge. I contest that there isn’t a person on this planet who hasn’t felt discriminated against at some point in their lives. Everyone thinks they have it worse than someone else. Person A feels that they’ve been persecuted because of their race, or person B feels that they’ve been mistreated because of their gender. I’m no different. In fact, I have it worse than anyone. Yes, the picture on top of this rant is correct. I’m a 22-year-old, male, Caucasian American citizen. And recently I have found a movement that is working to level the playing field for people like me. It’s called Masculinism.
Masculinism is a movement, similar to feminism, which works to ensure that men are allowed the same rights and opportunities as women. Masculinism is not a dastardly plan to overthrow the women’s movement, but rather, to reduce discrimination against men. The term should not be confused with masculist, which is a social and political movement based on the experiences of men and is arguably against feminists.
Masculinism works to promote balance and neutrality between the sexes, noting that progress cannot be made without accepting that it requires both sexes to make a change.
For those of you wondering what’s got our jocks up in a bunch, look at the issue of parenting. Men are not favored in child custody battles. Babies are often aborted or given up for adoption without the father’s consent. Children are born after agreements were made between the mother and father to terminate the pregnancy, forcing fathers to give unwanted child support or childcare. A man should have a say in matters regarding the birth, childcare and development of a child he supports and helped to create. While it’s not women’s fault that men aren’t supported, it’s the justice system that should take the heat.
Justice, as blind as it is, still manages to sock it to the guys. When looking at incarceration lengths, men are sentenced to longer terms than women for the same crimes. Men are also more likely to be convicted of crimes than women, and are often overlooked when domestic abused by their spouses, or are charged when they themselves are the victims. Little is done to protect men from sexual abuse while in prison, and it is often presented humorously in movies.
If a woman is stricken in the genitals, it’s considered offensive and a cardinal sin. If a man gets struck in the genitals it is considered comedic. Serious health issues like a hit to the groin, should not be deemed funny. There is nothing funny about this view of men’s health. Other men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, often take a back seat to issues like breast cancer when it comes to awareness and funding.
It may sound petty, but the list goes on and on. Military and education can be thrown in there too. While I listed problem areas above to prove a point, instead of worrying about who has it worse, everyone should be concerned with why women don’t earn as much as men, and why men are more likely to commit suicide than women.
Masculinists, like feminists, vary in views just like any other social affiliation. They range the misogynous to misandronous. While extremists of any category can be harmful to a group’s cause, it is important to note that a healthy viewpoint that stands up for the oppressed should be supported in the name of equality.
“Just as the last third of the 20th century was about creating equal opportunity for women as workers, so the first third of the 21st century will be about creating equal opportunity for men as parents. Neither goal will be achieved until both goals are achieved,” said Warren Farrell, former elected board member of the National Organization for Women.
Randy Cummings is a senior mass communication major.
