MOD NOTE: Please note the following part of the forum rules:
The initial OP posted below covers it well enough: the premise of this thread is that men's issues exist. Don't bother posting if you don't believe there is such a thing.
Here's hoping this isn't considered too redundant. I've noticed that our existing threads about sexism tend to get bogged down in Oppression Olympics or else wildly derailed, so I thought I'd make a thread specifically to talk about discrimination issues that disproportionately affect men.
No Oppression Olympics here, okay? No saying "But that's not important because women suffer X which is worse!" And no discussing these issues purely in terms of how much better women have it. Okay? If the discussion cannot meaningfully proceed without making a comparison to male and female treatment, that's fine, but on the whole I want this thread to be about how men are harmed by society and how we can fix it. Issues like:
- The male-only draft (in countries that have one)
- Circumcision
- Cavalier attitudes toward men's pain and sickness, AKA "Walk it off!"
- The Success Myth, which defines a man's desirability by his material success. Also The Myth of Men Not Being Hot, which denies that men can be sexually attractive as male beings.
- Sexual abuse of men.
- Family law.
- General attitudes that men are dangerous or untrustworthy.
I could go on making the list, but I think you get the idea.
Despite what you might have heard about feminists not caring about men, it's not true. I care about men. Patriarchy sucks for them as much as it sucks for women, in a lot of ways. So I'm putting my keyboard where my mouth is and making a thread for us to all care about men.
Also? If you're male and think of something as a men's issue, by golly that makes it a men's issue fit for inclusion in this thread. I might disagree with you as to the solution, but as a woman I'm not going to tell you you have no right to be concerned about it. No "womansplaining" here.
Edited by nombretomado on Dec 15th 2019 at 5:19:34 AM
I know a guy that wears makeup, but he's gay, so it's not really the same as being mainstream per se. I think the only way you can get away with makeup in America as a straight guy is if you're in an alternative/artsy crowd. Otherwise, unfortunately, there will be homophobic assumptions made about you.
Chapter 1 (Discontinued)
What equivalent of a Bra do men have?
You know, for supporting their breasts. Not every man has bulging pecs, sometimes they're saggy or fat.
Warning: This poster is known to the state of California to cause cancer. Cancer may not be available in your country.
A nice butterfly
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
That one Seinfeld episode 
Schools for Men are helping the overpopulation problems in Niger, though not fast enough
So in 2004, the U.N. and the Ministry of Health launched the School for Husbands in Niger.
At the health clinic in Chadakori, the lone doctor, Rabo Sleymane, says the school is having an impact. Six months after the school began, he says, more women are asking about family planning.
There are now Schools for Husbands in villages across Niger. While overall rates of birth control use are still quite low, government officials say the schools have made contraception more acceptable. When the schools started, only 5 percent of women in Niger reported using contraception. Now that figure is up to 13 percent.
edited 28th Nov '14 5:38:45 AM by Gabrael
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
And, I would imagine, the disease problem. Pro-contraception campaigns in Africa are great for quite a number of reasons.
What's precedent ever done for us?
Hopefullythis will also allow for more respect for women and the opening of gender equality. I would love for this to be a way men understand the pain of childbirth and just what all their wives do for them.
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
Comments are super victim blame-y, as usual. It's amazing how many people just cannot possibly fathom that erections can just happen whether you want them to or not.
HGW XX/7
I never thought I'd ever say this, but poor Shia LaBeouf. I hope he presses charges.
Schild und Schwert der Partei
Mad Scientist Wannabe
I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way, but I long ago learned to not believe anything that comes out of that man's mouth.
Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
... there is a right way for that to come across?
Be not afraid...
Mad Scientist Wannabe
It's the whole "crying wolf" thing is what I meant to come across. Just saying, La Bouf's lied so many times before that I'm skeptical of anything he says.
Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
I think what happened to him was shitty and awful and horrible and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Was it rape? Maybe not legally. When it happened, he had basically stuck himself in a locked room and told people to do whatever they wanted to him. Sadly, this may make enough of a legal grey area that nothing will happen to the woman. Emotionally though it's got to be tough as shit for him.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Siiiiiiiiiiiip
Man, that sucks to hear. I hope things get better for him later. 
Okay Guy
Whether or not it's "legally" rape, that's just an awful thing to do to someone. You should get a more explicit level of consent, especially in a situation like that.
Seriously who thinks "This person is doing performance art and is saying 'Do anything you want to me.' I'm gonna fuck him, that's totally okay."
Put me in motion, drink the potion, use the lotion, drain the ocean, cause commotion, fake devotion, entertain a notion, be Nova Scotian
You would be surprised.
As an art student in undergrad, I've seen plenty of weird psychos take advantage of situations like that. I've had people try and take advantage of me like that and in other ways while I was a model. It's more common than people like to believe.
And I don't think that's a problem with art people; rather I think the problem is predators will look for whatever situation makes their job easier. And the arts have more opportunities for that to happen compared to other avenues.
And, as much as I hate it, Shia Le Bouf has a fucked up reputation for being a nutcase, so I can see someone either thinking this would be acceptable to do to him or that he would be into something like that.
That in no way makes it right or says that this wasn't rape. But we need to have these conversations in a hope that we can educate people on boundaries and accessibility of artists and celebrities. Rape is rape. And this is rape. Just like sex workers or porn stars can be raped.
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
The Mod with the Migraine
What I find most surprising is that he set all of this up with apparently little to no security. What would he have done if that lady had decided, instead of raping him, to start stabbing instead? Or to strangle him? I'm not blaming him, I'm just wondering how someone who knows they have a fairly large Hate Dom arranges for something that puts them in a riskier position than normal.
That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Trans Siberian Anarchestra (it/they)
One Winged Egret
I remember that one. But yeah, performance artists constantly have to deal with people doing whatever they can get away with.
Although people don't like to think about it much, conditions like antisocial personalty disorder, autism, psychosis, schizophrenia and a ton of others... aren't actually miraculously divorced from "normal". You can be almost normal, and not quite. Or mostly normal, but not quite. In a couple of areas that, if you went over the lines... could find you diagnosed as something if your behaviour warranted it. Being downright average all down the line is even a problem in itself: it suggests you've either got the personalty of cardboard or are a spectacularly crappy example of a would-be manipulator (wise, high functioning bastards know enough to make sure they test out as having something a bit dicey about them, but safe-ish).
In short: people have a lot of wiring in their heads that can allow them to be right jerks if they think they can get away with it without consequences. And, that includes you and me as "people".
edited 30th Nov '14 6:17:02 AM by Euodiachloris
Unreasonably Quirky
Kind of like how internet forums and Xbox Live bring out the worst in us?
I love to learn, I love to yearn, and most of all... I love to make money.
being anonymous brings out the worst in people. You should see some classic newspaper opinion pieces beginning with Ben Franklin, the original pain in the ass.
Hell, we have some works from before Christ that were like that, such as with some Chinese critics.
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
A nice butterfly
What? Online forums don't bring out the worst of us.
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Siiiiiiiiiiiip
Eh, they only bring out the wurst in brats.
Joking aside, anonymous stuff does have its issues. Forcing registration and names can help at times.
I have seen this too, with tons of sexist remarks, especially on Xbox Live. It can get pretty bad...
...It's weird having so many websites and no way to properly display now, lol.
A procrastination in of itself
Anonymity is a big cause of people believing they won't face consequences, but it does happen elsewhere, both online (facebook and twitter isn't always anonymous) and in the real world (the banks that caused the finance crisis aren't anonymous, but they're largely immune to the consequences of their actions). We don't get it that much here because there are consequences, to a lot of people here a ban actually means something, it hurts.
Yeah online gamer chat groups are pretty bad, I was talking about it with my friend yesterday and she said that she will never go on headset when playing Co D, due to the abuse she will get. Though apparently the communities for things like World Of Warcraft are pretty good. My reckoning is that it has something to do with the king of people you get in such communities and the way they are run.
edited 2nd Dec '14 10:10:04 AM by SilasW
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
Tampons are actually phenomenal tools for use in outdoorsy, survival and expeditionary endeavors. I've heard that there have been several attempts in the past to market them as less gendered. All of which failed.