6.  CUT MEN: DO THEY NOT BLEED?
    by Wendy McElroy 
    Special to TLE      http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/>     Issue 224

Male bashing
http://www.popmatters.com/tv/features/030109-male-bashing.shtml> --
the stereotyping of men as brutal, stupid, or otherwise objectionable -- is
commonplace. Our sons, husbands, fathers and men-friends are gleefully
slandered because they are male. They are subjected to malicious jokes and
attitudes that would be decried if directed at blacks, Hispanics, or women.
The assault against men must stop. But how?

The message that being male is somehow seriously wrong and should be
controlled has been broadcast for over three decades. That message is now
embedded in laws such as affirmative action and in policies such as bias
against fathers in family courts. The damage inflicted on the men in our
lives is clear.

- As children, boys are falling behind in the public school system, a
process that http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2000/05/sommers.htm>
Christina Hoff Sommers has thoroughly and persistently documented.

- As young adults,
http://www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2003/0429sacks.html>
male students on American campuses are outnumbered by females by a ratio of
four to three, with males receiving only 43% of all college degrees.

- In middle age, men are badly slighted by public policies. For example,
"women's health" receives far more funding despite the fact that
men have higher rates in all but one of the 15 leading causes of death. The
May issue of the American Journal of Public health (05/03),
http://www.cfah.org/hbns/news/factors04-29-03.cfm> cites social
factors as an important contributing cause.

- In old age, the average man is likely to die five years before the
average woman. Only now is this disparity being called
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030430-3227656.htm> "a
silent health crisis."

From cradle to grave, men are routinely disadvantaged by social attitudes
and the legal system.

A new group of victims has been created: men. But instead of loving them
for their victimhood, as our culture is wont to do, men remain the brunt of
political rage and accusations.

Any man who rapes or commits other violent crime deserves to shunned. But
he should be reviled by name for specific acts, not for his gender any more
than a violent black person should be reviled for his/her race. It is wrong
to blame the large majority of decent men for the actions of the indecent
few.

There are several steps you can take right now to stand up for the men in your life.

1) Take a personal stand. This is the most important step toward halting
the gender war: people should refuse to participate in it. Don't hurl
insults at "all men"; if a specific man has wronged you, insult
him by name. Don't go along with the male-bashing of girlfriends or
co-workers. You don't have to become angry -- indeed, you should not;
instead, calmly disagree or point out that maligning fellow employees is
bad for the workplace. If that step is too awkward for you, then at least
don't join in. For example, don't laugh at jokes that skewer "all
men," including your infant son.

2) Take an economic stand. http://www.standyourground.com/boyc.php>
Boycott companies who use blatantly anti-male commercials to sell their
products or services. For example, Progressive Insurance ran a notorious ad
in which an angry woman punished her ex through a voodoo doll, including
the use of pliers on its genitals. Imagine how you would react if the
genital ripping had been inflicted on a woman. Go to the web site of such
companies and tell them why they will not be receiving your money. And
while you are at it, refuse to watch TV shows in which all the male
characters are portrayed as buffoons...or
much worse. Make male bashing uncommercial.

3) Take a political stand. Do not support laws or policies, like Title IX,
that disadvantage your son to benefit your daughter, or vice versa. Let
your children be judged on their merits as individuals. On the other hand,
do support campaigns that make gender inequities in the law more visible.
For example, talk about the problem of
http://www.menweb.org/gjdvreso.htm> men who are battered in domestic
violence. A November 1998 Department of Justice report states that
http://www.menweb.org/gjdvdata.htm> 834,732 men are victims of
physical violence by an intimate and they deserve as much support as
battered women.

Small actions on your part are powerful. The columnist John Leo
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/l/l-misc/leo090402.htm>
illustrates this by recounting a joke presented by a woman speaker, "A
woman needed a brain transplant. Her doctor said two brains were available,
a woman's brain for $500 and a man's brain for $5,000. Why the big price
difference? Answer: The woman's brain has been used." A man in the
audience objected to the joke as male bashing and asked people to
substitute "black" or "Jew" for the word
"man." Just saying "I object" is powerful.

Carry the word substitution one step farther. When you hear claims with
specific gender references, switch the gender and think about the message.
For example, you hear that separating a mother from her child is a terrible
thing. What about separating a father from his child?

It cannot be overstated: most men are good, hard-working human beings who
love their families and never raise a hand in violence. Because their
decency is not sensational, they are ignored by media and politicians who
focusing instead on men who rape or otherwise give their gender a bad name.
A better reaction is to hold the decent men closer to us and value them
more.

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