Today I had an impromptu discussion with a co-worker which caused me to do some digging on the topic of this article. In all honesty I can’t say that this topic has remotely been of interest up until today. It’s not that I don’t care, it just hasn’t been brought to my attention with the bitterness and resentment I felt when speaking with this person. The article below is just to break the ice. I thought this person’s perspective is rather interesting. Please feel free to comment on the subject. Coming soon will be an article on possible reasons why Misandry and Misogyny exist.
Author: Jordan Eller

Misandry and Misogyny, the Former Forgotten and the Latter Famous

Sexism, along with racism and profiling, is abundantly wrong. Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? You’d think so, but look around and it becomes obvious that sexism is running rampant. Perhaps we have become dismissive of it, for the most part, because it’s so common or so subtle or so ingrained on our society, but the reasons why we notice, in the end, don’t matter. What matters is recognizing and putting a stop to sexism. Let’s look at the two types in my title, Misandry and Misogyny:

Misandry: Among the population of people who protest sexism, a much higher percentage of them focus on women, and purposefully or not, ignore the sexism that plagues men. I am not minimizing society’s unfair treatment of women, but they aren’t alone in it. Examples of misandry are: treating men as sex-maniacs (the same applies to teenagers, but I digress), defining all rapes as being committed by men, and automatically accusing men when it comes to violent crimes.

Misogyny: Where to begin? Put simply, misogyny is prejudice against women. Much has been written about it, though perhaps the word itself is not used. Feminist groups, as well as a number of other groups and individuals, have used all facets of media and word of mouth to spread the word about misogyny (and I applaud them for that). So perhaps what I write here seems redundant, but it’s worth the risk. Examples, and there are many of them, include: portraying women as money-hungry, defining women as sex objects (as a side note, I believe that all defining of people is wrong, as, if nothing else, it attempts to limit what a person is and can become), and showing women as backstabbing snakes.

Now, obviously both misogyny and misandry are wrong, at least in the eyes of rational individuals. Why is it then that misogyny is much more decried? Go to the library and look up books on sexism, and you’ll find that there are many more volumes about the problems that have plagued women then there are similar volumes about men. If judged by that alone, one would come to the conclusion that women are constant and severe victims, and men have lived lives with nothing but leisure. Of course that is highly exaggerated, but it serves to make my point. Ah, exaggeration, a word that describes a lot about the male (and female) gender. Here’s a list of such exaggerations:

· Violent behavior (Men)

· Competence as a parent (Women)

· Athletic abilities (Men)

· Greed (Men and Women)

· Sexual needs (Men)

· Intelligence (Women)

· Kindness (Women)

· Leadership ability (Men)

Now, the number one objection to that list will probably be the claim of female intelligence being exaggerated, so I will defend that position. What I mean by this is that in the realm of intelligence, women are portrayed as being calmer geniuses, whereas men are portrayed as chaotic abusers of their gift. While it is also true that male geniuses have been portrayed in the positive light in how they use their gift, in those cases they are relegated to being goofs and geeks.

Well, I suppose it was inevitable that a discussion about a topic such as this would bring up political correctness. Sexism (both misogyny and misandry) is, as I see it, exaggerated to the point of insanity, leaving articles like this one to be relegated to the dust heap in favor of meatier but less rational writings, all because of political correctness overhaul. Sooner or later a boy tripping and touching the small of a girl’s back by accident will get him suspended if she reports it. Actually, that’s kind of a humorous twist: for all the shouts of oppression against women, consider the fact that if a woman accuses a man of something, she is far more likely to be trusted than if a man accuses a woman of something. An odd contrast, I should think.

The important thing about the issues in sexism is that they be brought out into the open. Don’t let people hold you back just because you think you might “hurt their feelings”. Be honest, be direct, and let people know when something is a bunch of bull. Don’t let school policies make you walk with your eyes gouged out so you don’t “look” like you’re ogling or “look” guilty. Walk tall, stand proud, and be human. No one ever died happy that they never hurt another person’s feelings, that they never got into an argument that got the other person upset, because to do such a thing is to be soft.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/news-and-society-articles/misandry-and-misogyny-235585.html

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