why does this crud continue

[lumberjack_jeff]

66. Point by point

Last edited Wed Jul 11, 2012, 11:21 AM - Edit history (1)

The whole argument by MRA champions that males are dropping behind in education, work more dangerous jobs, live shorter lives, etc. because there is some sort of institutional bias against males is problematic for ONE SIMPLE REASON:

MEN oppress each other. It's predominantly MEN crafting all sorts of social and legal frameworks to marginalize other groups, including other men. MEN oppress other groups disproportionate to any other group. Specifically, rich white men. But, I will say that the most powerful indicator of privilege is class, and THAT is one thing you should be focusing on.

Are the men in power applying the same kinds of marginalization to women? Obviously not because "men fall behind in education, work more dangerous jobs etc". For purposes of this discussion, "who is doing the oppressing?" is irrelevant.

The power structure considers powerless men disposable and extraneous. They put programs in place to protect vulnerable women (WIC, VAWA, EEOC) but don't do the same for vulnerable men. Class is important, but the impact of class on people is very gender selective.

The most effective way to escape your socioeconomic class is to go into a high-prestige profession.

Which requires college, does it not? The bar for boys to get into college is much higher than girls and it manifests in the fact that a girl is 50% more likely to go to college than her brother.

There are a lot of great arguments from gender studies that talk about how our society's expectation of stereotypical male and female behaviors force people into narrow, proscribed gender roles that greatly limit what they can and cannot do.

And yet when the topic of single sex classrooms and its correlation to a 50% improvement in girls test scores and a 300% improvement of boys test scores is brought up, the idea is ridiculed and mercilessly attacked. If the "narrow proscribed gender role" in question is boys belief that school really isn't for them, it's immensely threatening.

Some kinds of oppressive paternalistic authoritative influence are apparently okay. Also, the broad range of acceptable gender roles for kids consist of points on the spectrum of normal girl behavior, outside that boundary lies pathology.