Does Sexism Against Men Exist?

4:00 pm, August 29th | by Amy Tennery

Professor David Benatar knows a thing about uphill battles. After all, Benatar, the head of the philosophy department at the University of Cape Town, just released a book arguing that men are victims of widespread sexism.

Yes, you read that correctly: Sexism against men. Men, who rule the boardroom and the pay gap — they’re victims of sexism? According to Benatar, yes. His new book, The Second Sexism, claims that men are routinely undermined by their gender. And while this might sound like anti-feminist mumbo-jumbo, Benatar says it’s anything but.

In a recent interview with The Jane Dough, Benatar explained why he believes men are subjected to unfair biases due to their gender — and showed why feminists better take notice.

The Jane Dough:There have been a number of commentators who’ve described your book as a “backlash” to feminism. Do you think it is? Do you think there’s still a need for feminism?

David Benatar: It would seem that those commentators have not actually read the book or, if they have read it, that they have not understood it. While I am critical of the excesses of some feminists, I do not think that my book is a backlash against feminism in general. Indeed, I take my arguments to be a logical extension of the feminist enterprise – namely equality of the sexes. Since
sex discrimination (against both men and women) still persists there is still a need for any movement genuinely interested in countering that discrimination.

TJD: Looking at the numbers in the U.S., where men still dominate political offices, the CEO ranks and other positions of power, it’s difficult to see how men are victimized by sexism. How do you reconcile this inequity with your own claims that men are hampered by sexism?

DB: The question assumes that victimization takes place only at the top. That assumption is mistaken. If one looks at the least powerful positions in society, such as the homeless, and at the victims of murder and other serious non-sexual violent crime, one finds that they are disproportionately male. In other words we need to broaden our vision about where sex discrimination takes place.

TJD: Some of the arguments that you make in your book sound eerily familiar
to some feminist causes. In particular, your claim that it’s sexist that only men are sent into combat has been a feminist cause for a while. Do you feel there’s a reciprocal effect to anti-male sexism? Does the sexism that hurts you also hurt women?

DB: Most (but not all) feminists have objected to the exclusion from combat of those women who wish to enter battle. What most feminists have ignored is the related but different manifestation of sexism – the exemption of those women who do not wish to enter the armed forces or to be sent
into combat, while men are not similarly exempt in those societies that conscript. I think that these two instances of sex discrimination are both manifestations of the same sexist ideas, but I see no reason why we should focus only on the female victims.

TJD: Guy-shaming does appear awfully prevalent these days. For example, we noticed a grim editorial in the New York Times last month that wondered whether “modern men” are “manly enough.” What in your view is the most prevalent form of anti-male sexism?

DB: Gender roles constrain both men and women but in the developed world the female gender role has eroded much more than the male one has. Society is much more tolerant of women engaging in activities previously reserved for men than it is of men who exhibit behaviour that has historically been deemed to be feminine.

There are many possible contenders for the “most prevalent form of anti-male sexism”. One of them is murder and other severe non-sexual violence. All over the world, males constitute the great majority of victims of these crimes.

TJD: Okay, one complaint I have with a lot of the “guy panic” lately: everyone seems so freaked out that women are going to college in greater numbers than men. What’s the deal with that? No one seemed to care when the ratio was the other way around.

DB: On the contrary, feminists cared a great deal when men were earning more university degrees or more graduate degrees. Now that the tables have turned most feminists are curiously quiet about this matter.

TJD: Parting thoughts: what can we do to challenge male sexism today? And what are the consequences for us if it goes unchecked?

DB: As feminists have learned, sexism is not easy to combat. Established ways of thinking and doing things are difficult to uproot. There are no easy solutions, but we might employ the same sorts of techniques as feminists have used to counter anti-female sexism. The first step, of course, is to acknowledge that there is a problem in need of fixing. If anti-male sexism is not fixed the main consequence is that a form of unfairness will persist. All women and all feminists (whether they be male or female) should be concerned about the persistence of unfairness. But there are also more personal reasons why women should be concerned about discrimination against men. First, women care about their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons. Second, anti-female and anti-male discrimination have common sources. The former is unlikely to be eliminated entirely unless attention is also given to the latter.

Image via Shutterstock.

TAGS: daivd benatar

Adam R. Charpentier

Dang, this got long fast…firstly, thank you so much for this article.

I’d say there is sexism on both sides or else a dichotomy wouldn’t exist. There’d be no need for a The Jane Dough if more feminists thought their viewpoints were shared elsewhere but simply because there IS a TJD, there are level of isolationism, solidarity, and scrutiny one faces and feels as a viewer of the website.
Three examples that spring to mind immediately are 1.) the articles that follow each new headline declaring more women are in schools, in higher paying jobs, and so on. The articles detailing the activities of so-called Mr. Moms. 2.) Anytime I disagree in some way with an opinion on this website or other Abrams Media sites, I must hastily prepare detailed reasons for my opinion as I have several times simply been declared a chauvinist and dismissed (though never by the staff…you’re all fantastic…the stuff you champs put up with should win you awards). 3.) An article from last week on TJD surrounding a woman pumping her breasts in her boss’s office was thoroughly commented on and I included my feelings that there simply hadn’t been enough information released about the incident(s) for me or anyone else to form a valid opinion and I was this morning compared to “you guys” which are apparently all males that don’t mind watching “facial” pornography but are skeeved by the idea of breast milk. Granted, that feller seemed to be mostly made of idiot and not really worth the time I took to respond to him.
So, there’s sexism against males, sure…and a bit of it is even self-reflexive. Currently, I’m unemployed after a stint as a would-be travel journalist and am in the market (hire me, anyone, please, seriously, I am going out of my mind) for work, but I’ve taken up the slack by doing the majority of the housework and I only occasionally feel like a layabout for not finding work. My wife found a job a month ago and both thanks and congratulations are due to her prowess in the office and the sigh of relief it brought both of us that we no longer had to rely on my dwindling unemployment, but I don’t cry myself to sleep because I’m not the “provider” because we’re partners at this thing called life and she’s doing her end while I do mine (and while I look for work when I’m not posting too often on here).
On a side note, technically, “cracker” is a racial slur against whites, but I don’t know of any example when the term has been used to break down someone’s psyche and I can’t imagine that any ensuing lawsuit would be entertained as thoroughly as one following the use of the terrifying “n-word”. Which means there are double standards, too.
But I have Netflix, so I’m happy.
Sorry for the long reply but this is a subject that I’ve had plenty of time to think about since I come from a large old family and my wife and I are in a very unique situation to what most of them have experienced and their opinions, while not damning, are laden with bias that I see as anachronistic and biased.
http://twitter.com/LauraDonovanUA Laura Donovan

all i know is i love men! women face a lot of sexism but i’m totally aware that men do as well. it’s a problem.
Anonymous

How come feminists never fight for the right to be drafted in the military? That is still a guy only thing. I wonder…..
http://profile.yahoo.com/F6WDMXYFH6S5NTOYGNP6WPXGFA Sarah

Patriarchy hurts everyone for sure.
http://www.facebook.com/macabri Mac Beauvais

While I understand Benatar’s point and agree that sexism is a two-way street, I think male sexism is not as severe as he makes it out to be based on what I’ve read and the facts and figures I’ve seen. To be fair, I haven’t read his book, but what I really need to better understand this article and his points are the facts and figures behind them. I’d especially like to know the figures behind the murder and non-sexual violence. How much of that was perpetrated by women and how much by other men?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_63KPWHYAEOQP624IQ4BDMIWQQY Rocky

Feminism IS sexism: Just ask the Duke lacrosse team.
joe davies

It’s too bad Benatar didn’t point out that when
males were better educated than females, males did (and often still do) have to
support their wives and children. Even if there was divorce, males were legally
obligated to support their ex-wives in the manner they were accustomed, and
there was no concern about the change of lifestyle of the ex-husband. The
ex-husbands were the ones who usually had to move out of the house and find
themselves a small apartment.

—– Original Message —–
Adam R. Charpentier

I’m personally sick and tired of having to pee standing up. Just because I’m a man doesn’t mean I should have to suffer the indignity of relieving myself in a trough. When are we going to have our day in the sun?
http://www.facebook.com/dylan.gay.90 Dylan Gay

———————
email: to.be.or.not.to.be.green@michelleobama.name
———————
ANOTHER GREEN ESSAY FROM to be or not to be green

“VALLEY VETERINARY HOSPITAL” IS NOT SEXIST
———————
this “green” letter, environmentally-friendly because no paper was used in its creation or distribution, is meant to justify the legitimacy of any green business with an all-female workforce. it was inspired by a green letter/petition that i had found online which (quite unfairly) singled out one pet hospital which must be surrounded by the beautiful green mountains of my childhood hometown. since this essay is not about the hospital, since the essay is only inspired by someone who had written about the hospital, i will refer to and regard the hospital (and all pet hospitals) only as “valley veterinary hospital”. i will proceed to say that it is being singled out by the petition/letter for what is claimed as “sexist hiring practices” regarding a workforce of 13 females and 0 men. i am writing this green letter in defense of every green business, including the green “valley veterinary hospital” (well, i hope that the hospital is green) which has a workforce consisting entirely of Strong Women…whether they are “green ladies” or not

i have found that the aforementioned green petition is currently posted at TWO websites, linked below
—–
http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/chillin-dylan/Profile?oid=1608910 and http://www.change.org/petitions/boycott-green-valley-veterinary-hospital-for-their-blatant-sexism-stop-being-sexist-in-your-hiring-practices
—–
first off, i must state that from nevada to pennsylvania and from montana to louisiana, i have seen plenty of all-female staffs – it’s nothing new. let me repeat that: i have seen plenty of all-female staffs, it’s nothing new

brighton sheffield, if i may bring up a television show watched while on a pennsylvania ski-vacation near pittsburgh, didn’t have a problem walking into his home to find females everywhere. his father was simply holding auditions for showgirls. i realize that there is a difference between an all-female ensemble of showgirls and an all-female staff at a hospital. i realize that showgirls need to be female while hospital workers don’t. i realize that showgirls are required to have somewhat large and protruding mammary glands, as well as small-enough builds to fit into tiny bikinis or petite, leopard-skin tights and bras. i realize that men cannot be hired as showgirls because mens’ lack of milk-producing mammary glands, paired with their larger builds and broader shoulders, just wouldn’t allow them to properly fit into the “showgirl” attire which was designed for the bodies that are smaller and more breakable. i also realize that the female gender is what men with any sense of masculine gender-identity would want to see at a “burlesque” type of show. i realize that the majority of men don’t want to see other men dancing around in skimpy attire at a “burlesque” show, but i can understand how the writer of the above-linked petition would not expect the environment of a strip club to present itself at a veterinary hospital. i’m sure that the writer expected a bit more of professionalism on display at the hospital – professionalism which, in today’s society, would be representative of both genders

so, given that i can understand where “chillin dylan” finds grounds to complain about an all-female staff (be it at a green “valley vet” or at a green “hillside neurosurgeon”), i still think that he is wrong to regard any all-female staff as sexist. i am a feminist, though, so maybe my thoughts should be taken with a grain of salt

i do not agree with “chillin dylan” (or anyone else) who thinks that an entire staff consisting of one gender makes the whole business a mark of sexism i have not spoken to any members of any all-female staff, but i’m sure that sexism is not the reason that the female owner of any green organization would go and hire 12 more members of her own gender. i can’t be sure that the attitudes of all 13 females who work at any green “valley vet” would be as wholesome as the whole “green” movement is, but the apparent lack of gender-diversity displayed at any business with an all-female workforce does not a legitimate charge of sexism make. it takes more than an entire workforce being comprised of one gender to justify sexist attitudes and/or ideals, does it not? of course it does

i’d hate to mention my personal feelings in this letter, only because it would seem like i am trying to justify what the writer of the above-linked petition (“chillin dylan” or “dylan terreri, i”) regards as sexism, but isn’t it about time that us Strongwomen are taken seriously? for far too long, men have been the heads of companies and the heads of state, so isn’t it time that we, AS WOMEN, justify our abilities as competent enough to do anything a man’s abilities can do? isn’t it time that we take the “girls’ clubs” and replace the “boys’ clubs,” isn’t it time that we bring the concept of gender-based sports teams into the workforce? we base sports teams on gender because the little men can’t keep up (or even compete) with the physical strength/speed/ability/endurance of the females, so it’s only about time that womens’ physical prowess is acknowledged and promoted in the workforce as well as on the field. it’s only about time that any green “valley veterinary hospital” – or, for that matter, any environmentally-unfriendly “valley veterinary hospital” – hires 13 females and 0 men. and extra kudos if any “valley veterinary hospital” is a green “valley veterinary hospital”…because green makes everything better

now, in addition to regarding any veterinary hospital’s staff of 13 females and 0 men as sexist, the petition/letter also gets into a LOT of degradation of the female gender. not degradation of any green veterinary doctors, just degradation of the female gender. it has come to my attention that the letter-writer has a website called http://www.strongwomen.info, in which he degrades the female gender as the shorter and lighter, less-wide and weaker gender. he degrades women as being “green with envy” with regards to masculine superiority. let me quote a page from his website: “men on the top or the bottom, the vagina can only submit and therefore can only be seen as a valley that’s green with envy with regards to the big mountains surrounding it”. it’s like he thinks that mountain-sized men aren’t green with envy of feminine superiority. it seems he can’t stress enough that the reason females bleed eggs downstairs and spurt milk upstairs is because we were designed for motherhood. while i do not support this, i guess that degradation of females must be allowed if us STRONG WOMEN can write poetry about feminists castrating men (and also have the poems read and embraced at different colleges throughout the country). also, he has another domain – http://www.mutilation.biz – which features “poetry” about castrating feminists’ mammary glands (he refers to them as MOMmary glands), but i’m just glad that his writings about mutilating females are less popular than feminists’ writings about mutilating men are

in closing, i will say that after reading the above-linked petition/letter, i simply had to express my feelings. i had to express my feelings about the legitimacy of a veterinary office (or any workplace) consisting of 13 females and 0 men. it’s not sexist, that’s the bottom-line. IF IT’S GREEN, IT’S GOOD. either way, 13 females and 0 men is NOT a mark of sexism

thank you for reading,
ms. geraldine (ms. geraldgreen)
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C
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—————
“i am newly-divorced and i am starting life a new
brighton, will you marry me – i’m
calling out for you”

“i love your heartfelt kisses, yours is the flesh that i lust
brighton, i am 68 – you
might just be the 1″

“i used to love bob novak, yes, and kaufman was my groom
brighton, i was just 17
22 was you”

tim burton was your uncle, and his old house you had bought
brighton burton, marry me, i’ll
clean that burton-hall”

“i’ll clean that burton-bedroom, i’ll clean that burton-den
brighton burton, marry me and
i will be your pet”

“no, i am not a maureen…or moron or ashamed
brighton burton, i’m kristin – please
let me share your name”

“i’ll clean that burton-hall and i’ll clean that burton-den
brighton burton-mcelhinny,
don’t make me lay eggs”

“i want your sperm inside me, a babe-machine i am
brighton burton, make your baby
take me cuz you can”
—————–
C
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Y
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P
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Anonymous

There is a certain type of math that can confuse the issue of sexism in general. I can probably find statistics that show working male film directors as a percentage of the total number of wanna be male film directors is lower than working female or minority directors as a percentage of the total number of wannabe female or minority directors.

I have come to realize there is a personal choice we all make regarding empathy that perhaps plays a bigger role than sexism or racism. If you ignore whether or not a talented, intelligent person that you respect and perhaps want to ally with, is also capable of empathy when deciding who your friends or allies are, you lose.
Nick McAlpin

I don’t know if this is strange, but personally I want this to get worse and worse for the next 20 years, so in 30 years I’ll be able to say, “Hey, I’m a man, you can’t do that”, or “Oh, the pay gap that discriminates against men is horrible!”.

Then we’ll get some revenge on feminism.
stackhouse

TJD: ”No one seemed to care when the ratio was the other way around.” (re college enrollment). What?! This was one of key pillar posts of the initial feminist movement! Surely TJD knows this?
stackhouse

Because they are only interested in securing quotas for the best-paid and most powerful jobs. All the dangerous / bad jobs they are happy to let men to continue to do. They are hypocritical to the end.
stackhouse

I’d encourage you to do this already.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Anthony-Coons/1690262249 Anthony Coons

I personally am getting tired of all the commercials that make men out to be retards who don’t give a damn. Zaxby’s commercial where the woman is trying to have a serious conversation and all we hear in the mans mind is how good the food is. Then you have the one where the mom takes away the call phones of her children and includes the man in the punishment like he is a child. I stopped watching TV b/c it got so irritating to see.

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