What follows is just one example of feminist hypocrisy. Not the worst example by any means. But just one that happened to come across my desk the other day. The author is a feminist journalist working for an Australian pro-feminist media group, an organisation that has been mentioned in one or two of my other blog posts due to it’s routine anti-male bias.
The title of the article is ‘How tragic that men are afraid to help kids‘ (29 October 2014), and it begins:
“THIS story finding more than two thirds of Australian men would be afraid to go to the aid of a child in need for fear of being thought a potential “pervert” is so sad for men and kids.”
Well that’s reasonable isn’t it? Of course it is sad that men are all too aware that they are viewed as potential predators. Very sad. But let’s think about how this situation came about.
Firstly, and undeniably, it is partly due to actual perpetration of sex crimes by a very small number of men, against a small minority of children. The actions of these people are obviously inexcusable, and clearly such offenders need to be dealt with to the full extent of the law.
But then the media, advocacy groups and public agencies take over, building that kernel of evil wrong-doing into a mountain of fear and foreboding. They do this not only in relation to their handling of the specific issue of child sexual abuse by men, but also with regards to how they address the topics of (for example) domestic violence, sexual violence/‘rape culture‘, and workplace discrimination and harassment.
I need to digress here for a moment because feminists are wont to respond to what they imagine men are saying, rather than to what is actually said:
Men are not saying:
- That the issues mentioned above are not real and/or do not warrant remedial action being taken
- That all men are innocent of wrongdoing in relation to these issues
- That the misrepresentation of men’s culpability is indicative of a global conspiracy against men (as is the case for example with feminists and their belief in the existence of a patriarchy)
Men are saying:
- That media coverage of the issues listed above generally asserts (or at least implies) that men are almost always the perpetrators and that women are victims, when this is often not the case
- That even in those situations where rates of male perpetration are substantially greater than female perpetration, this is not a valid justification for failing to acknowledge and address female perpetrators and male victims
- That this biased misrepresentation of the actual situation appears to be a deliberate attempt of the part of many writers to damage the credibility of men and/or support and further the cause of feminist ideology
- That this ongoing misrepresentation is unfair and unhelpful in addressing the issues under consideration
Let’s think about the broader picture of how men are presented in the media generally, and that is anything but a positive portrayal. It is no coincidence that the Australian media is overwhelmingly influenced and shaped by feminists and their white-knight cohorts. Should you doubt this fact then start reading almost any of the posts in this blog.
Let’s think about why women are not similarly viewed as potential predators despite the fact that they are responsible for most (non-sexual) child abuse and neglect, much elder abuse, and given that there are now almost daily incidents involve adult women preying on underage boys and girls.
A major factor here is, yet again, pro-feminist and anti-male bias in the media. This pervasive sexist bigotry sees men’s transgressions amplified, whilst women’s are minimised or ignored entirely. The general public then comes away with the idea that men’s perpetration is commonplace, deliberate, and severe, whilst women’s crimes are rare aberrations for which there are usually extenuating circumstances.
Let’s think about what feminists in general, and feminist journalists in particular, are doing to address this issue of men being portrayed as evil. I mean apart from shedding crocodile tears by way of superficial space-filler articles like the one introduced earlier.
Are feminists, for example, lobbying for airlines to stop their discriminatory policy of not allowing men to sit next to unaccompanied minors? Are they lobbying for the imposition of gender quotas for male primary school teachers? Are they doing anything at all to help? Please prove me wrong, but I think you will find that the answer is no. No, they are much too busy pushing in the opposite direction.
PS: By the way, I did try to share my views about the article in the Herald-Sun web site via submitting a readers comment, but alas it was not posted. I’m hardly surprised … such censorship moderation is absolutely par for the course when it comes to feminists seeking to avoid having their precious ideology critiqued derailed. Oh, and then the author of the article blocked me from her Twitter page – presumably in retaliation – rather than providing a mature and lucid rebuttal. This is what a feminist looks like.
See also:
Can we discuss gender issues rationally? Yes, if we can stop gamma bias (4 December 2018)
Male teachers fear student contact for false abuse claims: experts (4 August 2017)
Men won’t volunteer to help the Scouts for one depressing reason: they’ll be labelled paedophiles (13 April 2017) Reddit discussion thread and linked article
Wendy Tuohy: Too right, women do more work. And we’re so tired (17 March 2017)
Feminism: The demonization of males, by Stacy McCain (2 March 2017)
An open letter to men, who can help female runners feel safe (6 December 2016)
Rachel Stewart: No predator more dangerous than the human male (12 October 2016) New Zealand
‘Hysterical’ feminism isn’t helping our fight against domestic violence, by Corrine Barraclough (22 July 2016) Australia
The damage being done when people insist ‘boys will be boys’, by Clementine Ford (3 June 2016)
Congratulations creeps: You’ve scared women off the streets, by Wendy Tuohy (13 May 2016) Australia
Australian teacher warns young men not to become teachers as a result of the experience he has had (7 May 2016) The investigation into an accusation of inappropriate touching last two years – then found to be unsubstantiated.
Men won’t volunteer to help the Scouts for one depressing reason: they’ll be labelled paedophiles (3 May 2016) UK
Demonising men creates a culture of fear that is bad for everyone, by Karen Brooks (18 April 2016) Australia
Men are way creepier than women, according to science (14 April 2016)
Introducing the most derided ethnic group in Britain: young white men (14 December 2015) UK
When a women-only community is the answer to male violence, by Clementine Ford (18 August 2015)
A similar article from another feminist journalist at the same newspaper. This one is entitled ‘Why is being a male a crime these days?‘ (12 May 2015)
Women’s studies prof calls for ‘men control’ (23 June 2015) More on that here