why i'm not a feminist

 

           Historically, women have had it rough; high rape and violence rates and less reported income to what the man makes, one can imagine why there is a movement made in their favor.  However, with a higher case of being imprisoned, an increased risk of work-related fatalities, higher suicide rates, and discrimination by family courts, men are being shorthanded as well.  While most are still are concerned with the career and college success of females, many school faculty believe that our generation is entering an epidemic for academic failure among our men.  If one identifies as anything other than cisgender, they can forget a life of comfort.  Although tradition has stated that women may have more difficulty in everyday life, studies are beginning to prove that no matter the gender; the battle for sexuality wages on, and the war is far from over.

            It has been reported that one out of every six American women will be the victim of a form of sexual assault; and there are currently 17.7 million female rape victims in the United States (Tjaden and Thoennes).  Out of everyone whom is killed by an intimate partner, 96% are female (American Psychological Association).  It has also been said that women make less than men, ranging from 0.77-0.79 cents on the dollar, depending on which source you look at.

Men are not victimless in the sexual discrimination of society, either.  In only 10% of divorce situations involving dependent children does the man receive custody (Berlatsky).  Of all work related fatalities, 93% were men (Rampell).  Another frightening challenge against men is the fact that 93.3% of all inmates are cisgender of identifying as males (Federal Bureau of Prisons.)  Out of 4,483 individuals whom took their own lives in 1997, only 701 of them were female, the rest, all 3,782 of them, were male (Sommers 284).

For the entire duration of Generation Z’s (born from 1995-2015, respectively) middle and high school career, they have been told that there is chronic shortage of women in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, and that females are academically falling behind their male counterparts.  Yet, the understated studies seem to disagree.  In 1996, roughly 8.4 million women were enrolled full-time in a higher education facility, however, only 6.7 men were (Sommers 285). In addition, fewer low-income, high-risk for drop out young men complete any type of standardized testing.  That is, if they even identify with a traditional gender at all.  

Classified as a mental illness, transgenderism, sometimes referred to as Gender Identity Disorder, plagues many individuals.  In her article, The M/F Boxes, E.J. Graff writes about numerous instances of job termination, psychiatric hospitalization, homicide, and medial abuse due to someone who chose to step outside of the societal boxes of their biological gender roles.  In addition to a mental state altering a gender identity, one in 2,000 infants is born with reproductive organs which are unidentifiable as to which gender they are, and unfortunately, sometimes causing the doctors to surgically assign a gender to the child, without receiving parental approval (Graff 250).

Although we were denied rights for centuries, women now have more rights than ever.  To argue that feminism is a current issue would be to dwell on the past.  Our society has progressed to the point that both genders have reached an equal level of suffering and both need help to break the molds which hold them in.  Rather than advocating for the archaic view of feminism, I would like to consider myself an egalitarian.

Works Cited

Berlatsky, Noah. When Men Experience Sexism.  The Atlantic, 29 May 2013.  Web.  4 April 2016.

Graff, E.J.  “The M/F Boxes.”  The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas.  Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell.  8^th ed.  Boston: Pearson, 2014. 249-55.  Print.

Inmate Gender. Federal Bureau of Prisons, 27 February 2016. Web. 4 April 2016.

Intimate Partner Violence: Facts & Resources.  American Psychological Association.   Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Public Interest Directorate. 2016. Web.

Rampell, Catherine.  Why Did Workplace Deaths Decline in 2008? Economix: Explaining the Science of Everyday Life, 31 August 2009.  Web.  4 April 2016.

Sommers, Christina Hoff.  “The War Against Boys.”  The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas.  Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell.  8^th ed.  Boston: Pearson, 2014. 283-87.  Print.

Tjaden, Patricia, and Thoennes, Nancy.  “Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey.”