Sexism in Modern Society: The Male Issues

It is a common occurrence in today’s society for a woman to claim that she is being discriminated against; however, there are some men who believe that the male gender is discriminated against just as much, if not more. There are two articles that show some of this reverse discrimination, first is an article by Warren Farrell entitled Men as Success Objects, this article takes a very moderate approach towards the idea of male discrimination. The other article is from a web site published by a group called Men’s Rights and it takes a very extreme approach towards the issue of male discrimination. Both of these articles share a similar base topic, the discrimination of men in society. They take two very different approaches towards these issues but there are several themes that occur in both of the articles. The first would be the role that men are expected to play in their family life, and the second is the double standards that can be thrown against men in society.

Farrell’s article based around the idea that men are forced to live up to very demanding standards in society. He explains the different roles in society that males must adhere to in order to be considered a “real” man. It is Farrell’s belief that in society today a man must be successful in order for a woman to marry him (187). This factor causes males to be considered failures to society unless they are successful and wealthy (185). Farrell also expresses the belief that because women are believed to make less than men, the working father is overlooked next to “wonder women” or the working mother (186). Farrell ends his article with a theory on the “three P’s, performing, paying, and pursuing.”(188). Farrell says these three things are commonly mistaken for male power when in fact it is something all men must do in order to have a woman even consider marrying or dating with them (188).

The website from the group called Men’s Rights has two main sections that deal with the main topics being discussed. The first part is called “Work Force Issues”. This section deals again with the belief that women really don’t earn less than men. It also brings up several other aspects of women in the workforce that the Men’s Rights group feel are extremely unjust, such as sexually harassment policies that make it impossible for a man to say hi to a women without the possibility of being charged with sexual harassment. The other section is called “Society Issues” and deals with domestic abuse and other widely publicized issues. Men’s Rights make the statement “whenever a female commits a crime against a male, society is quick to jump to her aid…” (3), they feel that women get away with mistreating and being violent towards men, but if a man does anything even resembling violence they will be condemned by society (3).

One thing that both of these articles have in common is the fact that they both feel that men are held up to unreasonably high standards in society. Farrell makes the argument that men must perform and be successful in order for a woman to even consider them as a mate (187), Men’s Rights also points out that it is much harder for a man to get a job because companies feel that they must hire women in order to be spared from discrimination lawsuits (Workplace Issues 1). Part of this theme is the treatment of men in society as well; they are constantly ridiculed as stupid and shallow beings in the work place as well as in the rest of society. This is commonplace throughout society, according to both Farrell and Men’s Rights this mockery of men stems from the belief in society that if a man is not successful and well off he is stupid and worthless.

The other aspect of male discrimination that both articles express as a vital part is the double standards that face men. Men are in a position where if a female assaults them it is acceptable, but if they are to resist and retaliate they are deemed wife beaters and are condemned by society (Society Issues 1-3). Another example of a double standard is the fact that they are the ones responsible for their families well being. Men have to provide and be successful in order to meet and marry a woman, but this woman doesn’t have to do anything in return. If the man she is with isn’t providing well enough she might move on to another man (Farrell 187-188). This shows that women are in fact more concerned with their lifestyle more than they are in the relationship and the love they might have with a man, providing a very stressful life and environment for a man to live in.

Both Farrell and the Men’s Rights group provide strong arguments and facts supporting this idea of sexism against males. This issue of reverse sexism is often ignored in today’s society and these groups are often deemed as anti-feminist and as sexist pigs. It seems that both of these sources feel that its not that women are wrong for wanting equality; more that they are hurting others the same way they feel they have been treated. This is a very touchy issue and I don’t think that one can fairly pass judgment about this issue without doing much more research into the role that this reverse sexism has on males, and on society.

Works Cited

Farrell, Warren. “Men as Success Objects.” Constructing Others, Constructing Ourselves. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company: Dubuque, Iowa, 2002. 185-189.\

Men’s Right’s. 2004. 2/12/04  HYPERLINK "http://www.freewebs.com/mensrights"