A UK Member of Parliament recently suggested that there should be a Government minister for men which would presumably do similar things to the existsing minister for Women.
This has thrown up a series of heated discussions on social media about whether this is part of the ‘backlash’ against feminsm, or whether there is a legitimate need for wider support of men’s issues.
As a man who believes that there are legitimate issues disproportionately affecting men which should be addressed, what I really want help in understanding is the opinion that men don’t need any targetted support.
I don’t want to start a big argument, but I do want to understand this perspective, because I have struggled to understand it before and I don’t like feeling like I’m missing something.
Women have a minister to support women’s issues in the government. Men get to walk the streets of major cities at night without fear, and get respect and good pay in their careers. As a man, I feel like I’m getting the better end of the stick, even without ministerial support.
Women have been systematically pushed down for thousands of years, and now they have systems to help bring them back up. It’s like being upset someone else gets crutches, because you’d like support too. I mean, sure, wear comfortable shoes, but you don’t need support as much as they do. I look forward to the day nobody need crutches.
When you look at support for things such as physical/emotional/financial abuse against men then it’s painfully lacking which can be devastating. This alone is a lot more widespread than you may think. Whether this warrants a minister is another question but there are areas which desperately need attention and it’s unfair to say just because women get the shitty end of the stick in general that men are not in need to support too.
There are some US states where young women make more money than their male counterparts…
Specifically “young” women, who are more likely to go to and graduate from college. But lose that edge as soon as babies enter the picture.