Identity Politics on International Women’s Day

By Lystoy


Today is International Women’s Day and while there is nothing wrong with celebrating the contributions women have made in the world, it seems this day is a new way to practice identity politics while “manshaming” the other half of humanity. In the exchange posted here, the pink author comments that since women are the victims of sexual assaults and molestation, men have no voice in any discussion where females are examining their second-class citizenship.

While it is true that females are more likely to experience childhood sexual abuse, it is not that men are unrepresented. About 1 in 10 women were abused as children, whereas 1 in 20 men report being abused. Men who have been abused tend to be profiled as potential abusers, which leads to underreporting by men (I know firsthand of men in education who keep their mouths shut).

While rape outside of prison is usually a crime against women, men are the victims in 10% of all reported (and again the likelihood of a man reporting a rape is far below that of a woman) rapes. When prison rape is included in statistics it paints an even bleaker picture. In 2008, 216,000 men were raped whereas 90,500 women were victims. People and entertainment mediums laugh and joke about prison rape (e.g. be sure not to drop the soap, you are going to be Bubba’s girlfriend, etc.) because it happens to men. Imagine if someone joked about women being raped? Yes, there is a double standard.

While all sexual abuse and assaults are a severe violation of the principle of non-aggression and any victim is empowered to defend him or herself with lethal force and should receive adequate restitution, we need to stop politicizing these heinous crimes and start looking at the roots of the problem:

  • Allowing the state to determine what the appropriate punishment is for rape without the consent of the victim is an abridgment of the rights of the sufferer.
  • Locking men in cages for non-violent crimes and allowing them to be preyed on by sociopaths is a recipe for disaster.
  • Disarming people in dangerous neighborhoods and removing their ability to defend themselves creates an environment rife with targets for degenerates.
  • Forcing victims into a system that dehumanizes them in their quest for justice, so that a mythical “debt to society” can be paid must be addressed.

I am sure there are other issues contributing to these problems and would like to read your thoughts in the comments.

I will save my thoughts concerning family courts and the HUGE disadvantage men face there for another time, as a person who has been through that system I will simply relate what my (female) attorney told me, “any time a man leaves family court and he is not in handcuffs, he won!”

In the meantime, I encourage all of you to set aside the trappings of identity politics and celebrate the rights and powers of the individual. Until we stop engaging in the media and politically driven wars between the sexes, races, classes, etc. we will continue to be at the mercy of the oligarchs.

References:

https://www.victimsofcrime.org/…/child-sexual-abuse…
https://sapac.umich.edu/article/53
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/More-men-raped-US-women…

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