Why is DU in a gender war anyway?

[NuclearDem]

195. You do have a point about male privilege.

It is difficult to define because not all men are the same. Unless you're an upper class, straight, white, cis-gendered man, there will be other societal roadblocks set up, depending on race, orientation, gender identity, and income level. That's where different privileges overlap.

What I've typically seen as male privilege is:
-Taking unsolicited comments from strangers about one's body (positive ones, anyway) as compliments. When directed at women, it's usually a manifestation of control or men believing they deserve a positive response from the woman.
-Workplace discrimination/unequal pay for equal work.
-Constant pressure to not offend/discomfort the other gender. Be pleasant to look at or otherwise interact with.

Again, this only applies to the male aspect of a male. Other factors can make these privileges difficult to obtain, though not by virtue of being men--income disparity between minorities and whites, workplace discrimination over orientation and gender identity, etc.

But the overarching idea is that those men face those problems for completely different privilege-related issues (white privilege, straight privilege, income privilege), and a woman identical in every other way to the man in those examples has to deal with the additional burdens that come with gender discrimination.

Rape culture is a group of societal attitudes that facilitates rape:
-Law enforcement apathy in prosecuting rape (both date/acquaintance rape and violent aggravated rape). Facilitates rape by giving the perpetrator the idea they might get away with it or be able to intimidate the victim ("no one will believe you&quot
-Jokes about rape/acceptance of certain types. Date rape and prison rape especially. Facilitates rape by creating a cultural understanding that these things are just "supposed to happen." Drunk women (and men) are going to be taken advantage of, and some prisoners are going to be raped in prison, and even deserve it.
-Street harassment and unwanted attention. Facilitates rape by wearing down boundaries and giving others the idea that they can get more aggressive and not be shamed by most people.
-Victim blaming. Facilitates rape by giving the rapist the idea they won't be held responsible, or that people will blame the victim for the rape. Steubenville is Exhibit A for this.

This doesn't mean all men are rapists, or that men aren't victims of rape. It includes that as well, but the statistics just show women are far more likely to be the victims.