Debunk the “Men Suffer From Prejudice More Than Do Women” Myth

Sexism against women is very much alive and well

Photo by Mihai Surdu on Unsplash

A male student in my class argued on an assignment that women receive more “favors” than do men in American society. His “evidence:”

“Most people in prisons are men,”

“Most people committed suicide are men,”

“Most homeless people are men,”

“More men die in wars,” and finally,

“People who do worse in school are men.”

These arguments do sound appealing; in fact, we know prejudice against men does exist; sometimes women are indeed in advantaged positions. But do these statements really serve as proof that men are actually suffering from more prejudice than do women?

Here I’ll present the research data I found.

“Most people in prisons are men”

Yes, research suggests that female criminals, in general, are more likely to receive more lenient sentences — but it’s due to benevolent sexism, which depicts women as “pure,” “delicate,” “need protection.” However, this same sexism also causes many disadvantages for women: for example, rape victim blaming, limited career promotions due to being seen as incompetent. As this…