PerriSmith

ProfessorBlandford
FinalEssay
4December2014
FinalEssay

FormyExtendedInquiryAssignment,Ianalyzedatopicthatmostpeopledonteven
realizeexists:discriminationanddoublestandardsagainstmen.Withthefeministmovement
becomingevenmoreprevalentandtalkedaboutbytheminute,thereissuchafocusonequality
forwomenthatpeopledontrecognizethatmenarediscriminatedagainstaswell.Beyondthat,
theonlyattentionthatmengetaboutsocialissuesisontheMeninisttwitteraccount,whichis
essentiallyasocalledmovementcreatedtodiscreditfeminismandmakeitseemlikemisogyny.
Nowadays,itismorecommontoassociatefeminismwithmisogynythanitistosupportreal
womensissues,whichmakesithardformetopubliclycallmyselfafeminist.Inthewordsof
EmmaWatson,
IdecidedIwasafeministandthisseemeduncomplicatedtome.Butmyrecent
researchhasshownmethatfeminismhasbecomeanunpopularword.
WhileIcouldsupport
meninismifitstoodforsomethingauthentic,theonlypurposeofthesocalledmeninist
movementistoencouragehostilityandresentmenttowardswomenandperpetuateexactlywhat
menthinkfeministsare:manhaters.Mendohavetrueinequalityissues,justlikewomen,and
itsabouttimethattheywereseriouslyaddressedandnotbyacomical,yetstilloffensive,
twitteraccount.However,asafemale,IcanonlyunderstandtheinequalitiesthatIfaceinlife.

Allofthisandmoreinspiredmetoresearchdoublestandardsformenandthewaythesedouble
standardscanaffecteverydaylifeorspecificsituations.

Whenbeginningmyresearch,Iwasntsurehowtogoaboutit.IquicklyrealizedthatI
wouldntbeabletobasemyresearchoffofscienceandcasestudiessincethistopicisso
experiencebased.Becausethistopicdirectlyrelatestopersonalexperience,Ithendecidedto
basemyresearcharoundtestimoniesandfirsthandaccountsofdiscrimination.Therefore,Ibegan
toresearchblogsandarticlesthatareextremelyopinionbased.WhatIfoundwassurprisingly
extremelybeneficialtomyresearch.OneofthebestarticlesIfounddiscussedEmmaWatsons
speechattheUnitedNationsalittleoverayearago,andhowsheaddressedthattherearemany
inequalitiesanddoublestandardsforeachgenderthatarenotonlyoverlooked,butdismissed.A
portionofthispaperwilldiscusshowoftentimeswhenmencomplainofdoublestandards,they
aretoldtheyrebeingridiculousandthattheyhavenoreasontocomplain.Bypretendingthat
theonlyinequalitiesthatexistaffectwomen,wediscriminateagainstmeninacompletelynew
way.

WhenEmmaWatsonspokeattheUnitedNationsin2014shedeliveredanintelligent,
thoughtprovokingspeechaddressingnotonlygenderinequalityissueswithwomen,butwith
menaswell(Porter).OneofthemostpowerfulquotesinthespeechwasBothmenandwomen
shouldfeelfreetobesensitive.BothmenandwomenshouldfeelfreetobestrongItistime
thatweallperceivegenderonaspectrumnotastwoopposingsetsofideals.Ifwestartdefining
eachotherbywhatwearenotandstartdefiningourselvesbywhatwearewecanallbefreer

andthisiswhatHeForSheisabout.Itsaboutfreedom(Emma).Watsondiscusseshowmen
areimprisonedbygenderstereotypesoftentimesasmuchaswomenare(Emma).Shehas
witnessedamansparentingrolewrittenoffaslessvaluabletosociety,whichIbelieveisclear
whenitcomestocourtcaseswheregenerally,inacustodydispute,themotherwillreceive
primarycustodyofthechild(Emma).Menalsocravelooking,forlackofabetterword,manly
(Emma).IntheUnitedKingdomsuicideisthepredominantcauseofdeathinmales,and
overallmalesaremuchmorelikelytocommitsuicidethanwomen(Emma).

AnothercriticalarticleIdiscoveredinmyresearchdiscussesdomesticviolenceandthe
stereotypethatmenaretheonlyonesthatcommitviolence.Inreality,womencommitviolent
actsagainstmenaswell(Young).Whyisitwhencommitdomesticviolence,thepublicisnt
outragedliketheywouldbeiftheroleswerereversed?HopeSolo,awomenssoccerstar,
drunkenlyassaultedhersisterandmalenephew,yetanexamplewasnotmadeoutofher
(Young).BeyonceKnowlessisterSolangeattackedJayZinanelevator,yetIheardmany
peopleaskingwhatJayZdidtoprovokesuchanger(Young).Whenaddressingmaleviolence,
...
feministwriterSorayaChemaly
asserted
thatsuchtragediesweretheresultofpervasive,
violentlymaintained,genderhierarchy,maleentitlement,andsocietalcontemptforthelivesof
girlsandwomen(Young).However,accordingtoCathyYoung,womenaremorelikelytobe
violentinintimate,personalrelationships,andjustaslikelyasmentoinitiateviolence.
The
majorityoffeministsreactinadismissivewaytoallegationsoffemaleviolencetowardsmen,
butmaleviolencetowardswomenisfocusedon,neverdismissed,andoftentimesbecomesan
exampleintheeyesofthelaw(Young).Whenwomenfirstbegantobearrestedinthe1990s

duetodomesticviolence,batteredwomensadvocatesclaimedwomenweresimplylashingback
attheirabusersandshouldnotbeprosecuted(Young).Ultimately,weasasocietymuststop
perpetuatingthefragile,gentleimageofafemaleandacknowledgethatwomenhaveacapacity
foraggressionandevil.

WhileoriginallyIwasnotgoingtodiscussdoublestandardsintheworkplace,someof
myresearchledmetoratherinterestinginformation.Ihadneverevengiventhoughttotheidea
thattheremightbediscriminationagainstmenintheworkplacebecauseworkplaceinequalityis
consideredsuchawomensissueatthistime.Becauseofthis,whenamancomplainsthata
womanisbeingcateredtoandthusreflectingdiscriminationuponmen,hewouldbeaccusedof
discouraginginequality(D'Angelo).Menoftentimesfeelliketheyhavetotiptoearoundwomen
inworkenvironments,oftentimessimilartohowIhearpeopletalkingabouthowtheyfeelthey
musttiptoearoundAfricanAmericansforfearofbeingdubbedaracistintodaysmovementof
#BlackLivesMatter(D'Angelo).

Theotherportionofmyresearchwasbasedoninterviews.Iaskedmanymalesabout
theirexperienceswithdoublestandards,butonlyincludedtwointerviewsthatIconducted.In
theseinterviews,Ilearnedaboutwhatmalesexperienceineverydaylife,butspecificallyintheir
educationandextracurricularswhileinschool.Ionlychosetoincludetheseinterviewsbecause
theyshowedadifferentaspectofdoublestandardsthatIwouldntbeabletofindinmyresearch,
sincemosthighschoolandcollegeageboysarentgoingtostartablogabouttheinequalities

andprejudicetheyveencounteredwhilegrowingup.Ifoundthatmostblogsdiscussingdouble
standardswouldspeakmoreonthetopicofinequalitiesintheworkplace,inbusiness,andmore
prevalentmatters(DAngelo).However,inmypaperIwantedtoexaminemoreofthe
underlyingdoublestandardsthatseemtodriveoursociety.Therearemanythataffectboth
malesandfemaleswhilegrowingup,andthesetwointerviewshelpedtohighlightthem.

Forexample,inoneinterview,anengineeringmajordiscussedhow,surprisingly,females
inthemajorareoftenshownpreferenceovermales(Rogers).Hetoldmeofaninstancewherehe
wenttoanengineeringjobfairandeverycompanytherewasessentiallyonlyfocusingonthe
femalesandhowtheycouldmaketheircompanylookbetterbydiversifyingtheirstaff(Rogers).
AccordingtoJoel,theinterviewee,womenhaveitalittleeasiersincetheyaretheminorityinthe
major.Thiscanalsoapplytoothermaledominatedmajorssuchascomputerscience.

MynextinterviewwithPaytondiscussedstereotypesagainsthimasthecaptainofthe
footballteamandhowheneversawthecaptainofthewomenssoccerteamstereotypedlikehe
was.PaytonwasanAPstudentandisnowanengineeringmajorconsideringadoublemajorin
chemistry,andhewastreatedlikeadumbjockjustbecauseheplayedfootball.Hethen
discussedhowthecaptainofthewomenssoccerteamwasinsimilarclassestohimandwas
athletic,butwasneverstereotypedlikehewas(Stull).Shewasconsideredsmartand
wellrounded,buthisathleticismmadehimstupid.AquestionthatIhadafterthisinterviewwas
whyareweencouragingwomentobealltheycanbe,butdiscouragingmen?Feminismand
femaleempowermentisaboutbeingequaltomen,nottryingtosurpassthemandseembetter

thanthem.Idontevenlikecallingmyselfafeministanymorebecausethewordissostrongly
correlatedtomisogynyandhatingmen.Ithinkthatfeminismisstartingtohavethesameeffect
astheblacklivesmattermovement,andbothareunfortunatelybeingseenandmisconstruedas
encouragingsupremacyoftypesofpeople.

WhenIfirstchosethissubject,allIreallyunderstoodaboutmensdoublestandardswas
thattheyexisted.Iobviouslywasunabletoputmyselfinamansshoes,soIdidnotunderstand
thegravityofthediscriminationmenfacejustforbeingmale.Ofcourse,Iwillnevercompletely
understandthedoublestandardsmenencountereveryday,buttheknowledgeIhavenowwill
helpmetoadvocatenotonlyforwomen,butformenaswell.Feminismisaboutequality,which
meanswithmySelfvoiceImnotjustrootingforwomen,Imrootingformentoowithmy
OthervoiceandifIdontunderstandthatthenIshouldntbeabletocallmyselfafeministatall.

WhyIchosethissubjectisalittlehardtoexplain.Ichosethissubjectbyexaminingmy
literacywhichsetmeuptounconsciouslysupportbiasesanddoublestandards.Uponthe
reflectionofmyliteracymemoir,Ibegantopayfurtherattentiontomydistinctwritingstyle,
realizingthatIwroteinawaythatprimarilyconsistedofacertainvocabulary.InoticedthatI
tendtofirststateafact,andthenelaborateonit.Mywritingconsistsasubstantialamountof
explanatoryinformationinordertoconvincetheaudienceofmyviewpoint.Ialsorealizedthat
theauthorswhowrotethebooksIgrewupbeingintriguedbyaswellasalltheteachersthat
propelledmefromaveryyoungagewerepredominantlyfemale.Somewhereinthedevelopment
ofmyliteracy,Idrewthisthoroughlyincorrectconclusionthatmostinfluentialauthorsand

teacherswerefemale.WhenIlegitimatelythoughtaboutthis,IwantedtoknowwhyIthought
this.Iwentoffofpreviousknowledgethatmenhavedoublestandardsaswellaswomen,and
essentiallyranwithit.Iresolvedtounearthwhatmenexperiencedonadaytodayknowledge
andreflectuponitwithmyownknowledgeofdoublestandards.

Whenwefirstbeganourextendedinquiryproject,Iwasworriedthatperhapsmy
researchwouldntleadmeinthedirectionIwastryingtogoin.IknewIwasselectingadifficult
topictolegitimatelyresearch,andIwaspreparedtostartalloverwithanentirelynewtopicifI
neededto.However,Ifoundanabundanceofinformationtowriteapaperon,andendeduptruly
comingoutofthisprojectwithanewperspectiveandanewwayofthinking.Inthefuture,Iplan
oncontinuingmyresearchandinvestigationintodiscriminatoryidealsperpetuatedagainstmen.

WorksCited

D'AngeloFisher,Leo."NowIt'sMenWhoHaveHadEnoughofDoubleStandardsThe
BusinessWomanMedia."
TheBusinessWomanMedia
.TheBusinessWoman,10Sept.
2014.Web.29Oct.2015.

"EmmaWatson:GenderEqualityIsYourIssueToo."
UNWomen
.UNWomen,20Sept.2014.
Web.5Dec.2015.

Porter,Jane."Yes,GenderEqualityIsAMen'sIssue."
FastCompany
.FastCompany&Inc.,26
Sept.2014.Web.28Oct.2015.

Rogers,Joel."DoubleStandardsinPersonalExperiences."Personalinterview.30Oct.2015.

Stull,Payton."DoubleStandardsinPersonalExperiences."Personalinterview.30Oct.2015.

Young,Cathy."HopeSoloandtheSurprisingTruthAboutWomenandViolence."
Time
.Time,
24June2014.Web.2Nov.2015.