Scary Times...

It certainly is a very scary time for girls growing up. But let's not pretend it isn't also a scary/hard time for boys growing up. It's a scary time for EVERYONE. Harassment and assault are very real for girls. But it also exists for boys. And FALSE accusations happen a lot more than people seem to want to think. I've written about it before, but just in my life alone, I have known MANY people, including close friends and my own father, who were falsely accused of SOME manner of abuse, and in at least two cases, yes rape.

Frankly, I'd be just as terrified to be raising a girl in this time, as I would a boy. It's equally dangerous for both. Acting as if ALL boys in our society have it easier because of in-born "privilege", simply because they ARE boys, is not only bigoted, it's intellectually and morally bankrupt. And while the threat of a girl being harassed or assaulted is VERY real, and horrible, that threat also exists, and is often diminished/dismissed for boys. In fact, even by many feminists and so-called victim advocates, boys are often derided or even shamed for coming forward about abuse or assault (often at the hands of girls/women).

Furthermore, this cute little trend of basically mocking the idea that "It's a scary time for boys", ignores the flat-out BLEAK reality that many boys do actually face growing up today in America. Yes, there are MANY awful threats and challenges that girls today face, INCLUDING the very real and very evil possibility of being assaulted. But when deciding to mock "This is a scary time for boys", you might try knowing a few very cold hard facts first, including but not limited to:

*Boys/men have a FAR lower rate of ever reporting abuse or assault, because they are often not only dismissed, but sometimes they are even mocked and humiliated further for doing so. Because "men don't get assaulted", etc.

*Even when many boys/men DO seek help, they are often turned away, either because facilities aren't set up to HELP males, or else the facilities that exist simply aren't INTERESTED in helping males. So they are left to face their problems on their own, in silence.

*Boys have a higher high school drop out rate today.

*Boys have a lower college attendance rate today.

*In conjunction with this, there are far more organizations and structures in place today, helping girls in education and even getting into certain work fields, that in many cases simply do not exist as options for boys.

*Boys/men have a FAR higher chance of being met with physical violence, and are far less likely to receive sympathy or care for being the victim of violence.

*Men have a higher unemployment rate.

*There is a FAR higher homelessness rate in men, it's not even close.

*There is also a FAR higher suicide rate in boys/men. Something like 80+% of suicides worldwide, across ALL cultures, are male.

*There is also a FAR higher incarceration rate for boys/men, even for lesser offenses. The vast majority of U.S./World prison populations, are men. The vast majority of kids in juvenile facilities, are boys. It is a statistical fact that girls/women often get lesser sentences or even no sentence for the same offenses. U.S. law tends to be more lenient on women, across the board.

*Boys are legally required, by penalty of SEVERE punishment (up to 5 years in prison or a huge cash sum), to sign up for "Selective Service" (essentially a precursor for any possible future military draft). If they do not sign up for SS, they cannot get things like Financial Aid for college, etc. Girls are not legally required to sign up for SS at all.

The list could honestly keep going, but these are all horrible realities, in today's America, that boys face growing up. Which flies directly in the face of these intellectually hollow "Privilege Theory" ideals, stating that someone has automatic "Privilege" if they are born a certain gender. Is there SOME piece of truth in that? Sure, in some cases. But the reality of "Privilege", is far more along economic lines, and kids being born into wealth, or even cushy Middle Class living, versus kids who are born into working class families, or relative poverty, as I was.

The truth is, YES, it IS a scary time for girls. But to act like it isn't ALSO a scary time for boys, and mocking or dismissing that fact, as if being born with a penis automatically gives you a "Golden Ticket" to life? That is just being an ignorant asshole, spitefully unaware of harsh life facts. The truth is, it's a scary time for EVERYONE, particularly children of EITHER gender, or ANY ethnicity. I very much want to have children some day, but I know that, regardless whether they are boys or girls, they are going to be born into a MUCH darker, scarier world than the one I was born into (and that's saying something). It's not a contest, as to "who has it worse, boys or girls, men or women". We're all human, and face HUMAN problems. 

How about we all focus on that, and try to make the future brighter and safer for ALL of them, instead of continuing to divide ourselves along these ignorant, childish, petty, manufactured lines?