9 Things Media Called The “War On Men” in 2013
Written by Hannah Groch-Begley
Published
Men are under threat. Despite the fact that women still make less than men do, are hugely underrepresented in media, and face so much sexism on a daily basis that Republicans actually have to undergo training to learn how to talk to women in non-offensive ways, conservative media would like you to know that it's really men who have it tough.
The “War on Men” is waged on multiple fronts, from elementary school classrooms to the workplace to men's own marriages. Nowhere is safe. So to help the besieged men out there, here is a list of all the things conservative media said were examples of the “War on Men” in 2013.
1. Kids Don't Play “Tag” Anymore.
In September, National Review Online hosted a debate which asked “Is there a war on women? Or is it a war on men?” An example of the suffering of men, according to the panel, was that “schools are replacing boys' favorite game, 'tag,' with a more female-friendly alternative called 'circle of friends.'” As Alice Munro noted in the New Republic, this isn't true.
2. “Female Sexual Freedom.”
The “War on Men” really began with contemporary feminism in the 1960s, according to Wall Street Journal editor James Taranto, when women dared “to be equal to men” and wanted “sexual freedom”:
MARY KISSEL: [W]hen did this war on men begin? Can you pinpoint a starting point?
TARANTO: Well, it all goes back to the beginning of contemporary feminism in the early '60s. You know, women wanted to be equal to men, they wanted to be able to do all the sort of professional things including the military that men could do, and --
KISSEL: Was there anything wrong with that, though, James? I mean, that sounds --
TARANTO: Well, that's too long to go into now, the question of what's wrong with that, but in addition they wanted sexual freedom. Well what is female sexual freedom? It means, for this woman, that she had the freedom to get drunk, and to get in the backseat of the car with this guy. There was another woman who accused him, he was acquitted in this case, of sexual assault. This so-called assault happened in his bedroom, to which she voluntarily accompanied him, even the jury said that was consensual.
3. Obamacare.
According to conservative media, the Affordable Care Act's mandate that insurance companies can no longer discriminate is the same as "sticking it to men" and waging a "war on bros." In reality, the law makes sure insurance companies can't force women to pay more for health care just because they are women.
4. “Feminized” Schools Have Rules, Standards.
The “War on Men” starts “as a war on boys,” according to NRO's Helen Smith, which manifests when schools “take away recess” and adopt “a feminized approach to schools to the point where it is mainly for those who conform, sit still, and like to follow rules.”
5. Sometimes, Men Are Accused Of Sexual Harassment.
Wall Street Journal editor James Taranto fights the “War on Men” on a regular basis. In June, he dismissed the epidemic of sexual assault in the military, claiming that efforts to address the enormous problem contributed to the “war on men” and were an “effort to criminalize male sexuality.” Taranto conveniently ignored the fact that many victims of sexual assault in the military are also male, and that most men probably don't agree that “male sexuality” necessarily includes having sex with drunken women in cars.
6. Commercials And Sitcoms Make Men Look Stupid.
In 2012, FoxNews.com columnist Suzanne Venker claimed that a factor in the “War on Men” was that “Women aren't women anymore,” because now they have college degrees and have sex outside of marriage. In 2013, she took this probing analysis further, saying that men -- who are "second class citizens" -- are under threat because Title IX forbids discrimination in college sports and because of “sit-coms and commercials that portray dad as an idiot.”
7. Women Work Full-Time Jobs.
In December, Venker uncovered yet another layer in the war on men: women these days are "financially independent," and despite the “simply irrefutable” fact that they “prefer part-time work,” many continue to insist on working full-time jobs, harming men's ability to fulfil their natural inclination to be primary breadwinner.
8. Women Would Like To Make The Same Amount Of Money Men Do.
At FoxNews.com, Carrie Lukas argued that President Obama's nominee to the Office of Personnel Management was the new “general” in the “war on men's pay,” because she was tasked with attempting to close the gender wage gap in government salaries. Lukas baselessly claimed that this would result in men being paid less money in order to make up the difference -- literally the opposite of what was intended, which was to pay women more.
9. “Obama's America.”
Finally, WSJ editor James Taranto blamed “Obama's America” for waging the “War on Men” with the sexual harassment regulations under Title IX, which he claimed unfairly police men's sexuality.