Das beliebte Einprügeln auf Männer – wie können wir es stoppen?

Male-bashing has become so socially acceptable and prevalent in the media that some seem honestly surprised to consider any alternative. Friday's New York Times included a piece covering a recent report in the Journal of Adolescence, which found that, shockingly to the reporter Ms. Tara Parker-Pope, teenage boys are motivated by more than lusty desires when pursuing romantic partners. All the news that's fit to print now includes groundbreaking discoveries such as 80 per cent of the study participants describing their reasons for dating including: "I really liked the person." Perhaps more shocking is that among the sexually active, "the boys were equally likely to say they pursued sex because they loved their partner" as they were to indicate physical attraction. What illuminating revelations will Parker-Pope bring next to the readers of the Times? "Not all men beat their wives" could be a headline worthy of feature, while "Cuddle or Sandwich: What he really wants" just might be that breakout report to land the esteemed journalist her dream beat with Cosmo magazine.

Ab und zu findet man in einer amerikanischen Studentenzeitung solch einen einsichtsvollen Artikel wie diesen, der die richtigen Fragen stellt und die richtigen Antworten gibt:

The feminist movement has rightly achieved much to correct Victorian prudishness toward female sexuality as part of the larger campaign for women's rights. That trend is now being reversed for men. While media publications seek to belittle and homogenize male sexual intentions, more radical movements seek to directly assault the male sex drive by likening it to violent assault. Both buck efforts for real sexual equality. Men's rights may not be the popular social movement, but its issues are real and present.

Warum ist ein ähnlicher Artikel eigentlich in einer deutschen Studentenzeitung unvorstellbar?

Zum selben Thema passt ein Beitrag der amerikanischen Briefkastentante "Dr. Helen" (wobei "Briefkastentante" nicht herabsetzend gemeint ist, mir fällt nur kein anderer deutscher Ausdruck ein). Diesmal widmet sie ihre psychologische Fachkenntnis der Leserfrage: Ist das Einprügeln auf Männer heilbar?. Ein Auszug daraus:

A few years ago Lionel Richie allowed his wife to knock him around a bit. When the media started to question his masculinity he reminded them that it didn’t matter what line of defense he took, the media would turn it on him; if he hit his wife back in defense or retaliation, he’d become a woman-beater and abusive husband, but if he sat there and took it, he’s labeled as less than a man. It doesn’t matter what we do, we’re vilified through the narrow focus of society and the media. The world has changed and it’s folly to believe that our gender hasn’t changed with it. While I understand and celebrate things such as the civil and equal rights movements, I deplore the animosity toward men that, I feel, was birthed from them.

Und das ist ein Auszug aus Dr. Helens Antwort:

One thing, Married Man, that you must remember about human nature, (and especially women) is that most people are terrified of confrontation and will do anything to avoid it. They want to be liked or at least feel that they are a person worth liking. Make it unpleasant for them to let out their toxic tirades and they will stop—and it often takes so little effort. Notice that people in public places and the media rarely say anything derogatory about women. Why? It is socially unacceptable and they are afraid to. Make it costly for people to bash men and they will stop. Start with small steps—if all men and the women who gave a damn spoke up or told people to knock it off when the male bashing started, we would hear a lot less of it.