Quote of the Day

As sexual harassment allegations continue to be made public against powerful men, there has been a theme appearing among male commentators: discomfort. . . . [I]f [as a man] you're feeling vigilant and wary of the opposite sex, and are constantly monitoring your relationships with them in the workplace, on public transport, on the street – you're getting an insight into what women feel like. All the time. Every day. Yes, the stakes are wildly different – because as worried about their reputations as they may be, men don't have to worry about their physical safety around women, as women so often do with men – but it's a badly needed dose of reality.

The atmosphere is indeed a peculiar one. (Though if one more person calls it a "witch hunt" I will scream, because co-opting a historical occurrence that disproportionately, gruesomely punished single women with death as a metaphor for uncovering abuses by powerful men is not acceptable.) The air seems to vibrate with powerful (and abusive) men's fear as more allegations are brought into the public eye, and that's essentially unprecedented. And as new stories come out again and again, I fully encourage men to re-examine themselves and their past behavior. Just like not being racist in a deeply racist world takes work, not being sexist in an environment that normalizes sexist attitudes requires conscious commitment and awareness.

But what you don't get to do is complain about it – because, congratulations, you are now getting a free sample of how women have to act around men all the time.

– JR Thorpe
Excerpted from "To Guys Who Think It's
'Hard To Be A Man' Right Now, I’ve Got Some News For You"
Bustle
November 10, 2017

Related Off-site Link:
Trapped in a "Man’s World" – Robert C. Koehler (Common Dreams, November 16, 2017).

Image: Kristen Solberg.