Mens Rights Thread

Special Report: ‘Need to change mindset’ as nearly 50% of dads don’t take parental leave

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman said it was disappointing to see that paid benefits are not being taken up.

"I think we have more to do to change that mindset about the division of responsibility when it comes to caring for children.

"There's a societal element to all of this as well and that deeper question of who cares for children, and an approach that all of us and particularly men need to take, that we have an absolute responsibility in terms of caring for children. It has to be understood that it is a shared responsibility of parents," he said.

Letter to the Editor: Innocent men were the victims in school leggings saga

WED, 02 DEC, 2020 - 10:44

If your correspondent, Joyce Fegan, is to be believed ‘Leggings saga — let’s stop blaming young people’ (Irish Examiner, November 28) the recent controversy in the Presentation College Carlow is yet another tale of female victimhood at the hands of the “liberal” media’s arch villain — the dreaded “man in authority”. I disagree with this interpretation of events.

At this stage it is clear nothing inappropriate or ambiguous was stated by staff to the girls of the school. However, on the basis of unsubstantiated rumours a story was propagated by some mainstream and social media outlets.

The story (which became worldwide news) suggested male teachers allowed themselves to be sexually distracted by female children in the school. It resulted in journalists, politicians, and ordinary people taking to the airwaves and social media.

Accusations were directed at the minority of men working in the school. It is impossible to overstate the awfulness of such a lie or the potentially life destroying effects it could have on innocent men.

In an effort to explain what truly happened the school’s principal, Ray Murray, spoke to the nation on the radio on Wednesday morning.

He clearly stated what was said to the girls of the school and why only girls were spoken to. There is no evidence to suggest he was lying or that the message was in any way ambiguous.

Yet Joyce Fegan seems unsatisfied with Mr Murray’s calm and reasoned response. She speaks disparagingly of his “15 minutes of fame” — as if he were an attention-seeker rather than an innocent man seeking to defend his staff against horrible accusations. She wonders (for no obvious reason) if it was “a case of messy messaging”.

In fact, she seems determined to do anything other than consider the possibility that Mr Murray handled the situation as best he could.

I accept that it is difficult to be completely balanced when discussing controversial issues upon which one has strong views.


However, to interpret an incident involving such terrible lies and accusations against innocent men as a tale of female victimhood suggests a view of the issue which is extremely imbalanced. Perhaps Ms Fegan would attempt a fairer and more balanced approach if she decides to write about this disturbing story again.

Men wrongly perceive gender bias in Civil Service promotion – ESRI
Research examines flexible working, promotions and training in Civil Service

On training and promotions, the report also detected a gender bias with women less likely to have participated in training compared with their male counterparts.

Although both sexes felt equally encouraged to apply for positions, women were significantly less likely to have applied for a promotion in the two years prior to the survey.

Kylta wrote: »

Sorry if its posted in the wrong thread,

Part 4. Gender Inequality

Learning Outcomes
Differentiate between gender & sex.
Understand the diversity of gender identity.
Recognise how being born male or female affects life opportunities & choices.
Analyse how gender inequalities can be the root of exploitation.
Examine the link between gender & poverty (access to credit; inheritance; etc).
Recognise the importance of gender based development/aid programmes.
Investigate Gender-Based Violence.
Examine how culture affects gender rights.

Key Skills
Debate/Challenge peoples assumptions about gender identity & stereotyping.
Develop empathy with women’s oppression.
Develop relationships that are not gender biased.
Acknowledge individual differences.
Watch & interpret a foreign language film.

Resources
Statistics for Women working in Ireland | European Commission website
Teaching Transgender: a guide to leading effective trainings online (Jan 15th, 2009)| National Centre for Transgender Equality transequality.org
The G20 and Gender Equality (July 14th, 2014)| Oxfam briefing paper
Gender Based Violence – A Failure to Protect: A Challenge to Action (2005) | report by The Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence
Information on Female Genital Mutilation (Feb 2014)| online Factsheet no.241 by World Health Organisation
Female Genital Mutilation – An overview and statistical analysis papers | Unicef
The Girl Effect animation girleffect.org

Activities

Activity G1

Students distinguish between the words “sex” and “gender” and discuss the issue of gender stereotyping. Teacher notes: Sex and Gender | Statements about Men and Women

Activity G2

Students investigate historical views of gender and public imagery of gender roles. Transgender is introduced. Teacher notes: Gender Roles | HO Activity: World Upside Down | Audio File – World Upside Down

Activity G3

Investigate gender identity in Modern Society by examining social media profile options such as Facebook. Students discuss the implications of gender identity for individuals. Teacher notes: Gender Identities | HO Activity: Guardian Newspaper Article – Facebook | Student Activity: Humans are not binary

Activity G4

Students investigate challenges facing the LGBT community by critically reflecting on anti-bullying videos. Teacher notes: LBGT rights

Activity G5

Students conduct their own research on how gender affects their life choices and compare their choices with their peers globally. Teacher notes: How Gender and Sexuality Affects my Life Choices | Student Activity: How gender and sexuality affects my life choices

Activity G6

Students read case studies and discuss how gender affects life choices and opportunities in Africa and compare to life choices and opportunities in Ireland. Teacher notes: Gender Inequality | Student Activity: Case study Answer Sheet

Activity G7

Students examine the issue of Gender Based Violence. Students learn about Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C). Teacher notes: Gender Based Violence

Activity G8

Students learn about Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting and investigate the physical effects on women. Students view a film about FGM/C to understand the emotional effects on young women that undergo FGM/C. Teacher notes: Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting | Activity: Female Genitals and FGM (Powerpoint) | Student Activity: Film Review Sheet

Activity G9 (optional)

Students swatch Wadjda (2012) to explore gender inequality and culture. The film is about Wadjda: a 10-year-old girl living in a suburb of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. | Check availability locally. Additionally it is available to rent from Irish online on-demand website Volta and Netflix.

Clodagh Finn: What it was like meeting my birth father for the first time, aged 26

Many years ago, Clodagh Finn wrote a paragraph on what it was like meeting her birth father for the first time, aged 26. She felt at the time that she would not have been able to write any more. Until now

That might explain why the strangeness of that first encounter never quite wore off. We had a few more meetings and exchanged cards and heartfelt good wishes. A few years after that, I read of his death in the paper and felt the urge to go the funeral but felt, again, that there wasn’t a space for me. I didn’t know if his other family — there was another family — even knew of my existence. I didn’t want to intrude, but I didn’t want to be absent either.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, I rang the priest who was to say his funeral Mass and I will be forever grateful for his offer to represent me, so to speak, on the day of the service by lighting a special candle.

It’s a story with a less than satisfactory ending, but it’s one I’m no longer reluctant to tell.

Now it’s time to hear all those voices that have been silent for so long. It’s time for truth and reconciliation.

iptba wrote: »

Nothing particularly earthshattering, but just saw a female acquaintance of mine on Twitter recommend a particular company and say she loves supporting women-owned businesses. I can't imagine many men would say publicly they love supporting men-owned businesses; I imagine they might get slaughtered for being sexist whether or not men or women predominated in a particular industry. Strange world we live in where one is considered sexist while some might even be praised by some people for the other.

Deleted User wrote: »

Jesus Christ, let's pathologise everything.

Deleted User wrote: »

seems excessive, and aimed to clickbait the research. I wonder has what qualifies as rape been expanded?.... and what kind of selection they used for their testing group.

Tania Reynolds, (Dept of Gender Studies, Univ. of Indiana), “Gender bias in moral typecasting (man-up and take it)”: Tania presented the results of several different studies aimed at elucidating if one sex is more easily typecast as a victim and one sex more typecast as a perpetrator.

In one of these studies the participants watched an animation of abstract shapes (triangles) engaged in what could be interpreted as a harm situation, and were then asked to assign genders to the victimised or perpetrating “triangles”.

I somehow suspect you’ve guessed the outcome.

Over 5 studies (N=1538) the results consistently showed females associated more with the victim role and males more with the perpetrator role, even when the “people” in question were just triangles.

The value of the latter was that all extraneous factors were eliminated. She concluded, “This cognitive bias may contribute to a general reluctance to respond to men’s suffering.”

In other words, empirical evidence for the empathy gap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR9tixOJSi0

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Volume 161, November 2020, Pages 120-141
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Man up and take it: Gender bias in moral typecasting
TaniaReynoldsabChuckHowardcHallgeirSjåstaddLukeZhueTyler G.OkimotofRoy F.BaumeisterfKarlAquinocJongHanKimg

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.05.002

Highlights

• We predicted and supported a gender bias in moral typecasting.

• Victims were assumed to be female and perpetrators were assumed to be male.

• A female (vs male) employee complaining of harassment was seen as more of a victim.

• People desired harsher punishments for male than female perpetrators.

• Managers who fired female (vs male) employees were perceived as less moral.


Abstract

Informed by moral typecasting theory, we predicted a gender bias in harm evaluation, such that women are more easily categorized as victims and men as perpetrators.

Study 1 participants assumed a harmed target was female (versus male), but especially when labeled ‘victim’.

Study 2 participants perceived animated shapes perpetuating harm as male and victimized shapes as female.

Study 3 participants assumed a female employee claiming harassment was more of a victim than a male employee making identical claims.

Female victims were expected to experience more pain from an ambiguous joke and male perpetrators were prescribed harsher punishments (Study 4).

Managers were perceived as less moral when firing female (versus male) employees (Study 5).

The possibility of gender discrimination intensified the cognitive link between women and victimhood (Study 6).

Across six studies in four countries (N = 3,137), harm evaluations were systematically swayed by targets’ gender, suggesting a gender bias in moral typecasting.