Male-ism

Intro
The word sexism usually brings to mind the feminist movement or the inequality of wages or the lost job opportunities to women. What usually does not come to mind is the discrimination towards men. Men do not suffer sexism because women are in positions of power and are targeting the men, but because of the gender role stereotypes that our society has put on not only them but women as well. The definition of sexism in the Oxford Dictionary is “Prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex”. When the term sexism is needed to be used for the discrimination against men, it is almost required to specify by referring to it as reverse-sexism or male-ism. This is because the definition is in itself stereotyping and being sexist, even though it could easily be used for both genders it states that it is typically against women.
There is a problem with the way society conceives masculinity along with the way it conceives femininity, namely, the practice of assigning specific characteristics, morals and social roles to particular sexes. Men are typically expected to be stoic, decisive, direct, athletic, strong, driven, brave and they experience the pressure to fight in wars which women do not. Discrimination against men comes in several forms, but most notably in genocides, sexual assaults and custody battles.

Genocide
Genocide does not mean all members of a group must be killed; killing the males of a group has devastating effects on the women and children who are left behind. This is especially true in male-dominated societies where women are almost dependent on men for their livelihoods. Non-combatant men have been and continue to be the most frequent targets of mass killing and genocidal slaughter, as well as a plethora of lesser atrocities and abuses. This is called androcide and may happen during war to reduce an enemy's potential pool of soldiers. One example of this is the primary targeting of Tutsi men during the Rwandan genocide in 1994 with an estimated 80% of 1,074,017 deaths being males.
A curious note is that gendercide towards females has gained more attention within international human rights dialogue. In no way is gendercide towards males a consistent event in genocides or more important than female-targeted crimes, but receives less coverage than female gendercide and should be just as publicized.

Sexual Assault

Another concept where sexism is prevalent is in sexual assault crimes. Men are taught to be ashamed of being raped or sexually harassed. According to stereotypes and gender roles, a true man shouldn’t be getting raped because he is supposed to be the dominant one. If a man happens to be raped by a woman, many won’t even believe the victim due to his gender. Many cases go unreported every year due to social stigmas and the fear of being labelled weak or gay. Even though many argue rape is uncommon amongst men, the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network of the United States states that 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. That means that in the United States there are approximately 9.5 million men who had to live through a horrific experience like that. These statistics also only cover those men who are willing to admit it happened. Prison rape is especially awful because we as a society are aware it happens and even make jokes about it. This is ironic because if it was women being raped by men frequently in jail, the public would go berserk. Statistics fluctuate when judging the portion of sexually assaulted incarcerated men, again due to the fact that many are uncomfortable saying so or being labeled as a snitch. However, the data collected averages to around 20% of inmates have been sexually assaulted.

http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_rape_in_the_United_States Custody

The statistics of child custody clearly show a strong example of male discrimination. By stereotyping parents, judges are much more biased to lean towards giving the child to the mother. This is not always the best idea. There are many scenarios where the father being the primary caretaker or shared custody would be much more ideal. Women, though inherently possessing some character traits which aid in raising a child, are not always cut out to be mothers. They too may face problems, such as drug, alcohol, or other substance abuse; or simply just not feel as bonded with the child. Some women lack in maternal instincts making them less understanding of how to both parent and appreciate their child. However, due to her gender she will often be awarded the child. Stats Canada shows that in 79.3% of divorces, the mother is given exclusive custody. In only 12.8 is the custody shared, and in a shocking only 6.6% of the time, is the father granted exclusive custody. Many fathers are just as capable of loving and raising their child properly. It’s not that we strongly believe that the father exclusive custody should go up exponentially, but instead have the shared custody rise substantially.

http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/fl-lf/famil/stat2000/p4.html#_=_

Empathizing with Female Chauvinists

It is understandable that after many years of being the sole gender discriminated against, many women may feel the need to do the same to men. However, this does not completely justify it. Another reason one might think it's okay to discriminate against men is our society has made it such a social norm that we don't even realize we're doing it (unintentional discrimination, look I pay attention in law). According to gender roles, men are the stronger ones meaning that they should be able to "take a joke” or “have their ego taken down a notch”, when in fact men are often just as sensitive and insecure as women. A female chauvinist might feel she’s still being discriminated against, so does the same to men in a form of retaliation. She may believe she is bettering her society, or putting men in their place, when in fact she aggravating the already skewed perception of equality.

Conclusion
The discrimination towards men is a rare and somewhat unknown topic that can be misinterpreted in the same way feminism is, but like feminism needs to be voiced. This discrimination can only be ended through open discussion and education, just as society now is with the sexism women face, we must break down the gender stigmas which bind men from fighting the harsh discrimination put against them. Neither feminism, nor maleism should necessarily take over, however instead the concept of egalitarianism. It was women who stood up and dared to speak up about gender bias in the beginning, but now it is becoming more clear that feminists and men alike should band together to show that they don’t want to live in a society that discriminates against someone because of their sex.