There Is An Article About Feminism/Sexism. What Is Your immediate thought? – A Questionnaire For Men.

There is an article about domestic violence, which focuses solely on female victims, of male partners. What is your immediate thought?

a) What about men? Aren’t men victims of this too?
b) Not all men!
c) Not only men!
d) We need to improve social support networks, and change attitudes towards this as a crime, in order to end it.
e) What about what’s happening among religious minorities?
f) If women stay with violent partners, it’s because they enjoy this type of relationship. It’s their own fault.

 

An article talks about the reasons sexual harassment is so prolific on University campuses; and half way through, the author writes ‘this is because men…’. What is your immediate thought?

a) Not all men!
b) What about men? Aren’t men victims of this too?
c) Not only men!
d) That’s a bit grating, but I know this isn’t referring to me personally.
e) What about what’s happening in a different country?
f) Harassment? It’s just a bit of banter. There’s no need to take it seriously.

 

What is the best way for men to ensure sexual consent with a female partner?

a) Through verbal communication, and body language.
b) Taking it as a given.
c) Murmur ‘darling, brace yourself’.
d) Plying them with copious quantities of alcohol.
e) Secreting an incapacitating substance into one of their drinks.
f) By exerting physical strength.

 

When you’re canoodling with somebody, they say ‘no’ or ‘stop’, and you feel annoyed or disappointed – or even slightly hurt – what is the best response?

a) Rest on the basis that no doesn’t really mean no – after all, women like to be pursued, don’t they? – and continue.
b) Wear their refusals down through badgering them until you get what you want.
c) Storm out of the room, and throw objects around.
d) Exercise self-control, and respect their wishes.
e) Berate them for wasting your time.
f) Override their protestations, and forcibly take what you want from them regardless.

 

What is feminism?

a) A supremacist ideology, imposed upon innocent, blameless men; whereby they are herded into correctional facilities and brutalised into submission by stern and merciless medusa-like female overlords.
b) A hygiene product.
c) Don’t know.
d) Something best discussed between a woman and her doctor.
e) An effort to achieve socio-economic equality between men and women, by advancing the rights, power and standing of women in society until they enjoy the same quality of life and financial rewards as their male counterparts.
f) The enemy – to be subdued and destroyed, forthwith.

 

A professional athlete – for example, a first division football player – has been convicted of rape in a court of law; and his appeals against this conviction have failed. He admitted to what he did, but refused to accept that it was a crime. What best describes him?

a) Possibly innocent – after all it’s only one person’s word against another.
b) Guilty of a serious crime.
c) A victim of injustice.
d) The victim of a disreputable woman.
e) The wronged party.
f) Somebody who did what any man would probably do in the same circumstance.

 

There is an opinion piece, written by a woman complaining about ‘the gender pay-gap’ – what is your immediate thought on this?

a) The author is making it up – the pay gap doesn’t exist. She should stop complaining.
b) There are some men who work for lower wages than other men – remedying this should be the first priority. Until then women should stop complaining – they’re being divisive.
c) The free-market pays everybody what they are worth: if women are paid less than men, it’s because they have less value than them within workplaces.
d) There are a complex series of factors behind this – some of them are rooted in long-standing attitudes towards women; some of them are structural consequences of women’s place in society: such as being the primary child-carers, as parents. The two factors often overlap.
e) Men should earn more than women – holding a superior position of economic power is an important part of male identity.
f) Women should count themselves fortunate to earn a wage at all – their proper place is in the home. Anything else is a bonus.

 

Which of the following approaches is the best one men can take to feminism?

a) Ignore it.
b) Explain to women that feminism should only focus on important issues – not trivial ones.
c) Men know what is best for women. Therefore, feminism will only prosper if women submit to strong male guidance.
d) Being open-minded, and willing to listen – even when it means having to consider and hear things you don’t particularly want to.
e) Threaten women on social media sites, whenever they mention the subject.
f) Explain to women that they are wrong to complain about sexism, and should simply do as they are told – for their own good.

 

What is the best way for a woman to avoid being sexually assaulted?

a) Never walk alone at night.
b) Avoid being drunk.
c) Never use public transport after dark.
d) For men to respect them, and exercise self-control.
e) Not dress in clothes which are in any way revealing.
f) Never talk to men they do not know.

 

A celebrity – for example, an actress – had uploaded nude photographs of themselves onto a private website account, which was hacked into; and the images were then distributed online, without her consent or foreknowledge. Somebody has written an article complaining that searching for these photos, and viweing them, is abusive. What is your immediate thought here?

a) It’s just trite celebrity gossip – it doesn’t have any bearing in the real world.
b) It’s her own fault – if she didn’t want the general public to see these photos, then she shouldn’t have taken them in the first place. It’s just common-sense.
c) This is a matter of freedom – any attempt to remove these images from public display is an act of oppressive censorship.
d) It’s okay for me to look at these photos if I want to. People should just relax.
e) People who complain about these kind of images are just being prudish. Why are feminists so uptight?
f) A woman’s body is not public property. Accessing somebody’s personal, sexually-explicit images – without their consent – is a serious violation of their privacy. It wouldn’t be right for somebody to hack-into someone’s else’s online bank details, and remove money from their account – this is not really that different.

 

Which of the following approaches is the best one women can take to feminism?

a) Silent acquiescence – if women avoid being disagreeable, then everything will turn out right in time.
b) Focus on issues which are important to them personally, and to other women in general, in order to make the world a better place for all women.
c) Focus on finding a husband – this will solve any problems a woman might have in life.
d) They should visit their doctor, as soon as possible.
e) They should reject it – otherwise men will dislike them.
f) They really need to stop blaming men for everything, and should just shut up altogether.

 

There is an article about domestic chores being shared unequally, between male and female partners, even when both of them work full-time. What is your immediate response?

a) Well, I wash my dishes now and then. What is the author complaining about?
b) Women are naturally better at housework than men – they do a better job of it, so it’s best to leave it to them.
c) I don’t care if the home is untidy – if my partner does, then she should clean up. She’s the one who has a problem with it.
d) I fix things around the house, why should I have to clean and tidy as well?
e) I do quite a lot of the housework already, but I’ll make sure I do at least my fair share.
f) Women should do the housework. It’s their place to do it.

 

There is a woman walking down the street – and you think she is very attractive. What do you do?

a) Whistle at her.
b) Tell her that you think she’s hot.
c) Repeatedly ask for her telephone number.
d) Nothing.
e) Follow her.
f) Grab her.

 

There is an online campaign, suggesting that nude modelling in a family newspaper should be brought to an end. What is likely to be behind this?

a) Envy – the author is merely jealous of women who are more attractive than she is.
b) It’s an overt attack on male sexuality. The author is simply afraid of sex.
c) It’s a covert attack on men in general. It’s seeking to demonise them. The author simply doesn’t like men.
d) The paper isn’t bought and read in isolation – its most prominent image of women is one who serves as a voyeuristic object for male sexual pleasure. This is an attitude which underscores problematic sexual behaviour among some men towards many women.
e) The author is just being censorious – it’s no more than a bit of fun. If they don’t like it, they should read a different paper.
f) The author needs to learn her place, and stop complaining. Men enjoy this – it’s not for women to raise objections.

 

What leads so many women who have been raped, to be underserved by the legal-justice system?

a) A combination of gender, power, social attitudes, and the resulting institutional failures these generate.
b) These cases are only ever one person’s word against another’s. They’re never clear-cut.
c) Women tend to fabricate these claims. The police merely see through it.
d) Women are usually at fault when they have been assaulted – if only they had taken precautions, nothing untoward would have occurred.
e) It only happens to certain types of women, whose behaviour encourages it. There’s little point in prosecutions.
f) It probably wasn’t real rape.

 

When you read an article about sexual violence or exploitation of women, which is critical of men in general, what is your immediate thought?

a) What about men?
b) Not all men!
c) Not only men!
d) But I’m nice – I don’t do any of this. What more does the author want from me?
e) This is just man-hating – pure and simple misandry. The author should stop victimising us, and shut-up.
f) Whether we like it or not, for better or worse, we do have a crucial role to play in a culture which frequently stands by, makes excuses, and does nothing when women are being mistreated; and then silences and shames them when they speak out. Not being part of the problem is good – but being part of the solution is better.

 

So how did you do?