You're simply wrong about gender in Western society today.
"As a man I never have to worry about going to the gas station at night because I might be raped."
From the Wikipedia article Gender and Crime:
"In 2004, males were almost 10 times more likely than females to commit murder. Men are also far more likely than women to be the victims of violent crime, with the exception of rape.[2]"
I'll assume that we're all non-murderers here, so the fact that a man is far more likely than a woman to commit murder has no bearing on whether it's harder to be a man or a woman. Murderers are a tiny percentage of the population, and men have to deal with them just as women do. (An analagous argument is that it doesn't matter that women are far more likely than men to ridicule or ostracize a woman for being promiscuous; women are still judged more harshly than men for sexually deviant behavior.) With that in mind, a man is far more likely than a woman to be the victim of a violent crime. If you're not at all worried about going to the gas station at night, that's probably because you live in a nice neighborhood, not because you're a man. You should probably be more worried than you are, and certainly you should be more worried than a woman should be. Muggings and random assaults are far more common than rape, and the perpetrators overwhelmingly choose to victimize men rather than women.
"As a man I never have to worry that someone might slip something into my drink at a bar and assault me."
Why would you think this? You could easily be approached by a beautiful woman, be given a slow-acting sedative, go back to her place thinking you're going to get lucky, and wake up with your clothes, watch, and wallet missing.
"As a man I never have to worry that on a date someone might not listen to me when I say no."
Don't be so sure. Your date wouldn't likely be able to overpower you, but there are other methods of coercion. (There are also weapons: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2194240/Angelina-Jol...) Or something even worse could happen: she could threaten to accuse you of rape unless you capitulated to some demand.
"As a man I've never had to worry about sexual advances from my boss costing me my job."
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. What happens when your female boss wants to sleep with you but you're not interested?
"Its insulting for a man, who is so clearly privileged in our society, to stand up and say not only is that wrong but that they have it worse than women. Its also blatantly uneducated."
Well, I'm finishing up my fourth history course right now, so I wouldn't say I'm uneducated. If you find my opinion insulting, that's your problem.
"In fact, when people post things like that here they're just reinforcing patriarchy."
Ah yes, "patriarchy", an unfalsifiable conspiracy theory that ignores all the evidence along with human nature. Please, tell me more.
"Things are changing and the role of women in our society is greatly improving, but its not equal."
You're right, it's not equal: women have had a clear advantage for some time now.
"To throw out the considerably fewer areas where men are on the short-side of things doesn't add up to some sort of equality."
A few areas, hmmm? Such as
- workplace injuries and fatalities
- suicide rate
- homeless rate
- chance of being the victim of a violent crime
- facing longer sentences for identical crimes
- divorce and child custody
- life expectancy
- having to register for the draft to qualify for, e.g., federal student loans
- having very little reproductive control compared to women
- not being able to work with or enjoy the company of children without looking suspicious
- blamed for everything negative that happened in human history but not given credit for the positives because men of the past allegedly oppressed women (a false allegation, by the way; everyone had a role in society and everyone's behavior was restricted not so much by other people but by circumstance)
"This behavior reinforces gender/racial inequalities by painting the people who have to live their lives facing them as "complainers."
I'm telling you that men face staggering inequality in many areas and you haven't even gone so far as to label me a "complainer"--you think I'm simply imagining it!
"As a man I never have to worry about going to the gas station at night because I might be raped."
From the Wikipedia article Gender and Crime:
"In 2004, males were almost 10 times more likely than females to commit murder. Men are also far more likely than women to be the victims of violent crime, with the exception of rape.[2]"
I'll assume that we're all non-murderers here, so the fact that a man is far more likely than a woman to commit murder has no bearing on whether it's harder to be a man or a woman. Murderers are a tiny percentage of the population, and men have to deal with them just as women do. (An analagous argument is that it doesn't matter that women are far more likely than men to ridicule or ostracize a woman for being promiscuous; women are still judged more harshly than men for sexually deviant behavior.) With that in mind, a man is far more likely than a woman to be the victim of a violent crime. If you're not at all worried about going to the gas station at night, that's probably because you live in a nice neighborhood, not because you're a man. You should probably be more worried than you are, and certainly you should be more worried than a woman should be. Muggings and random assaults are far more common than rape, and the perpetrators overwhelmingly choose to victimize men rather than women.
"As a man I never have to worry that someone might slip something into my drink at a bar and assault me."
Why would you think this? You could easily be approached by a beautiful woman, be given a slow-acting sedative, go back to her place thinking you're going to get lucky, and wake up with your clothes, watch, and wallet missing.
"As a man I never have to worry that on a date someone might not listen to me when I say no."
Don't be so sure. Your date wouldn't likely be able to overpower you, but there are other methods of coercion. (There are also weapons: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2194240/Angelina-Jol...) Or something even worse could happen: she could threaten to accuse you of rape unless you capitulated to some demand.
http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2054510_jail_for_addict_w... http://justicevids.com/crazy-landlord-assaults-man-realizes-... (Warning: there are pornographic ads to the right of this video)
"As a man I've never had to worry about sexual advances from my boss costing me my job."
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. What happens when your female boss wants to sleep with you but you're not interested?
"Its insulting for a man, who is so clearly privileged in our society, to stand up and say not only is that wrong but that they have it worse than women. Its also blatantly uneducated."
Well, I'm finishing up my fourth history course right now, so I wouldn't say I'm uneducated. If you find my opinion insulting, that's your problem.
"In fact, when people post things like that here they're just reinforcing patriarchy."
Ah yes, "patriarchy", an unfalsifiable conspiracy theory that ignores all the evidence along with human nature. Please, tell me more.
"Things are changing and the role of women in our society is greatly improving, but its not equal."
You're right, it's not equal: women have had a clear advantage for some time now.
"To throw out the considerably fewer areas where men are on the short-side of things doesn't add up to some sort of equality."
A few areas, hmmm? Such as
- workplace injuries and fatalities - suicide rate - homeless rate - chance of being the victim of a violent crime - facing longer sentences for identical crimes - divorce and child custody - life expectancy - having to register for the draft to qualify for, e.g., federal student loans - having very little reproductive control compared to women - not being able to work with or enjoy the company of children without looking suspicious - blamed for everything negative that happened in human history but not given credit for the positives because men of the past allegedly oppressed women (a false allegation, by the way; everyone had a role in society and everyone's behavior was restricted not so much by other people but by circumstance)
"This behavior reinforces gender/racial inequalities by painting the people who have to live their lives facing them as "complainers."
I'm telling you that men face staggering inequality in many areas and you haven't even gone so far as to label me a "complainer"--you think I'm simply imagining it!