Atheism +

[TaraJo]

Seriously?!? I'm surprised at the number of people who think male rape is impossible. You guys are part of the problem without even realising you are part of the problem (and I don't mean that personally DeistPaladin, it's a general comment).

Men can get erections even when they are not turned on. The penis is a very sensitive organ; even when in distress you can get an erection with it. Not knowing that part of male rape is perhaps forgivable, since apparently it's not a well known fact (even amongst men).

What is not really forgivable is the assumption that rape = vaginal sex. If a man rapes a women anally or orally, it's still rape! Same applies for women raping men. If a woman abuses a man anally against his will, it is still rape. It doesn't matter if she is sticking a finger in it, or a strap-on, it's rape.

On a men's rights site once, there was testimony of a deeply religious Christian guy who was plied with alcohol at a party by two women, who then proceeded to have sex with him despite him protesting. Some men are strong; others are weaker and unable to fight off people, or simply block out uncomfortable actions.

Yeah, I've heard men's groups use a simple phrase for that: An erection isn't consent. Very apt if you ask me.

However, feminism redefines and expands rape somewhat and I can understand some of it. Non-consent also includes someone being intoxicated to the point that they can't consent or people who are being coerced with money or something else (I know someone who was told by a roommate "sleep with me or I'm kicking you out of the apartment." There was nowhere else for her to go, so she slept with the guy because she didn't want to be homeless). I can understand stuff like that being defined as rape, although I also think it's important to specify when you're referring to rape like that.

And, the thing is, if you're expanding the definition of rape like that, the number of men who are raped goes way up. There are people who get men drunk just to have sex with them. Me, back 'before,' I was in a relationship with my ex and I wanted things to work out so I could be with the kids. When she demanded sex, I had to consent, not so much because I wanted to, but because I wanted to keep the peace between us.

And, yet, men don't get to talk about their rapes in feminist circles that are supposed to be about gender equality. It's infuriating how they do that: claim to be for equality, but practice no equality themselves.

Domestic abuse is another issue where guys are pretty much ignored. I mean, look at this and tell me if you see a hell of a double standard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlFAd4YdQks

A study was done on it and I can provide a link later, but it shows some pretty horrible results for guys. Men are abused almost as much as women, but there's no outreach for them, social services to help them escape violence, and even the police don't want to help (sometimes, police take it a step further; a guy is being abused, he calls the police and he's the one taken to jail for it). He can't touch his wife/girlfriend or he's automatically at fault. That gets to be more of a problem when he attempts to defend himself or when she blocks a door that he wants to escape the situation from. Grab her arm to stop her from hitting him, he's at fault. Getting her out of the way so he can escape, he's at fault. And, ironically, this attitude is probably contributing to women getting hit, too. After all, if a guy is backed into a corner and he can't see any way out of a difficult situation, he's likely to react violently.

But it's probably going to be ignored. It's the illogical trap they put for anyone who sees men's issues as far as sex discrimination: If society makes something more difficult for women, it's misogyny. If society makes things easier for women, it's misogyny because it's condescending and saying women can't do something.

EDIT-Found the study. Good read.
http://www.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet...mmetry.pdf