deathpixie | When Men Attack

So, this article by Scott Adams is doing the rounds of my various online networks. It's fairly short, but in essence, what it's saying, is that society punishes men for being "what they are" when they are sexually offensive, instead of acknowledging that men are apparently "unrestrained horny animals" (Adams' quote, not mine).

There's plenty being said about the male privilege of it all, but something that struck me, and which strikes me about the justification for encouraging women to dress like nuns when they're out in public, is the assumption that men can't control their sexually-urged behaviour. And I don't know about you, but for the men who read my journal, isn't that hugely insulting? Rather than being considered a rational being in charge of your own actions, this excuse basically says men are no better than animals - I know some radical feminists would possibly agree with that, but seriously, folks, this is just boggling.

It's also really insidious. I remember, back when I was a teenager, being told not to get a boy too overexcited, since it wasn't fair on them. Fair, how? Are teenaged boys so completely driven by their penises that they can't be expected to control themselves? I know there's plenty of jokes to that effect, but honestly, would you really hold someone to that? Would you say to your teenaged daughter "it's okay to hatchet your brother to death because when you have your period, you can't control yourself". Or to a pregnant woman, "we're going to fire you, because pregnant women are just a stew of hormones and it's established that they can't possibly think with all that going on." Of course not. So why the hell is "men are full of testosterone" being used as justification for them not being able to restrain themselves? And why do we encourage this myth?

I remember reading something the other day, related to the Jezebel article on being harrassed on the street and that cartoon that was going around about women being told to smile by men on the street (I can't find the link atm), where someone was saying something along the lines of "all women are in some degree of fear when in the company of men." I have to admit, and it won't make me popular, I find that statement profoundly insulting and disturbing. Insulting because I have always had male friends and I have never been afraid in their company, and the implication that I should have been is just so wrong to me on so many levels. Disturbing because there's an increasing perception of men as uncontrolled sexual animals, who can't possibly restrain themselves under any circumstances and thus women should always be on their guard. I don't deny that in rape statistics, men are the predominant offenders, I'm not saying that some men aren't potentially dangerous or that you shouldn't be cautious in certain situations. But I am saying that by treating all men as potential offenders basically relegates all women into the role of potential victims, and how the hell are we supposed to function as a society? How are we ever supposed to trust anyone?

It all comes down to personal responsibility. We can control ourselves - we are, after all, not just animals rutting in heat.