are men oppressed?

One of the reasons feminism is most widely disputed in American society is because many believe feminism and the larger gender equality movement infrequently shed light on men's issues. While they cannot be considered an entirely marginalized group, men do face gender-based discrimination. And while these issues may not necessitate their own movement, they're worth calling attention to and raising awareness about, because many of these issues primarily victimize men or are situations in which females are given leverage.

Movember, an annual event held in November in which men grow mustaches to raise funds and awareness for men's health issues, is a men's movement done right - it combats testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and men's suicide. Given that in 195 of the world's 196 countries, the male suicide rate is disparately higher than the female suicide rate, these are issues that men largely fall victim to. Movember aims to increase early cancer detection and better treatments, greatly reducing the amount of preventable deaths from men's health issues.

Another issue American men face in the US that has barely any media coverage is domestic violence. According to the Huffington Post, one in four American men will face domestic violence by an intimate partner, a surprisingly high rate for an issue thought to only target women. While it is true that domestic violence predominantly affects women, with 4 of 5 domestic violence victims being women, the men that make up the other 20% tackle a dearth of resources, including shelters to flee to and attorneys.

Prison rape is another human rights violation men face that's widely ignored by authorities. 200,000 men are raped behind bars each year. Some prison officials use rape as a way to control the population - if inmates who frequently act up promise to behave, the prison officials don't take action on their rape victims' reports. While the Prison Rape Elimination Act was called into place in 2003, prison rape has remained an ongoing issue in federal prisons, although the prevalence has decreased. Inmates can contract HIV and AIDS, but prison rape also refers to the sexual assault of inmates by prison staff, not just inmate-to-inmate sexual assault. Prison rape mainly targets men because there are disproportionately more men than women in prison, and a reason many people aren't aware that prison rape exists is because the media infrequently talks about men's issues.

Women also receive partial treatment in the issuing of criminal sentences itself; just as the feminist community advocates against the gender wage gap, in which women earn less money than men who work the same job, men face longer prison sentences than women who commit the same crime. A study found that on average, men receive criminal sentences 63% higher than their female counterparts. Conducted by Sonja Starr, an assistant law professor at the University of Michigan, the study proved that gender is oftentimes an advantage for women in the court sentencing of criminal sentences.

Another instance in which women have leverage in court is in custody battles. When two parents divorce and the custody of their children has to be battled in court, almost by default, the woman gains singular custody of the children. These custody battles can oftentimes disregard a long history of abuse and neglect of a child from the mother's side. Custody is given to one parent under the pretense of upholding the best interests of the child; when it comes to custody, women are seen as the axiomatic choice as to who becomes the child's legal guardian, but that doesn't always take into account whether the mother is legitimately more fit to be a parent than the father.

However, while men do face instances of discrimination, they cannot be considered a marginalized group. By definition, both genders cannot be systematically oppressed. Domestic violence still primarily targets women, prison rape's prevalence doesn't compare to that of campus rape, and the inequality in custody battles only serves to perpetuate the gender role of women being primarily caregivers. Men's issues deserve media coverage, but to say that that a "meninism" movement is necessary would be taking it to an extreme. Misandry remains virtually nonexistent, with men still holding institutional power. Instead of further dividing the genders and calling "reverse oppression," men's rights activists should amalgamate with feminists and champion justice for humanity.