Who has it harder — women or men?

Miriam Jimenez, reporter

Undoubtedly, the world is dangerous for women because they are highly susceptible to rape, sex trafficking, relationship abuse (mental and physical), inequality, etc. These perilous issues that women face every day are serious issues that should not be ignored, but we should also acknowledge the inconvenience that men face every day. Although it’s hard to be a woman in today’s world, it’s also difficult for men to be men and live up to people’s expectations. Being a man is as hard as being a woman. Although men and women may face different issues, they should both be equally acknowledged and should not be ignored.  

Usually, it’s the man doing the damage to a woman, which causes most people to talk down upon them. When we hear that a man abused/raped/killed a woman, many people demonize men as these cruel, and violent human beings. But we need to abolish this preconception that all men are the same and that they do not suffer just like women do. Although women have faced many difficulties, men have (still are) facing difficulties, but we are so unaware of it because, over time, we have come to invalidate a man’s emotions. Many men follow the “norm” of not showing any emotions because if they do show emotions, they will be told to “man up”. Since young, men have been taught (mostly by their fathers) that a man is superior to a woman. This idea is ingrained in their heads and they grow up with this fallacy which later causes the oppression of a woman by a man. In other cases, men cannot do feminine things without having other people assume that they are “homosexual” and they will be bashed for not doing things a “man” should be doing. It should also be noted that females receive more support when they come as homosexuals compared to when men come out. Just like women, men are susceptible to abuse, but many people are unaware of it because men do not seek help, instead, they remain quiet.  

Hopefully one day we can stop ingraining fallacies into men’s heads and start validating their emotions just like how we validate a woman’s emotions. We should understand that not men are the same and that their problems are as important as ours.