The Emasculation of America

The Case Against Feminism:
Text Box: March 24, 2005 (R) Street Address City, State & Zip Home Phone Email Address Henry D. Shannon, Ph.D. Chancellor - St. Louis Community College 300 South Broadway St. Louis, MO 63102-2810 Dear Dr. Shannon: Reference: Sexual Discrimination Against Males at SLCC: HMS 205 – Crisis Intervention, PSY 214 – Psychology of Gender, HST 206 – Women in the 20th Century and certain other classes. On March 2nd a memo asking that attention be given to the above was delivered to Kathy Yanko at South County. She forwarded it to Drs. Divine and Clark that day. It has not been unacknowledged for 2-3 weeks now, and I can’t help but wonder if your staff would have reacted differently if a Black or a woman was reporting such illegalities. In sum, men are being sexually discriminated against in classes like those listed above at St. Louis Community College. Comparable practices most likely occur in many other courses, though to a lesser degree and extent. 1 If similar male-prejudiced, female-biased, and intellectually dishonest claims were being made with respect the nation’s female majority, or about any other minority group, StLCC (and, yes, most other colleges as well) would be subject to: prosecution for discrimination under federal law; severe legal penalties/civil liabilities; and detrimental public relations effects. While the data’s origins may not be specified, it all derives from “feminist” theory or research and “gender (i.e. feminist) psychology,” and can usually be identified by its content or affects. In other words, information blatantly prejudiced against males or biased in favor of females (because it flagrantly disregards the truth and facts) is being taught in certain courses. Potential classes span the core social sciences (e.g. psychology, sociology, history, and politics) as well as their vast applied professions (e.g. counseling, education, and communications). In addition to being fallacious and discriminatory, this data has a major psychosocial and culture altering impact on the community. It subverts the credibility of education as well because social activism is the antithesis of intellectual integrity; political bias is a nemesis to the-freedom-to-think; and factionalism the primary usurper of a representative constitutional democratic-republic. What I am asking the administration to do is promptly stop the specified intellectual dishonesty and deceit in its classroom, and thus put an end to the discrimination against men. This can be accomplished in many ways. For example, the prejudice and bias can be officially prohibited, and procedures setup to enforce that policy. Alternatively such data could be treated as what it actually is, activism under the guise of legitimate knowledge. In any case, social and political bigotry – whether it is Republican, Democratic, the Greens Party, or Feminism 2 – does not belong in our public classrooms. Thus, if the “feminist perspective” is presented in any class, not only should the sex-balanced information be offered with equal fervor, but equal time and attention ought to be given to a similarly tainted “masculinist” point-of-view as well. To be clear, my intent is to work constructively with StLCC to resolve a very complex problem. The discrimination is effected by presenting of one-sided cultural observations (current and historic); by fabricating dual-sex meanings from female-only studies; by over-generalizing findings from selective sources or populations; by reinterpreting or diminishing the results of dual-gender research; and, most of all, by using consensus opinions and data from similarly prejudiced and biased sources as though such information was a proven scientific theory or actual objective empirical fact. The data can also be detected because it: (1) exaggerates the relevance of surface differences in gender roles or learned traits, while ignoring, understating, or disguising the sexes’ underlying equality in every major fundamental attribute; (2) elevates the status and power of women or degrades and undermines that of men; and (3) promotes empathy, compassion, and trust of females and animus, censure, and suspicion of males. At times the data may also induce: (4) females to fear or disrespect their fathers or same-age males; (5) mothers to leave their historic family commitments ineffectively fulfilled; and (6) women to precipitously abandon their marital obligations. Opinions and data of this sort have permeated academia since the 1960s. From the college classroom it quickly spreads to the nation’s intelligentsia, its culture-shapers, and its decision-makers – thence to the public-at-large. Thus most American’s – myself included – began being subtly and pervasively misled about the comparative natures of the sexes long ago. Examples of the erroneous and discriminatory material being presented to StLCC students (and most other colleges) will be briefly explored, followed by highlights of some of the corresponding sex-balanced facts and concluding remarks. The Nature, Form, and Types of the Discrimination The following excerpts come from Chapters 6 (Sexual Assault) and 7 (Partner Violence) of the HMS 205 textbook, Crisis Intervention Strategies by James, R. & Gilliland, B. (2001). They seek to fairly present the most salient discriminatory themes and represent the basic thrust of each chapter. These brief examples are only the-tip-of-the-iceberg of the clever and deceptive postulates commonly presented with respect to the inherent natures of men and women. The most sensational, inflammatory, and extreme versions – thus most shocking, offensive, and fictitious – can be found in popular literature intended for feminist readers, as well as “gender psychology” texts. 3 In 96 pages and 50,000 shrewdly orchestrated words, the authors leave their readers with the overall impression that: (1) men are the predominant perpetrators of physical violence/aggression against women, who typically remain the passive, self-defending, and most severely injured victim; and (2) men are the predominant sexual abusers (even predators) of all humankind – i.e. women, children of both sexes, and other males. The text’s target audiences – young, otherwise topically naïve, and trusting or unwary students and/or staff – inevitably find this kind of data creditable. After all, it is offered under the authority of certified colleges by people with PhDs. Thus only a topically and stylistically well-informed skeptic would know that the only “real” evidence supporting these assumptions are citations of more opinions and manipulated data from similarly prejudiced/biased sources; that most of these source’s “facts,” in turn, are nothing but activist’s assumptions based, at best, on partial truths. Partner Violence (Ch. 7) is introduced, and then followed by the following excerpts (author’s text is in quotes, italics/brackets added, and “C” indicates a citation of another source): “… physical abuse in domestic situations is not limited to husband-and-wife relationships. Indeed, single, separated, and divorced women are actually at greater risk for battering than are married women (C)… Men are also assaulted by women. There are ‘granny beaters” who batter their parents. Finally, child abuse, both physical and sexual is endemic to society. Therefore it should be… understood that the concepts discussed in this chapter apply to all partners or people involved in any established current or former cohabiting relationship… (but) Because women form the major target group of severe domestic violence, this chapter focuses on… women… and the men who batter them. The history of spouse beating… goes as far back as the patriarchal system does. Whereas an assault on or rape of another man’s wife caused and still causes immediate and severe legal punishment and moral outrage, abuse by a man of his own wife is quite another story (C)… Domestic violence injures more women than automobile accidents, muggings, and rapes (citation). Every 15 seconds… a woman is beaten (C). It is also found that only 48 percent of women…report the assault to police (C)… Straus and Gelles (1986) reported in their 10-year survey from 1975 to 1985 that a best estimate is about 4 million women are abused every year… (our) cultural norms tolerate and in some instances condone family violence… (and) gender roles based on power differentials… are still sanctioned keep… domestic violence cases out of the legal system (C)… the AMA… describe(d) the problem as an epidemic of staggering proportions.” (p. 283-284) A growing number of women have entered academia in the past 20 years, particularly in the social sciences. Their research on family violence, gender roles, and male dominance has resulted in social activism that has debunked the ‘safe haven’ notion of the family (C)… Stories (about women) who suffered prolonged and severe beatings by her husband and who killed him by pouring kerosene around his bed and setting fire, have had an impact on the courts by challenging legal precedents and assumptions about homicide and self-defense (C)… the result has been that… a history of abuse and threat is a valid part of a legal defense for battered women who kill their husbands (C). Clearly, a great deal of violence by women is retaliatory or in self-defense. Also when women are the victims of assault that usually means more serious injury than when the opposite occurs… the number of shelters for abused women has grown (C)… (dramatically over the years) and those shelters are full of battered women… beyond capacity and must turn people away. (p. 285) The overarching dynamic that has held sway over battering of women is the belief in male supremacy. This belief is the natural result of a long-term sexist, paternalistic social order that rewards aggressive behavior in men, but expects women to be submissive… The question of power is the fuse… the women’s position is to obey, conciliate, perform traditional domestic duties, and in general, be subservient…the term ‘conjugal terrorism’ (is) a tactic akin to brainwashing and political terrorism, whereby violence or the threat of violence is used to break the victim’s resistance and bend her to the will of the terrorist/batterer. Typical brainwashing… tools such as social and physical isolation, torture, sleep deprivation, malnourishment… bondage, false confessions, and denouncing or belittling the victim… are all standard operating procedures…” (p. 286) “Force is the major resource in maintaining the existing social structure. This notion has been extended to the family by… permission of the state. For the state, the family is the basic disciplinary agent – family over individual, male over female, adult over child. Control is… an efficient way of keeping intact the past social order of the state (C) 4 … Sexual inequality in regard to size, financial resources, and social status allows batterers to become violent without retribution… Feminists theory views social phenomena as determined by the sexist, patriarchal structure of our society and battering (is) merely one outcome of a structure that allows rape, incest, prostitution, foot binding, and a host of other sexist restrictions to keep women in servile positions…They believe that women have not achieved the political, economic, and social independence that would empower them to leave abusive relationships… (that) a woman has any culpability in promoting or maintaining a violent relationship because the perpetrator alone commits the act; he alone is morally and legally responsible for it and should… suffer the consequences (C)… (they) call for the complete restructuring of society to eradicate the power differential that males enjoy that allows them to batter…violence and battering… is (an) efficient way to keep the system in homeostasis. Through learning history and rigidly polarized roles for both sexes, the system is able to maintain itself.” (p. 287-89) Chapter 6 on sexual assault contains similar content. Its execution, however, is less covert because sex-balanced information is interjected more frequently, but the data is still equally misleading. For example, messages like boys and men are occasionally raped, but such abuses are typically inflicted by men in prison or in the home are often inserted. In other words, the actual facts are attenuated in such a way that the logically inferences are fallacies – i.e. women seldom rape little boys or sexually assault adult men. An informed and vigilant reader will more readily discern the internal contradictions and false data in this chapter, but the thrust of the “received message” for most of the texts’ intended unsuspecting and thus vulnerable readers remains as described above. The first paragraph begins and is then immediately expanded upon as follows: “…sexual assault… threatens people of all ages and stations of life …research… found that 683,000 American women were raped in 1990 (citation) and that 12.1 million women had been raped at least once in their lives (citation)…FBI estimates show that one in four women will be raped in their lifetime… 250,000 U.S. children, most of them girls, are sexually molested in their homes each year – usually by members of their families (C)... 1 in 6 women and 1 and 10 men experience sexual abuse during childhood (C) … (On page 242 another citation is “1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men” report being raped in childhood.)… Although the majority of assaults are perpetrated on children and females under the age of 30… survivors of rape and… sexual abuse/misuse include persons of all ages, races, cultural backgrounds, social groups, and sexes or sexual orientations (although most rapes are committed on females)… Most… reported rapes of men occur in penal institutions (i.e. they are not by women, but by other men). Men are more reluctant to report rapes than… women (citation). Recently, date… rape (C), husband-wife rape (C), and partner-partner rape (C) have been reported in growing frequency.” (pp. 229-231) “People who rape and commit… sexual abuse/misuse have been identified in every spectrum of society – from judges to messenger boys, from weaklings to muscular types, from vagrants to corporate executives, from husbands and fathers to strangers, from partners, known friends, to relatives and unknown intruders… (sexual abuse is) a widespread problem of epidemic proportions…the literature consistently indicates that ‘fifty to ninety percent of all rapes or attempted rapes go unreported’… Reported sexual assault and abuse/misuse in all their many forms are predominantly male crimes (C)… the cultural mechanism of male dominance constitutes the driving force in rape (C)… the vast majority of rapes have to do with the power relationships between men and women… Because most survivors are females and children, rape is largely an act based on adult male supremacy (which) has its roots deep in our cultural history…Indeed, (C) describes rape and sexual assault as one of several threats widely used to ensure the continued domination and control of women.” (p. 231-232) In the Western World, aggression, exercise of power and domination are… accepted male characteristics, whereas peacefulness, compliance, and submission deemed appropriate for females… The wholesale rape and killing of women and children represents the ultimate vulnerability and defeat of a people… (C) characterizes rape as… a cultural mechanism that the dominant society uses to control and exercise power over women, minorities, and the powerless. 5 (p. 233) Male survivors of childhood sexual abuse… report essentially the same symptoms (as females) with concomitant sexual orientation ambiguity, mistrust of adult males, homophobia, and body image disturbances (C). (p. 243) In sum, these chapters lead their target audiences of: (1) young, ill-informed, or otherwise impressionable trusting adults; (2) unsuspecting instructors or administrators; and (2) topically naïve media, business, and government professionals to believe they are being presented with the actual scientific facts, objective empirical evidence, and philosophic truths. They seek to convince such readers that the most valid and reliable theories and research overwhelmingly tell us that males are substantially more physically and sexually violent, abusive, and aggressive than females. And even though these and most other postulates offered are erroneous, it almost always works! The above also typifies the current activist literary style dealing with almost any topic within the social sciences and academia, as well as in the public domain. These tactics are so common they have become a widely tolerated means of communication, even though they camouflage speculation as objective observations and manipulated data as scientific facts (or, if you will, disguise fiction as nonfiction). Regardless of how such writing is described, it generally has no actual foundation in holistic modern cultural realities; in the evolutionary attributes of human nature; or in time-tested social systems. Thus, what are some of the actual intellectually reliable and valid theories and facts. The Actual Sex-Balanced Facts While recently attending graduate school, I became deeply troubled by the widespread misinformation being presented about the sexes in publicly funded higher education. I have since studied many thousands of pages of literature addressing diverse topics on the sexes, including most of the dual-sex research dealing with the inherent attributes of males and females and the nature and effects of their distinctive socialization processes (i.e. gender roles). This included the major works of most of Feminism’s early “thinkers” – from the movement’s “philosopher” Simone de Beauvoir in the 1950s; to Germaine Greer and Shulamith Firestone in the 1970s-80s; to their more recent progeny. I have analyzed much of the work typically cited by feminists as well. The early and leading feminists not only provide the sociopolitical hypotheses for the modern movement, but they serve as communications role models. Most are (or were) accomplished writers in other fields, and thus experts in the art of “persuasive communications.” They know how to distract reader’s attention from self-evident realities with sensationalism; how to disable reason by inflaming emotions; how to create false meanings with cunning illogic. They know how to offer enough objective data to be credible to their target audience; to preempt challenges from their peers; and to defend against their best-informed critics. Thus their work is designed so they can always say things like, “But key facts from the other-side-of-the-story are included, aren’t they?

EmasculationOfAmerica.com
Text Box: The Excerpts in Blue Print cited on the Feminist Quotes are nine (9) paragraphs down this page.