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I agree that there is no true equality between the genders, and that we have inherent differences. This is not to say we don't have a lot of overlap, however. This is why we see gender-based treatment in psychological and physiological capacities.
This is a key part of the issue. Men are falling behind when it comes to these things. Look at the difference in how we approach depression when it comes to men and women. Look at the issues men have with their own health. Many of them don't go to the doctor until something happens, yet there is a whole culture of a holistic health community among women.
We have had such a huge push to bring women up to speed regarding their health that there now exists an imbalance. There is so much focus on women, so many programs and institutions. Most of them are justified. It wasn't too long ago that women were treated by doctors as though they were men who could have babies. But look at what's happening. Men are living in the shadow of women's issues, and they are beginning to pay the price.
Shauk brings up yet another issue. I've read elsewhere about the declining reproductive health in men. There are a number of cases of dropping sperm counts, and there seems to be much confusion. Why is this not a bigger issue that it is?
Vana, I agree that a reactionary men's movement wouldn't be helpful, even though it was for women, but that was a different situation entirely. At the same time, as Martian has brought up, misandry itself is an odd thing. There are many who have a problem with even acknowledging that misandry even exists. I could give you a list of examples quite easily.
I think the crux of the problem lies in the fact that men—especially white anglo men—are viewed as the "norm" or the benchmark for all else. This happens in issues of race as well, where "Whiteness" exists only as a benchmark to which all other races are compared. But this is a reason why Whiteness is in crisis in terms of identity.
In some ways, manhood has the same problem. Many think men are doing fine...they have higher pay than women, they don't have the same reproductive issues, they have certain privileges based on their gender. So everything must be fine, right?
Well, no. It's just how not all white people are fine. Men suffer more than many may let on. Depression, anxiety, victimhood, behavioral problems, education problems—all of these things can afflict men just as they do women. Men are not machines; they are not as strong as you may think. This "legend" or "myth" of manhood should soon give way to what is more tied to reality: manhood is in crisis, and we must start doing something about it.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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