Women fighting for men's rights sounds good, but it's actually dangerous

These young women are standing up for men's rights. Photo Courtesy: YouTube/Modern Medusa

Amidst countless lectures on how we need to treat members of all sexes equally, there's a group of women that seems to not give an 'F' about the 'E' word--equality.

We are talking about the members of the activist group 'The Lovely Ladies For Men's Issues' who have decided to go the Vijay Mallya way to promote--wait for it--men's rights.

These women aim to bring awareness to men's issues by stripping off and wearing skimpy clothes for a "sexy" calendar shoot as they feel that amidst heavy discussions on women's rights, we tend to overlook men's rights and that it takes a strong woman to support this cause.

The activists are stripping off in a 'sexy' calender shoot in order to fight for men's rights. Photo Courtesy: YouTube/Modern Medusa

"It's kind of unheard of that women support men's issues. While historically men have had more authority in the society, no society is perfect. And now that women have basically all their rights, and you see how men are, for example, way more likely to be sentenced for a crime and much more harshly, you have to think men have issues too. So why can't we talk about that?" said the 22-year-old Vanessa Lussier, one of the three campaign leaders.

But here's a reality check for them "Lovely Ladies"

It's funny how 'Modern Medusa', (one of the three ladies behind this controversial campaign) expresses her strong views on ignorant people in one of her videos while ignorantly ignoring her own ignorance about the real scenario. 

Confused? Let's break it down for you: Apart from their immense love for men, what's common between their videos and their campaign's description on Indiegogo (an international crowd funding website) is their ignorance which is reflected by the continuous mention of "men suffering at a greater rate than women in the Western world."

So, here's a doze of reality for all those who agree as ignorantly as this trio: According to a journal Work, Employment and Society, which analyzed survey data on the working lives of 8,500 men and 9,000 women across 27 industrialized countries, including those from the "western world"--women suffer greater inequality and disadvantages in nearly all aspects of working life.

In fact, a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission stated that female graduates earn up to 8,000 pounds less than men who've studied the same subject.

Another study which was conducted at the Oxford University found that women were 40% more likely than men to develop mental illness. Need more proof?

Based on a set of concrete evidences, an article in The Atlantic clearly mentions that apart from the gender-pay gap, there's a confidence gap that exists between men and women and that women are less self-assured than men.

And here's the worst of them all: National Sexual Violence Resource Center's (NSVRC) 2015 statistics reveal that one in five women and one in 71 men are raped at some point in their lives.

Let's talk about 'feminism' one more time before we move forward

Now that you've seen the evidences with your own eyes, we feel, you might have to strain your precious eyes a little more and read the meaning of what is possibly the most misunderstood word in the history of mankind--feminism.

The Oxford Dictionary describes it as 'the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes'. But just because you've read 'advocacy of women's rights there, don't jump to the conclusion that it's biased towards women and does nothing for men.

Because you know what? Feminism helps men too

If you haven't noticed already, there's also a clear mention of the terms 'equality of the sexes' there and FYI, equality is the main agenda of feminism.

So guess what? Feminism helps men just as much as it helps women and other groups fighting for equality.

For instance, just imagine a world where feminism triumphs and conventional gender-roles are broken so that women have equal opportunities to learn and earn like their male counterparts. Won't that take such a huge burden off men, who're usually supposed to be the breadwinners of the family? So, you see, it's actually win-win situation. What more do we want from life?

But is it okay to stand up for women's rights?

We're not undermining sexual assault in men and we condemn the act regardless of the survivor's gender. Not to mention, all the numbers had to be shown in order for all of us to see who really is ignorant in life.

Having said that, we're not even denying that men suffer too and most definitely don't mean to imply that their issues don't deserve attention.

Men have issues too. Photo Courtesy: Barecroft

But for a moment, just picture this: A person with healthy bones and enough calcium goes to a doctor and the doc prescribes calcium supplements to him/her. The next thing we know is that there are harmful calcium deposits and stones in the person's body.

If you're wondering what this medical reference has got to do with this story, here's the deal: In the general world (yes, including the "western world", dear "lovely ladies") women happen to be what they call "greater sufferers". As we strive for equality, thinking about taking away the rights and privileges of the comparatively-more empowered group (we mean, men here) sounds crazy, right?

So doesn't standing up for the rights of the less empowered groups make more sense?

On second thoughts, the real problem is the structure of the campaign, not the cause

If we're talking about equality here, men too should be given a chance to speak up for their rights. And women supporting them is a great thought too. However, the structure of the 'Lovely Ladies for Men's Issues campaign is flawed beyond words.

For starters, these lovely ladies talk about bringing attention to men's rights, how? Well, by "posting sexy photos online with key details about men's rights so they can learn while they look at their boobs."

Objectifying women isn't the right way to stand up for men's rights. Photo Courtesy: YouTube/Modern Medusa

Whatever happened to our collective fight against objectifying women?

Moreover, there's another seemingly-crazy reason why this idea might be a big mistake. As per a study published in the Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, men tend to lose their minds around attractive women since they are "programmed by evolution to think more about mating opportunities." So expecting them to be concentrating on the "real" issues could be over expecting, don't you think?

Perhaps, a less aggressive approach where feminists are not looked down upon and objectification of women isn't involved can be a better way to stand up for men's rights. What do you say?