When we are talking about present times and modern developed Western nations, I find it rather difficult to agree that the key tenets (discussed in the section above) of feminist patriarchy theory have an empirical and factual basis to them in reality. Don’t get me wrong, there are areas where women face discrimination today in Western society. However there are undoubtedly many areas of our Western society, where it is the men that are the ones being discriminated against.

Tell me, where is the male privilege in our Western societies in…

Education?

Family court?

Divorce settlements?

Health funding and health care?

Parental and reproductive rights (See this article by Ambercita04)?

The fathers whom are victims of paternity fraud?

The majority of the homeless which are male?

The military draft and selective service?

Circumcision or genital mutilation of male babies?

The more vigorous criminal prosecution, harsher sentencing and longer prison time for men committing the exact same crimes as women?

Our female-victim-only focus on domestic violence and rape (See articles here and here)?

The majority of workplace deaths and injuries which are male?

The male suicide epidemic (See this article)?

The majority of deaths in war which are male, even when non-combatants and civilians are included (97% of fallen US soldiers have been male since the first Gulf War and similar statistics are found in other countries)?

The majority of victims of all forms of violence combined, which are male?

Being treated as nothing more than an ATM and respected only for the size of your wallet?

The general lack of interest in society for the rights and issues affecting men and boys (See this article)?

If there is a male privilege in our Western societies then …

Why is it always left to men to fight the wars and do the hazardous jobs?

Why do we rob men of fatherhood and treat them merely as disposable sperm banks?

Why are men thrown in jail (or debtors prison) for failing to pay alimony and child support that exceeds their incomes?

Why are men portrayed as idiots and deviants in the media and in advertising?

Why do politicians pander to feminist groups and completely ignore critical issues affecting men?

Why do we have literally hundreds of government and independent bodies and billions of dollars dedicated to women's issues and relatively only a handful of organisations and funding for men's issues?

Why do we have talk shows which make fun of a man’s penis getting chopped off, after he asked his wife for a divorce (See video and watch the female panel and female audience shamelessly laugh it up on national TV)?

Why do we have women promoting the genocide of men and eugenics against men and boys (See this article and this video)?

Why do we have T-shirts encouraging girls to throw rocks at boys and ten year old girls wearing such shirts, saying they enjoy making boys feel bad because it is "fun" (See article)?

Why do we have books titled the “End of Men” (See this article)?

Why do people promote the baseless meme of female superiority (See my two hubs on it here and here)?

Why do women make most of the spending decisions in the household?

Why is there a culture of misandry in Western society ( read this book)?

Why are men becoming increasingly unemployed and turning to a life of crime and poverty?

Why is male mental illness skyrocketing and why are so many men killing themselves?

I could go on and on and on….

I have some questions. If men were in control, running a patriarchy and serving their self-interest, why would we disadvantage ourselves, make our young suicidal and promote misandry in our culture? Why would men not get the women drafted to be the cannon fodder instead? The idea that a group of evil men sit at a table and oppress women is complete and utter nonsense! In reality women exercise a lot of power by proxy in relationships and in society. I think most husbands can attest to that! It's called emotional manipulation. Perhaps people have heard of the sayings, "what's mine is mine and what is yours is ours" or "happy wife, happy life" or "behind every great man there is a great woman" or "the power behind the throne". Men might earn more money, but who is spending the majority of household income? Women. Who is the voting majority? Women. Men might hold overt power through positions of authority, but who exercises power by proxy on elected officials and businesses from a safe distance and free of accountability? Women of course, with their voting majority, control of household spending and powerful women's lobby groups.

Who is forced to conform to one social role, the provider, workhorse or walking ATM? Men. Who really has the greater choice over whether they build a career or stay at home? Women. Who really has the greater freedom to decide who they are and their role in life? Women. Whose safety and welfare does society prioritise more when they are in danger or facing hardship? Women. Does women and children first ring a bell? The reality is there are a number of areas in society where women are privileged above men and women have power. They are just different forms of power and privilege. Do feminists seriously believe their own movement would have emerged if society was the patriarchy they describe? I don't think so. Feminism would have been crushed very quickly if that were the case. A tiny minority of men may hold the top positions in society, but that does not mean men run the world free of female influence and that it is male dominated. Things are a little bit more complicated than that, but feminists never acknowledge these realities because they do not conform to their narrow worldview. The power, wealth and social status of the top 1% of men in today's society, does not represent the remaining 99% of the male population. Ordinary men are no better off than ordinary women.

Modern Western society simply does not reflect the premise that only men are privileged, that only women are oppressed and that society resembles a patriarchy. Realistically our society is a mosaic of male and female oppression, male and female privilege and patriarchal and matriarchal characteristics. Indeed even in nations where women are clearly the more oppressed, oppression of men exists. Yet feminism would have us believe that only one gender has issues and that it is always men that are to blame. I have spoken to a few feminists. It would appear that many of them seem to want to downplay or trivialise men’s issues. I cannot take a movement seriously if the people in that movement refuse to acknowledge half of reality and show such a lack of compassion for half the population. I cannot support a movement that perpetuates a delusional bubble that only one gender faces hardship in society and which inspires hatred toward men and boys.