The Me-Gender: Dux femina facti

Male politicians focus on a spectrum of issues, while female politicians focus primarily on the Me-Gender, but both tend to ignore men. Prove it isn't so.

Consider recent legislation and bureaucracies for the benefit of The Me Gender: The Violence Against Women Act, Child Support Responsibility Act, Women's Health Initiative, Gender Equity in Education Act, Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor, Office for Research on Women's Health, Office of Women's Business Ownership, Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, and several local women's commissions. Men get nothing comparable.

Also consider that the Government Assistance Almanac lists 28 separate grant programs in its index under "Women." There is no listing for "Men."

The Me Gender bandwagon

Female legislators tend to focus on The Me Gender, promoting legislation to benefit women, while male legislators tend to focus on other issues. However, contrary to what some feminists would have us believe, even when male legislators do address gender issues, they also tend to promote legislation to benefit women. It's embarrassing to watch some male politicians falling all over themselves while jumping on The Me Gender bandwagon. (Don't you just love mixed metaphors?)

Both liberals and conservatives focus on The Me Gender, but for different reasons. Conservatives are paternalistic--thinking of women as children who cannot take care of themselves, and so the government must give them special protections. Liberals are full of guilt--believing that men and the law have oppressed women throughout history and must now make amends. In other words, conservatives put women on a pedestal and liberals put men under it. Politics makes strange bedfellows.

I have to wonder whether some politicians are so willing to work for women's issues because of another kind of guilt---personal guilt over their behavior towards women. Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Brock Adams, and Bob Packwood come quickly to mind---all champions of women's causes; all apparently cads. Did guilt of their behavior towards women cause them to take up women's causes? Or perhaps the motivation was a little more along the lines of blackmail---support this legislation or be exposed. A different kind of sexual harassment.

Are Women in Charge?

Such theories are intriguing, but political focus on The Me Gender is easy to explain. The reason for this focus is very simple: women control the American political system. Huh? What was that? Yes, of course. I'm sure you've all heard the "facts" the Me Gender wants you to know: only 7 female Senators, only 48 female members of the House, no female Presidents, few female appointments, etc. But one fact negates all these, and go figure--women have been pretty quiet about it. Since 1920, women have had control of the American political system because they have been the majority of the voters--nowadays, American female voters outnumber their male counterparts by about 7 million. So, a man elected to a political office better keep the majority of voters happy, or he will be finding other employment. Or as my old granddad always used to say: "When all is said and done, the Mrs. said it and I did it."

Of course, in the U.S. we have protections against the majority steamrolling over the rest of the citizenry. The courts comprise much of this protection. However, our judicial system also has the biases and double standards mentioned above. Some judges are elected. And all judges and jurors carry the baggage of guilt and paternalism to some degree. As a result, Justice is peeking out from under her blindfold and tipping her scales toward The Me Gender.

Is Justice Truly Blind?

Men are 4 times as likely to be arrested as women while 24 times as likely to be incarcerated. (Can you say Tonya Harding?) Men receive longer sentences than women--one study found an average of 11.1 months longer. Fathers get child support obligations, while mothers get the children. The Tailhook investigators only looked at the behavior of male attendees.

With so much obvious discrimination against men in our judicial system, at least we can be comforted by the fact that most of the states have formed gender bias task forces to eliminate such gender bias. NOT! Be afraid, be very afraid. These task forces are feminist bastions. Most members are associated with women's advocacy groups. Men's advocates are not allowed. The manual used by these task forces was written by a group affiliated with NOW. So far, none of these task forces has given more than a cursory look at discrimination against men. Many ONLY studied discrimination against women. That's right, folks, the Me Gender has so much political power that they can brazenly form gender bias task forces which are biased themselves.

Once again, The Me Gender and its advocates distort and cry victim. Or as my old granddad always used to say: "Raise a dust, then complain you can't see."

Balder's granddad liked to paraphrase Sammy Kaye and Bishop Berkeley.