leecas:

nudityandnerdery:

See, what you need to understand is that “Not all guys are like that” is never going to work. Because you’re answering an entirely different conversation than what women are actually saying. You think women are saying “Every man is a predator and a danger to me.” And you’re replying, “But I’m not like that.” But women aren’t saying that. They’re saying “There are too many situations where women have to worry about their safety,” and you’re saying “That’s not important.” They’re saying “Women are constantly told it’s their fault if something bad happens,” and you’re saying “Don’t worry about it.” They’re saying “Too often, women find their trust violated by men,” and you’re saying “But you should trust me!” They’re saying “So many men have decided that what they want is more important than anything about a woman.” And you’re replying “I’m exactly like that.”

How do I respond to this without sounding biased toward my own sex (male)? I’ll give it a try.

When I brazenly say things like, “Why are men so aggressive?” or “Why are women passive-aggressive?” hopefully one of the first things I’m going to hear is, “Not all of them are like that.” Thank God people actually point out how stupid I sound making sweeping generalizations, which couldn’t possibly be true, because they are stereotypes. A stereotype is an inherently false concept of a group of people as a whole. Due to the tendency for people to misconstrue stereotypes as true, they often perpetuate the idea that the majority of a specific group of people exhibits a cluster of specific characteristics. In reality, only the subset of a population of that group exhibits those specific characteristics. So, of course, it’s offensive to the individual when they get lumped into a group that has just been rudely criticized in conversation. An example of this is given by the original poster when he/she points out the man’s defensive statement “Not all guys are like that”.

If an individual man or woman reacts defensively to a sweeping generalization made about their in-group, they are completely justified in defending it; no one can rightfully request for an individual to abandon their in-group for the sake of an argument based on stereotypes.

Having said that, I understand the original posters argument, claiming that women are justified in seeking their own safety…but why is it that the implied act of remaining wary of men is the sole method given for securing one’s safety? For what reason does the OP qualify the aggressor in this case as men?Certainly men can be aggressive toward others, but aren’t women capable of harming others as well? By targeting men as a group, OP yet again uses the common male stereotype to bolster his/her argument with what seems like evidence, when in actuality is only baseless conjecture that only functions to further polarize the women vs. men debacle.

So to sum up, I know its difficult to make arguments on tumblr without utilizing some go-to sweeping generalizations about sex or race, but if OP wants to make an argument that both sides will read and respect, he/she will have to rely less on offensive stereotypes and more on fact and reason.