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But here are the facts: men are rape victims in huge numbers around the world. Studies of male political prisoners held in concentration camps by their governments find startlingly high levels of sexual assault: 21 percent in Sri Lanka, 76 percent in El Salvador, and 80 percent in Sarajevo. However, it's all but impossible to get any of them to admit it openly, because men are supposed to be sexually dominant, and being forced to submit puts you in the role of a woman. If you live in a society where the patriarchy is such a given no one even thinks to name it, being a "womanly man" is shameful. When we stop perpetuating antiquated gender roles, male victims will be taken more seriously. But let's be perfectly honest -- those gender roles were created by men.

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So for me -- or anyone else -- to decide that my story is proof that men are the "real" victims of the modern world and that women/feminists are thus the enemy, is nuts. All victims are real. All victims should feel like they're able to speak up without being dismissed or ridiculed. If a movement -- regardless of what it represents -- ever feels like it's losing ground by showing empathy, then something has gone seriously fucking awry. And if you ever feel a knee-jerk urge to dismiss the story of a victim because it doesn't fit with what you believe about the world, stop and ask yourself if maybe what you believe about the world happens to be wrong.

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Manna fights the establishment with the power of sass on Twitter.

For more insider perspectives, check out 8 Ways the Legal System Screws Rape Victims (Like Me) and 5 Things I Learned as a Sex Slave in Modern America.

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