The ignored abuse of men
In a society that expects men to be incapable of being abused, stories of abuse remain unheard *Trigger warning: this commentary contains mention of sexual assault and abuse
Sharon's Shenanigans Human egotism
COMMENTARY BY PENELOPE ACEVEDO, STAFF WRITER
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B U S E things will be turned against them.” against men has The workplace can also be a location where been overlooked people face abuse. The “Me Too” movement, for decades due to a which shined a light on the abuse women face societal stigma that men in the workplace, resulted in several highare only perpetrators of profile cases. According to Bloomsberg, at such crimes, not victims. least 425 prominent people have been publicly The double standard that exists when it comes accused of sexual misconduct due to this to male victims is detrimental to survivors as it movement. often jeopardizes their mental health and selfAlong with many other men, Actor Terry image. Crews shared his story during the movement. The idea that men are incapable of being The actor received substantial backlash for victims of abuse creates a barrier where men speaking out. According to NPR, in interviews feel they cannot speak about their stories, in Crews has said people have called him a turn, often pressuring them to stay in abusive coward, weak and nothing for telling his story. situtions. For example, men may fear being This demonstrates the lack of empathy that seen as weak or feel concerned about how exists when it comes to male abuse. others will view them. Further, the goal of creating a world where According to the 2017 “Man Box Study,” men can speak up about their abuse should out of 1,328 men within the ages of 18 and never be done in attempts of silencing women. 30, 72% said they have been told that “a In some cases men will bring up male abuse real man behaves a certain way.” The same by saying “well, it happens to men too” when survey found that 59% of men agreed with women speak on assault and abuse, yet fail to bring up the issue any the following statement: other time. “Guys should act strong This can send the even if they feel scared DID YOU KNOW? or nervous inside.” About one in 10 men in the message that male abuse should only be Men’s mental health U.S. have experienced sexual acknowledged to silence and how they view their and physical violence by an female survivors. This masculinity is a major intimate parner. back and forth motion problem that American Source: CDC of trying to place one society often fails to gender’s struggles recognize. The notion above the other’s is not that masculinity is men’s most important attribute is often inscribed into conducive to growth for either men or women. Instead, trying to compare abuse between their minds as children. According to The Know, a child is most both genders creates an environment in which impressionable during the first five years neither feel comfortable speaking up. “People fall victim to these ideologies of their life. Therefore, when caretakers encourage being emotionally reserved, the because they — especially men — are taught that the foundation of masculinity is the male child will likely do what he is told. Given that many men try to display their ability to suppress emotions. Thus, overtime masculinity to their friends and family, when it becomes the norm in society for a man to men are abused or sexually assaulted, they assert dominance over his emotional sphere, may feel as if other people will view them as making abuse towards a man seem like an less masculine. This should never be the case absurd concept,” senior Leandro Sierra said. Society has recognized that male abuse is because assault is wrong regardless of whether extremely disregarded, whether it be emotional or not the victim is a man or a woman. “The stigma makes men feel like no matter or physical. Yet, just knowing about the fact what happens, they will always be considered does not change anything. Instead, a collective guilty if the other side of the story is being effort must be made to not discourage told by a woman,” freshman Gerald Escobar conversation and reject the experiences male said. “It makes most men feel like they have to victims, but instead do better at recognizing keep their mouth closed about everything that when we ourselves are seeing or displaying happens because if not, they will be judged or toxic masculinity. h
COMMENTARY BY SHARON FLOREZ, OPINION EDITOR
The diameter of the observable universe is 93 billion light-years — and that is just what is observable. This fact, along with my limited conceptual understanding of string theory, make up my daily existentialist dread. To think that most humans go on with their day believing that no other life forms exist in this unfathomably vast universe is, to say the least, baffling. And vain. My overactive imagination enjoys interrupting my day with scenarios of what other life forms observing Earth must be thinking of humans. They laugh at our paper money and its imaginary value; our inability to stop going to war with each other and the concept of separate nations. Realistically, they probably do not like us. They may talk bad about us to other alien life forms about how they wish to never associate with such an underdeveloped ape-descendent life form (which is elitist). But can we blame them? Humans are probably the galaxy’s embarrassment. The ugly duckling that never gets included. The family member that never gets invited to anything. And we deserve that title. For centuries, the possibility of alien life has been a fun concept to debate and laugh about. However, I am not too sure we are going to be laughing much longer. The recent COVID-19 relief bill gives the U.S. government 180 days to release everything they know about UFOs. Additionally, the former Israeli space security chief publicly announced that a galactic federation exists and is in contact with the U.S. government. He went further to claim that there was an underground base in Mars with both American and alien life forms working together. Conspiracy theorists around the world are surely excited, myself included. The years of rewatching Men in Black and E.T. have prepared me for this moment. I even have a list of so-called humans I am suspicious of being aliens, including but not limited to: Mark Zuckerberg, Ariana Grande, Lil Uzi Vert, Elvis Presley and Jeffree Star. There is simply no way that we are alone in this universe and for believing so, there is surely one thing all humans have in common: the audacity. h
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