GC: Are men entitled to male-only spaces?

submitted by womanual from self.GCdebatesQT

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[–]BiologyIsReal 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

As long we're talking about spaces where sex matters because of privacy, health care, sports or dating, yes. For other type of settings, I'm not willing to say are entitled to them because men likely may turn our arguments upside down to bar women from the public sphere.

[–]MarkTwainiac 10 insightful - 2 fun10 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 2 fun -  (4 children)

I understood the question to be only to a narrow range of circumstances, and that's why I said yes. I'd add that males should be able to have separate support groups too for problems specific to males such as prostate cancer or erectile dysfunction - or for

In other types of settings, the courts in the US have been very clear that neither sex can be barred from the public sphere - and that even in the case of private clubs, sometimes excluding females constitutes illegal discrimination.

[–]womanual[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction are something only males can have. But males have specific spaces and groups for them for issues that are not male specific. For example, "My Brother's Keeper" is a program started by Obama to pair young men of color with mentors. Why don't we have the same program for young women of color? Women experience more discrimination than men, and honestly, what do men of color need that women of color don't? I am a WOC, so I face double discrimination for being a woman and a POC. People think WOC have it easier than men of color, but it's the opposite. It would be like having a program for straight kids but not for LGB kids. You can have a program for LGB kids as LGB people are a marginalized group, but straight people are not a marginalized so straight that's why schools don't have straight clubs like they have LGB clubs. So why not just open this program to young women of color? I would be OK if this program was only available to girls, because females are marginalized thus have specific needs that males don't, not the other way around.

[–]slushpilot 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

I don't actually know the "My Brother's Keeper" program but just by the name it sounds like it was designed to keep misguided and frustrated young men from falling into gangs. I could be wrong but I don't think that has much to do with who experiences more discrimination, but with who ends up jailed or shot. (A classic scene by the way.)

There is no shortage of organizations I know of that are specifically oriented around helping women, and black women especially, to overcome discrimination and break through into spaces where they're not commonly represented. Just 3 that I found off the cuff right now:

I know you were talking about Obama, but there's all kinds of stuff out there now. Maybe it takes a program for one group to make more programs for other groups to follow as an example. Don't look to the past, look at what's possible now.

You can have a program for LGB kids as LGB people are a marginalized group

I really wish there was a club for oddball teens who weren't really into sports and had some nerdy interests when I was growing up. I honestly believe a lot of kids calling themselves "enby" or "queer" these days are just doing it because they don't fit in anywhere else, and that's where all their friends are. There really isn't another program for the weird ones. And if these are just kids, why are programs like this specifically oriented around sexuality? (It doesn't matter to me what kind of sexuality; I just think it's a little weird to promote, it sounds like hey kids come join the school's sex club!)

[–]womanual[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

There is no shortage of organizations I know of that are specifically oriented around helping women, and black women especially, to overcome discrimination and break through into spaces where they're not commonly represented.

But we don't need organizations specifically oriented around helping men, because men are already represented in almost every professional space.

[–]slushpilot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

But we don't need organizations specifically oriented around helping men

No we don't, and I'm not suggesting that either.