Double Standards
The age-old double standard of sexuality and gender is a historical and still currently prevalent issue that both male and females both face, though one more than the other. A double standard, as defined by Merriam Webster, is a set of principles that apples differently and usually more rigorously to one group of people or circumstances than to another. It is clearly evident that there are double standards within the sexes regarding sexuality. Women are ridiculed, shamed, and stigmatized for being sexual beings, whereas men are praised, revered, and commended for being sexual beings. The double standard between the two sexes is the most prevalent there is, as sex is one of the biggest categorical differences between human beings. Historically,
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Boys will call each other “girly” to offend them. Girls that like pink are also shamed for it, because gendering colors is such an important part of society. There is nothing wrong with being feminine. Women having sex is strangely not seen as them being feminine, and therefore lesser, but men being masculine, and therefore superior. Masculinity is so fragile that boys will not make any innocent physical contact with one another without exclaiming that they are heterosexual. These same men are the ones that force themselves onto unconsenting women, assaulting them for the cool points and …show more content…
When a female victim goes to authorities for a sexual assault, she is immediately asked what she is wearing, as if her clothes determine her consent. The idea that women are somehow deserving of being sexually assaulted and/or raped for drinking or wearing a certain article of clothing is sickening. This same issue with rape and double standards applies to men as well. Male victims of rape are often ridiculed for their horrific experience, and their friends tell them that they are lucky to have had sex. Male victims are just as silenced as female victims, but in different ways. Women are victim-blamed for their assault, and therefore silenced. Men are silenced into accepting the rape as an orgasm and not the crime that it is.
The double standard regarding sex negatively affects both sexes. The severity of how deeply rooted and systemic gender double standards are causes young boys to try to be hyper-masculine, and have as many sexual partners as they can. Young girls are affected in the way that they see boys wanting them as a form of validation, and reluctantly agree to sex they are not ready for or don’t
Boys will call each other “girly” to offend them. Girls that like pink are also shamed for it, because gendering colors is such an important part of society. There is nothing wrong with being feminine. Women having sex is strangely not seen as them being feminine, and therefore lesser, but men being masculine, and therefore superior. Masculinity is so fragile that boys will not make any innocent physical contact with one another without exclaiming that they are heterosexual. These same men are the ones that force themselves onto unconsenting women, assaulting them for the cool points and …show more content…
When a female victim goes to authorities for a sexual assault, she is immediately asked what she is wearing, as if her clothes determine her consent. The idea that women are somehow deserving of being sexually assaulted and/or raped for drinking or wearing a certain article of clothing is sickening. This same issue with rape and double standards applies to men as well. Male victims of rape are often ridiculed for their horrific experience, and their friends tell them that they are lucky to have had sex. Male victims are just as silenced as female victims, but in different ways. Women are victim-blamed for their assault, and therefore silenced. Men are silenced into accepting the rape as an orgasm and not the crime that it is.
The double standard regarding sex negatively affects both sexes. The severity of how deeply rooted and systemic gender double standards are causes young boys to try to be hyper-masculine, and have as many sexual partners as they can. Young girls are affected in the way that they see boys wanting them as a form of validation, and reluctantly agree to sex they are not ready for or don’t