5 ms·

This is just part of the larger pattern of anti-male expression in the media. It's remarkably consistent. If there's a study about differences between men and

This is just part of the larger pattern of anti-male expression in the media. It's remarkably consistent. If there's a study about differences between men and women, it will only be published if it can be spun such that the women are better. In a sitcom, the husband will always be the dunce of the family, and the wife is always the steady, responsible one. If there's a problem affecting genders differently, it'll always be presented as affecting the women more, while the men's suffering is simply ignored. This can reach absurd levels. E.g. Women's share of university degrees recently passed 60%. The media spin? "It's so terrible these women won't be able to find men educated enough to satisfy them." The reason is simple. All these academics and journalists are under watch from cultural police. If any of them ever wrote something that indicated men were better in any way or context, or were victimized by women in any way, they'd be subjects to a brutal and likely cryptic personal destruction campaign by feminist activists.

allovernow 7y ago
>All these academics and journalists are under watch from cultural police. If any of them ever wrote something that indicated men were better in any way or context, or were victimized by women in any way, they'd be subjects to a brutal and likely cryptic personal destruction campaign by feminist activists While this sentiment is true in extreme cases, I think the problem is more subtle. What we are seeing is the momentum of decades of institutional bias in soft science academia. The current status quo is propped up by activist researchers who believe in what they're doing and are either unaware of the bias in their research or believe it is acceptable in consideration of the greater good. So if you attempt to publish a paper against the political grain of your discipline, you may not be attacked by Twitter feminists, but you will likely see support from colleagues in your department wane, and your academic career could suffer as a result. This implicitly keeps people "in line".
- viridian 7y ago
  While I think you are largely correct, there's also a more general effect that contributes and magnifies this, the "women are wonderful" effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_are_wonderful_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_are_wonderful_effect
  - allovernow 7y ago
    Ironic that the talk page for that article shows these kinds of activists blindly (or with feigned ignorance) injecting the bias we've been discussing into what should be a short, objective wiki page.
sullyj3 7y ago
once you start noticing these things, confirmation bias kicks in and you can never stop noticing them. it's important to be aware of the Chinese robber fallacy (https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/09/16/cardiologists-and-chinese-robbers/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/09/16/cardiologists-and-chin...) in an era where news is constant and instantaneously accessible, it's easy to find an almost limitless source of examples to support basically any narrative - and humans have a tendency to prefer narratives in which their ingroup is the victim. the plural of anecdote often turns out to be a victim complex. I think it's important to try to avoid this tendency. Those who are truly intellectually honest know that there's no battle between the evil aggressors and the blameless victims, there's a bunch of shitty people and nice people doing nice things and shitty things and mostly responding to local incentives.
PeterStuer 7y ago
"In a sitcom, the husband will always be the dunce of the family, and the wife is always the steady, responsible one." It is even way more outspoken in media programing aimed at children where positive male rolemodels are almost completely absent.

allovernow 7y ago

>All these academics and journalists are under watch from cultural police. If any of them ever wrote something that indicated men were better in any way or context, or were victimized by women in any way, they'd be subjects to a brutal and likely cryptic personal destruction campaign by feminist activists While this sentiment is true in extreme cases, I think the problem is more subtle. What we are seeing is the momentum of decades of institutional bias in soft science academia. The current status quo is propped up by activist researchers who believe in what they're doing and are either unaware of the bias in their research or believe it is acceptable in consideration of the greater good. So if you attempt to publish a paper against the political grain of your discipline, you may not be attacked by Twitter feminists, but you will likely see support from colleagues in your department wane, and your academic career could suffer as a result. This implicitly keeps people "in line".

viridian 7y ago
While I think you are largely correct, there's also a more general effect that contributes and magnifies this, the "women are wonderful" effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_are_wonderful_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_are_wonderful_effect
- allovernow 7y ago
  Ironic that the talk page for that article shows these kinds of activists blindly (or with feigned ignorance) injecting the bias we've been discussing into what should be a short, objective wiki page.

sullyj3 7y ago

once you start noticing these things, confirmation bias kicks in and you can never stop noticing them. it's important to be aware of the Chinese robber fallacy (https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/09/16/cardiologists-and-chinese-robbers/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/09/16/cardiologists-and-chin...) in an era where news is constant and instantaneously accessible, it's easy to find an almost limitless source of examples to support basically any narrative - and humans have a tendency to prefer narratives in which their ingroup is the victim. the plural of anecdote often turns out to be a victim complex. I think it's important to try to avoid this tendency. Those who are truly intellectually honest know that there's no battle between the evil aggressors and the blameless victims, there's a bunch of shitty people and nice people doing nice things and shitty things and mostly responding to local incentives.

PeterStuer 7y ago

"In a sitcom, the husband will always be the dunce of the family, and the wife is always the steady, responsible one." It is even way more outspoken in media programing aimed at children where positive male rolemodels are almost completely absent.