The Monsterization of Men

Article here. Excerpt:

'It is also earning at least some critiques, largely from feminist corners. Some of these are predictable: Martina is “objectified” and judged by her looks. She isn’t given a chance to speak. No one in the video [link added] is given the opportunity to sue each other or protest naked. (Okay, I kid on that last one.) Other complaints are more nuanced: In a lengthy blog post, feminist critic and author Rebecca Hains called the video [link added] “sickening,” unraveling some of its weirder elements: “A grown man, telling [boys] to slap a girl that they so clearly like? And a girl being coached to stand there and let boys who are complete strangers to her touch her body? How awful!”

No argument here: The video is, at the very least, indisputably weird. But the worst part of “Slap Her,” despite the cries of feminists, has nothing to do with Martina, her treatment, or her rather clueless video directors. It’s the widespread and growing idea, reflected throughout our culture, that the Y chromosome, paired with toxic and constricting societal “gender roles”—as opposed to, say, flawed human nature—is the central driver behind domestic violence and various other evils in the world.  

Let’s step back for a moment. How strange is it, really, that millions upon millions of people would be “charmed” and “touched” and have their “hearts melted” by the fact that several young boys would refuse to hit a girl? Has our collective cultural opinion of the male species really sunk so low?

If you’ve been paying attention to modern politics—and particularly modern feminism—you know the answer. It’s sad, really. It’s also somewhat ironic: For a group widely painted as privileged oppressors, men, on the reputational front and otherwise, are increasingly getting the short end of the stick.'