Gender inequality is one of the societal issues that is underrepresented in todays

discussions. We see it all around us every day. The wage gap. The way women cannot feel safe in
public around men. We even see it in the way that jokes are made. Rape culture on American
college campuses goes largely ignored. This is a sad, misogynistic world that was created by men
for the advancement of the male agenda. The goal of this paper is to show the reader that this
inequality can no longer be ignored and we must make strides to fix it.
The first issue that shows the inequality is the wage gap. According to the American
Association for University Women, when all other variables are equal, women make 79 cents to
every dollar that a man makes. This means that when you look at years in the workforce, level of
education, and similar factors, women generally only make 79% of what men make. To make
this worse, the wage gap only increases as you enter other variables. African American women
only make 63% of their male counterpart. Hispanic women make only 54% of their caucasian
male counterpart. This is obscene.
When you create a financial disparity like this, it is quick to realize that the patriarchy is
alive and well. One way that several people look at it is though there is a certain privilege to
being a male. As a whole, men make more than their female counterparts regardless of their
ethnicity. If we put this into perspective with the events over the last two years, it begins to look
like a societal issue that has become largely ignore.
Ferguson. Baltimore. Concerned Student 1950. These are all movements and unrest due
to a racist culture that still exists in 2016. There is no doubt that these are incredibly volatile
issues that necessitate and deserve a response. When you look at the salary differential from a
purely financial perspective, race has much less to do with pay disparity. In a culture where men
are raised to be men and to do the right thing, when did it become okay to assume that the

work a woman does is worth less than the same work done by a male? This is truly repugnant.
Now that we have shown that there can no longer be financial security in being a female, we
should look at the culture of rape.
According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, only 32% of sexual
assaults are ever reported. Of those 32 that are reported, only 7 are ever arrested. To make
matters worse, only 2 of the 7 that are caught ever spend even a single day behind bars. It is no
wonder that women cannot feel safe at night alone. Men do not let them. There is no doubt that
men are the far more violent of the sexes. Men have decided that when they want something,
they are simply going to take it. When did it become okay to turn away from victims? Even
worse, there is a culture of victim shaming that never allows some women to come forward. If
we truly want to show how tough we are and how important we are as men, why would we not
stand up for these victims instead of making them the punchline of a disgusting joke?
The worst part of the entire rape culture are the jokes and the rationalization. She was
asking for it, she wanted it, I could tell, just because of that dress and other statements of this
kind just go to show how narrow-minded these people are. No one, by virtue of what they are
wearing or doing, is asking for it. Women should be able to go to a party and drink as much as
they want to without being afraid of some disgusting guy trying to force them into sexual
activity. The jokes are no better and do not deserve to be even mentioned in a paper. They arent
funny. They are the root of the problem. The problem is simply that men think they can do
anything they want to because they are more powerful. But just as Peter Parkers uncle Ben told
him, with great power comes great responsibility. What is the point of being more powerful
than someone if you do not use it for good? What is even worse is that on many college

campuses, prestige is assigned based on membership in a fraternity which has run rampant with
sexual assault over the last several decades.
This has even been noticed by other men and nothing has been done about it. I remember
when I picked up my very best friend from a fraternity at my alma mater. I was in bed early that
night because I had to work all day to help pay for college. I always told my friend that if she
needed someone to get her home after a party or a night drinking, just call me and I will help. I
remember one night that she called me at about midnight to come pick her up. I remember this
being a weird night because she had left just a half hour before. When she was on the phone, she
couldnt remember which fraternity house she had gone to. So, me and my friend went to where
we knew she had talked about going. We get there and no one wants to let us in the house. We
insisted that we were there to pick up a female friend who was in the house and too drunk to
leave, but they would not let us through. I saw red. I pushed through as many of them as I could
and I am not a small man. I get up to the balcony and she is passed out, not even half way
through her first drink of the night. I almost flipped my lid when I saw a guy kissing on her
unconscious body. I push the guy off of her and pick her up to her feet. As I do this, the guy tries
to swing on me. My friend lost it at that moment. He dangled the guy over the edge of the
balcony until we were able to leave. We took her to the hospital right away and they did a drug
test. She had been drugged at the party. And it happened to her 2 more times that same year.
The most unfortunate things is that the culture on campus is to ignore things like that. But
it does not just happen on college campuses. It happens on websites all the time where older guys
can talk to young impressionable girls about things they shouldnt talk about. This at times does
not even involve explicit photos. Almost every guy has done this and I am not different.
Therefore, most people would think I am being hypocritical. The fact of the matter is that, to an

extent, that is true. But I am also truly remorseful. I do not want to make those mistakes. And the
best way to ensure that I do not is to apologize to everyone I have taken advantage of and
consciously not make the same mistakes. I hope that I can rebuild the friendships I have
destroyed and do what I can to help the people I have hurt. And to the people that I have hurt, I
am sorry. I am.
In conclusion, we can see how, by virtue of being a male, I do not have to put up with
many of the same inequalities that women have to deal with. I did not, until tonight, realize that I
was doing this. Even with the best of intentions, I can still be a part of the problem. And men, so
are you. Unless you decide to actively fix the issues that we are talking about, you remain a part
of the problem. This entire problem was created and is enforced by us. We are not better than
women. We are simply bigger. That is no reason to treat them like second-class citizens.
There are many ways to get involved. If you are a student, take a social inequalities class
and keep your heart open. I made the mistake of being bull headed and I did not learn as much as
I should have. If you are on the workplace, look at your salary scale. How are raises earned?
What constitutes a starting salary? All people can help in stopping the rape culture. Understand
that no means no. A drunk yes is still a no. Men, respect women. They are a vital and important
part of what the world can accomplish. Remember that there was at one time a woman who gave
you life. Treat all other women as though they are your mother and react the same way to a
culture where it would be okay for someone to victimize your own mother. Most importantly,
have the discussion. Do not allow gender inequality to be swept under the rug anymore.