A friend of mine posted this on Facebook, and I couldn't agree more.

Exactly, in a situation where the problems of one gender are being discussed its in bad taste to compare them to the problems of another group that may be experiencing it worse, if that's your only intention (that's why you don't see us trying to have this discussion on a thread. About male victims of rape for example).

However, that doesn't mean there is no value in discussing why certain demographics experience more of certain injustices. By understanding that something happens more to a certain group, and often in different scenarios/for different reasons than when it happens to people in other groups, we can gain valuable knowledge about what causes lie at the root of these injustices in the first place and therefore, how to fix them. If a species of frog is dying, realizing that only the big ones are dying but the small ones are mostly fine would be necessary information an environmentalist would need to try to save them. He might say it's "worse" for the big frogs, even though that doesn't mean that any small frogs that died suffered any less or are any less deserving of sympathy. It's ok, and even important (in certain situations) to acknowledge that women experience a lot more sexual violence than men, while understanding that any man who has gone through the same deserves just as much sympathy and support, you know?

Obviously bringing it up to a male victim of rape who is opening up to you would be not only insensitive but pointless. But in a women's forum where women are trying to discuss how many of the men they know don't understand their fear around sexual violence, it's a pretty relevant place to bring up how not as much men experience it.

As a female recovering alcoholic, I don't feel dismissed when I read that men are more likely to experience alcoholism. Because I know that doesn't mean that the women who do experience it have it easier, just that as a woman I was less likely to experience it. I can acknowledge that women as a whole have it easier when it comes to alcoholism because they tend to have more support structures and not bottle up their feelings as much. But obviously there's going to be women who don't have those things and who do become alcoholics for whatever reason, and that doesn't negate their suffering.

Sorry this was so long, thanks for reading if you got this far. I just felt like we were all mostly on the same page so I wanted to take the time to explain.

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