THE PROBLEM

Everybody knows that women deal with things such as high beauty standards and domestic abuse. And in addition to the obvious reasons, a huge problem in our society is that we only know about the female victims. We know so much about them that we actually refer to these issues as “female issues.” What we don’t know is this:

– 30% of teenaged boys use unhealthy weight control methods, such as fasting, smoking, vomiting, and taking laxatives.

– 10 million males have eating disorders. A conservative estimate, since the

– In 2015, reportedly 62,916 males were victims of rape. In 2011, the number of male rape victims was equal to those of female victims. In 2010, an estimated 4.5 million men had been forced to penetrate someone at some point in their lifetime. Sources for those latter two reports can be found here.

– 5,452,000 men were victims of domestic violence in 2011.

- 1 in 7 men are victims of domestic violence.

- 1 in 6 boys have been molested by the age of 18.

– Males are often turned away from and mocked by doctors, crisis centers, and police when they attempt to get support for things like eating disorders and domestic abuse.

– Efforts to create shelters for abused men, raise awareness of male issues through media outlets, and honor a day that raises awareness of men’s mental health have been met with condemnation, lack of support, and even death threats.

It's no coincidence that these issues are so rarely talked about, let alone happening so often while most people don't even realize it. As evidenced by the above reactions, these issues are intentionally swept under the rug. Naturally, the men living with those conditions have few to no places to go.