#MeToo’s Positive Impact on Young Men
With #MeToo dominating social conversation and showing no signs of slowing down, in December MTV conducted extensive research with young people 18 to 25 around the efficacy of the movement and how it’s effecting change. The results were optimistic and showed that young men are now questioning their behavior.
According to the results, nearly one in three young men were concerned that something they had done in the past could be considered sexual harassment. Forty percent of the young men admitted that #MeToo had changed the way they act in potential romantic relationships.
And one in four of the young people surveyed said they’ve noticed guys around them change their behavior since the #MeToo movement began.
Tarana Burke, #MeToo founder, was elated at the results: “I’m very excited that MTV did this research, and am pleased to hear that the work we’re doing in #MeToo is reaching so many young people.”
MTV also found that #MeToo is changing how young people perceive gender dynamics in society. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they have thought about how society enables sexist behavior among men since the initiative began, and 59 percent said the movement has made them think about how difficult the world is for women.
The survey was designed and conducted by MTV Insights Research among a nationally representative sample of approximately 1800 young people ages 18 to 25 in December 2017. For resources and survey information go to metoo.mtv.com.
Macho Men Skewing Pain Studies
Hypermasculine men who exhibit traits such as competitiveness and aggressiveness may be more likely to take part in pain research—and it could be skewing our understanding of how women and men experience pain differently.
Research published in the Journal of Pain last November looked at whether identification with traditional gender roles influences the likelihood of participating in a pain study. The team from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro recruited 137 student volunteers to answer questions about their biological sex and gender identification, and then say whether they were willing to participate in a pain study. The findings indicated that men with traditional male gender traits, including competitiveness and aggression, were significantly more likely to sign up as participants for pain studies.
“The discovery not only suggests that pain studies may not accurately reflect population demographics, but may also alter interpretations of observed differences between men and women,” said Dr. Tim Salomons of the School of Psychology at the University of Reading.
“Previous studies link gender identification to pain threshold, so if we’re recruiting more macho men, it stands to reason that men will appear more tolerant. We also know that men report less pain if the experimenter is a woman, suggesting they might report less pain to appear manly,” Dr. Salomons explained.
Trump Administration Endorses LGBTQ Discrimination
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has opened the door to discrimination against the LGBTQ community. A proposed new HHS rule would allow health workers to refuse to treat LGBTQ people because of supposed moral or religious objections.
“HHS civil rights director Roger Severino is an anti-LGBTQ activist who has long fought against equality for our community,” said Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute CEO Annise Parker. “His politicization of healthcare takes us down a dangerous path that will harm not just the LGBTQ community, but other communities targeted by those opposed to equality.”
Severino is one of many anti- LGBTQ activists appointed to the Trump administration, despite almost no LGBTQ people appointed to key departments or positions. According to the Victory Institute’s presidential appointments project, during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, there were more than 400 LGBTQ political appointees.
