I wasn’t going to write this column. It’s something I’ve always wanted to say but never did. I’ve always been careful to bite my tongue, to keep my mouth shut in an effort to remain perfectly politically correct on an issue that is so personal to so many of my fellow students. However, there comes a time in every individual’s life where the consequences of not standing up for their deepest convictions outweigh the consequences of doing so to the extent that they inspire decisive action.
The issue on the table today is equality, specifically among the sexes. I, like most people I know, wholeheartedly believe in equality. However, when it comes to feminism, I have my reservations with the idea that the movement is a perfect solution to gender inequality.

The modern feminist movement which claims to be promoting gender equality, purposefully or not, operates under the principle that men are more privileged than women in every aspect and institution of society without exception. It’s a specific type of gender equality that is being promoted. It comes with all the benefits but never the costs. As awesome as it would be, you are never going to see a group of feminists campaigning for women to be eligible to be drafted during times of war— even for non combat roles.

It is a fact that men are currently more privileged than women as a whole in society, and it doesn’t take a degree in gender studies to understand that. This does not mean, however, that there are no instances in our society where men are the ones who are severely disadvantaged.

In the U.S. criminal justice system, men face 63 percent longer sentences than women when convicted for the same offenses. Additionally, the disparity between conviction rates is six times larger than the disparity between conviction rates among white and black men. Sound like a civil rights issue yet? Women are now outperforming men in college graduation at a rate of 142 to 100. As the New York Times reports, this is mostly due to the fact that the education system has been geared towards qualities that women are more likely to possess such as being able to remain still for longer periods of time. The social impacts are bound to be disastrous in a society that gives more and more importance to a college degree.

Imagine the public outrage that would ensue if it was discovered that the education system is more geared towards the academic success of men than women. People would be rioting in the streets, national movements would mobilize within days, and billions of dollars of government money would go to projects aimed at closing the gender gap.

Yet no matter how hard I try, I am unable to find a single campaign or organization that is dedicated to fixing any gender inequality issue that affects males. In fact, no one even batted an eye. We live in a culture where issues of gender inequality that affect women are given priority even though they might be comparable to issues that affect men might be comparable in severity.

The simple truth of the matter is that one cannot find balance by focusing solely on one side of the equation. Society is tricking itself into thinking we are fighting for gender equality when we still live in a world where I will have to register for the mandatory military draft when I turn 18 in a few months while my female counterparts won’t.