Double standard//noun//a rule or principle that is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups. That is the definition of “double standard” something that many people believe doesn’t exist or as many others know all too well. The issue at hand is the concept as a whole. To believe that men can do something and have it be accepted by society and then have women do the exact same action and be ridiculed in an unjust way and vice versa. The double standard between men and women is something that we as people have blown way out of the water, we can slowly but surely become equal if action is taken against the discrimination of certain influences around individual groups of people.

One of the biggest areas where this unjust misconception takes place is within men and women’s sex life. “I realized that my dad sleeps around and plays with women like it’s no big deal but if my mom ever did that it’d feel wrong and I’d probably get pissed.” This is something a friend once told me and it stuck with me. "The differences [between the sexes] are not as they're often portrayed in popular media, that all men want to have hundreds of partners and all women just want one long-term partner that they're going to love and cherish for the rest of their lives. That's B.S." said Zhana Vrangalova, a sex researcher and adjunct professor of human sexuality at NYU, in an article in Men’s Journal discussing the reality of sexual partners in the modern world. In reality the numbers for both genders are closer than what the media portrays. On average a female will have about 4 sexual partners in their lifetime while a man will have about 7. Though in today’s society it’s projected that only men have a “right” to their bodies and if women lay claim to their own they are pegged with slurs like, “s***,” “w****,” and “skank.” Women aren’t allowed to be confident in their skin without being sexualized. Yet marketing towards men shows explicit images of the female body, so it’s only okay if someone else is exploiting them? In the 1960’s 11 percent of men and 44 percent of women on the covers were sexualized while in the 2000’s, 17 percent of men and 83 percent of women were sexualized. (Melker, “Researchers measure increasing sexualization of images in magazines”)   Even all over social media men show images in their undergarments, basically “half naked”, and are praised and exploded with positive comments for the upload. On the other hand when a female does the exact same thing they are bombarded with slurs and negative comments telling them to cover up and be ashamed of themselves. In the example of Kim Kardashian she recently posted a nude photo with black bars covering herself in the most private areas and captioned it “When you have nothing to wear LOL” and she was attacked with comments such as “If Kim wants us to see a part of her we’ve never seen, she’s gonna have to swallow the camera” and “We already know she’s a s***.” It’s sending the message to women that they are something to be ashamed of, yet men should flaunt what they have and be respected for it. This society runs on a system that needs to shame women for their bodies and praise men for theirs.

A more sensitive issue that came out of the double standard is a disturbance of rape. Rape is a problem without this concept but I’ve put my focus on the men in the situation, the victims. In a survey of 40,000 homes asked about rape and violence, 38% were against males. The violence against men and women in this area is almost the same if accounted with prison rapes. The biggest in justice society has done to the male population is assume that rape victims, all victims, are female. Yet do you hear about any of these victims? No, because men are not represented in the media as “victims.” The masses assume men just “can’t be raped” that it “only is something that happens to women.” A report in 2006 showed that male survivors of sexual assault are less likely to report the crime to the police or even tell others about the crime. As few as 3.9% of male victims of rape and sexual assault report the crime to police. When crunching numbers in the court system in the UK between 2010 and 2014, 679,051 sexual assaults and rapes of males took place and of these 652,568 were not reported to any police force. (Driscoll, Male Sexual Assault And Rape: Survivors Reveal Why So Few Victims Come Forward) The fact is that anyone can be sexually assaulted regardless of, age, race, size, strength, gender, etc. But there is a preconceived notion in society that makes it hard to view men as these types of victims. Starting from day one we are taught that boys are strong, brave, and tough, or at least that’s what they “should” be so being viewed in this manner seems “unrealistic.” Yet victims, male or female, are still victims and should be viewed as such.

Mass masculinity and over femininity are issues within both genders, there are standards that society expects male and females to meet to the T. Men need to be fit and tall, strong and masculine, but what is masculine? These men are all expected to fit this general appearance and be “manly men” and men who don’t fit into this slim category are said to be unattractive. Which isn’t at all true. To try to fit a person, a human being into a mold just because the mass that is society decided that’s what all women or men must be attracted too seems to be a human made classification which is outdated. Men feel the pressure to conform and feel inadequate. You can look online anywhere and find multiple articles describing a woman’s “perfect man” taken from a “What Type Of Men Most Women Prefer” article, it says that women “prefer” men who drive fast cars, men with facial hair but no body hair, breathy voices, and tall men over anything else. (Dovey, What Type Of Men Most Women Prefer, According To Science) This combination seems a little unrealistic doesn’t it? These types of standards are just as unrealistic for women too. Just typing in a google search bar “what is the perfect woman” words like body, for a man, size, body measurements, physically, start popping up right next to the text. An article titled “11 qualities of a perfect women” was published by Men’s Health in 2012 and the following are only a few of the “qualities”: brown hair, big breasts, narrow hips, little feet, long legs. This is only the physically description of the “perfect woman” to a guy not even considering the other qualities. This is a description that most likely can’t even fit 15% of woman, yet she’s considered perfect if she looks like this.( Men’s Health) This type of image of a woman is displayed everywhere. Young girls only have flat stomached, 6 foot, models to look toward in the media and guys have buff, bearded, deep voiced, tall men to look up to. If they don’t achieve this it feels detrimental. Society has warped the image of the typical male and female and redefined beauty in a not so positive way. It has also given the advantage to the “perfect” image people. Taken from an article titled “8 scientifically proven reasons life is better if you’re beautiful” saying that you are healthier, more intelligent, better at finding mates, more trustworthy, and more likable if you are pleasing to the eye. (Spector) Bringing back in the double standard but in a different way, between those who are deemed acceptable and those who don’t quite fit the description.

In a sense people don’t even see the double standard as an actual concept happening right before them, they view it as tradition. A gentleman holds the door open and pulls out the ladies chair. A real woman can cook and stays at home with the kids. A real man isn’t girly or feminine while a true woman isn’t masculine in anyway.  In some parts of the argument it should just be common courtesy but in others its blatant inequality. Saying that woman care items are a “luxury” item yet male care items are just “personal care items.” Viewing a guy wearing a dress as wrong but a girl wearing it as socially acceptable. When a guy cooks and it’s an art but when a woman does it’s her duty. Seeing woman as CEOs as uncommon yet seeing males is just the usual. When a female artist sings about her past relationships and it receives backlash but when a male artist does it it’s seen as brave or courageous. These double standards are everywhere in the modern world and so many individuals just push it aside as the norm. Yet it isn’t the norm, it’s inequality at its finest. If you realize the inequality around you in day to day life stick up for yourself or the people effected. The double standard is built on the inequality between men and woman, and the unjust behavior of society towards this issue isn’t going to help. The double standard is a very real concept and it’s staring you in the face, it’s up to you if you just accept it or not.

Bibliography
- Kubota, Taylor. "What the Number of Sexual Partners Says About You." Men's Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016.
- De Melker, Saskia. "Researchers Measure Increasing Sexualization of Images in Magazines." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 05 May 2016.
- Driscoll, Brogan. "Shocking Figures On Male Rape Reveal The Impact Of Stigma On Victims." The Huffington Post UK. Huffpost Lifestyle, 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 05 May 2016.
- Dovey, Dana. "What Type of Men Most Woman Prefer, According to Science." Medical Daily. N.p., 22 Aug. 2014. Web. 5 May 2016.
- Spector, Dina. "8 Scientifically Proven Reasons Life Is Better If You're Beautiful." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 12 June 2013. Web. 05 May 2016.