As a note, the idea of toxic masculinity expands on how “sexist behavior” such as aggression, dominance, and hypersexuality causes misogyny and even harm to men themselves.

Anonymous - This morning I was watching one of Jubilee’s videos from a while ago called Men’s Rights vs Feminism: Is Toxic Masculinity Real, and needless to say, I have thoughts. There was one guest in particular named Kursat Pekgoz who had some beliefs about toxic masculinity that definitely woke me up without coffee. With his arms crossed, Kursat refused the existence of discrimination against women with the argument that “only 1% of people on death row in this country are women. So, if women and men commit identical crimes, women are much more likely to escape the death penalty.” Simply put, he believes women are not discriminated against as heavily as men. Kursat’s use of this argument to one-up feminism is really problematic for 2 basic reasons.

1. First of all, according to a 2019 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, perpetrators of sexual assault have a median prison sentence of 5 years while the median prison sentence for armed robbery is 9 years. The median financial loss to businesses victimized by armed robbers is $2,895 (United States Sentencing Commission, 2015). The median loss to a woman, if she is assaulted, is immeasurable. Yet, Kursat is angry. Let’s break this down. Robbing a store and stealing a literal, material object by force is considered more heinous than seriously hurting a woman by force within the judicial system.
2. Moreover, why is he comparing the experiences of a person who is being punished for a conscious choice to the experiences of a person who is being discriminated against for being a woman? One situation is punishing someone for a choice. The other is punishing someone for existing.

Kursat’s ideology is problematic to say the least. To go even deeper, a 2014 white house report even shares that 94% of sex trafficking victims are female. While Kursat is spending time spreading awareness about “gender discrimination” against male criminals, there is an entire multibillion-dollar industry that kidnaps and exploits women without major prosecution happening right now(United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime).

That is literally why January is National Human Trafficking awareness month. 79% of human trafficking is sexual explotation (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime), and it’s simply unjust that a month must be dedicated to spreading awareness about a crime so serious. This is the type of thing that should already be alarming, but people literally had to petition for a chance to have it denormalized one day. The right to exist without being harassed, attacked, or kidnapped is not entitlement or “girl drama.” Toxic masculinity and sexism is more real than ever, and here’s how you know: sex trafficking is real, domestic violence is real, and most importantly the experiences of women ARE REAL.

If you think that you have witnessed a victim of sex trafficking, please call
1-888-373-7888.