Battle of the Sexes

[Charlotte Smith]

Pretty self-explanatory: who do you think has it worse off( girls vs. guys) and why.

[Abreo]

I'm tempted to say women for a lot of reasons but if you look at suicidal rates worldwide they're always higher for guys. I'm sure the implications differ depending on the country but there you go. 

 

http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suiciderates/en/

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/11/981112075159.htm

 

In the US 3/4ths of suicides are committed by men even though women are more likely to have depression, the basic idea is that women can open up about their problems and get help whereas men do not. There are also cognitive issues involved. 

 

Of course that doesn't really change any conclusions because it's just one issue I suppose but it does suggest that at least being depressed is worse if you're male. 

[Vertigo_One [Ops Mod]]

Men are just more likely to SUCCESSFULLY commit suicide because men tend to use firearms, while women prefer soft methods that don't guarantee that they'll die.

Proof?

[Vertigo_One [Ops Mod]]

Both sources you reference are unreliable. The first one is a blog, which is just anyone saying anything, and secondly it points out that although more women attempt to commit suicide, the fact that fewer go through with it/choose different methods leaves other questions open. IE Do men more definitely want to etc. Your second article just says it, offering no evidence or proof beyond its own word. That's not enough.

[Anne Savage]

Sometimes, people use ''softer'' methods and time it so they don't die but dangle on the edge between life and death as a cry for help, because they secretly want attention. 

[Abreo]

Men are just more likely to SUCCESSFULLY commit suicide because men tend to use firearms, while women prefer soft methods that don't guarantee that they'll die.

 

More women attempt it, or so I've heard, but usually if someone utilizes a form of suicide that may not actually kill them a therapist to whom that person will likely be immediately speaking to would ask them at some point if they actually wanted to die or if they were just sending out a cry for help. Sometimes when people can't actually verbalize the idea that they want to die they tell people by "attempting suicide". They hope that someone will save them before they die.

Suicidal thoughts or idealization isn't easy to bring up because you never know what reaction it gets. Sometimes people perform the cry for help because no one is/will take them seriously, and sometimes they don't know how to bring it up and this is easier for them. Women may not be fond of guns but swallowing a pound of Oxycontin would definitely kill you, you can swallow enough of anything to make sure the doctors can't save you in time. So if it wasn't a cry for help or if they really wanted to die why didn't they? I'm not saying someone can't actually fail at suicide but if it's statistically more likely for women to fail at suicide it probably doesn't just mean they're not good at it.

In my opinion, suicide isn't something we should look at to determine who has it worse off.

 

But it is. Long-term and extreme depression leads to suicide when nothing gets done to solve it. Women are more prone to depression then men so why are men more likely to commit suicide? Like I said, when you commit suicide you do so because you don't believe you will get help. If more women get depressed and attempt suicide but more men successfully commit it then it's not far out there to assume that maybe those men really don't believe someone will help them whereas women are much more likely to get help. If you look at gender norms this makes sense. Women are allowed if not encouraged to ask for help whenever they need it but men aren't. Men aren't supposed to talk about their feelings, and they're not supposed to be emotional like women are. They also aren't entirely discouraged to ask for help but they're not encouraged to need help like women are if that makes sense.

This doesn't mean men have it worse overall, but it's definitely worse to be male if you have lots of emotions that you want help dealing with.

[Abreo]

Yeah, they didn't say much though.

Sure, but in a specific area of life generalizations are possible. In fact they're important to make because they lead to a greater understanding.

[Lucy Rios]

I can't really see either as having "it worse" than the other,  I mean as a woman I could say women have it harder as we have to bleed and give birth and our bodies are put through the wringer.  but Its the trade of for carrying life, which is so amazing I feel sorry that men won't experience it.   men have more of a set societal  expectation and its harder to break from that mold than it is for women, but in turn they make more money... 

 

 when you imagine the other side complexly neither really has it worse off. 

[Abreo]

But I do carry life inside of me! I'm loaded with bacteria and possibly (probably) many different kinds of worms and every day I am just filled with feelings of human emotions like joy because I consider myself so lucky to have all of these lifeforms inside of me like I was some kind of petri dish. 

[Lucy Rios]

True,  but all those parasites, worms and bacteria will never look you in the eye and call you mommy, (if they do Seek medical attention) so I don't think the effect is quite the same as holding another human life within your body and feeling it grow. 

[Mónica Sofia]

I couldn't agree more with you, Lucy. And also, the fact that women (in a normal situation) have the actual power to decide either they want or not to have a baby and within which circumstances is also a plus. I mean, when any man decides he wants to be a father he cannot do it without a woman and that woman's consent. If I want to be a mother I just need to make that decision and go for it, I don't even need to be in a relationship or having a man's consent (especially not these days with the all sperm bank systems).

[Tim]

The thought of dependent, speaking, sentient parasites makes me smile. And although I'm not sure that I buy the idea that being the bearer of a child would make you feel more attached to it, I would agree that men have more social expectations, although I'm not 100% sure that it outweighs the physical expectations sadly put on women.

[Ceci]

Well, one in four women on a college campus will be sexually assaulted. Women make statistically less than men at the same jobs. Look at the amount of male politicians versus the number of female ones.

The patriarchy sucks.