Should Men Fear Women? #FearWomen Hashtag Trending on Twitter

The hashtag #FearWomen is trending across social media today as a reminder of a viral, yet staged video that depicted a woman being confronted by her male partner who showed her DNA test results that proved he was not the father of her child.

Apparently, infidelity and deception are among the greatest fears of men and the creator of the #FearWomen hashtag wants to rally men to believe they are justified in their fear of women. But is this necessary? If the greatest fear men have of women is her sleeping with someone else and lying about paternity then men have it easy.

For equality’s sake, let’s take a look at why women in our society have reason to develop a natural fear of men.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, males perpetrate 95% of all serious domestic violence. The Department estimates that 95% of reported assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men against women.

Across the globe, women working in male-dominated industries are more likely to experience sexual harassment than those working in other industries.

Women of color, particularly Black women, are least likely to report having support from their managers in the workplace, which can contribute to a lack of leadership opportunities.

And if cheating really is the biggest concern for men in our society, according to the Institute for Family Studies, trend data going back to the 1990s suggests that men have always been more likely than women to cheat. The evidence of women cheating is more pronounced because women have the social responsibility of caring for the child whereas for men, childcare and rearing is an option.

Should men fear women, like the hashtag suggests? When men do not have to worry about being harassed in the workplace, held back in their careers because of their gender, or violently assaulted on the street and in romantic relationships, and their biggest fear is a woman deceiving them with paternity, this is obvious evidence of male privilege.