Although it cannot be denied that women have been oppressed by American society, few people have been willing to admit that men are also oppressed. Some feminists, such as Margaret Atwood in her novel The Handmaid's Tale, have portrayed women as the hapless victims of the oppressive male. Others, such as Marilyn Frye in her essay Oppression, boldly make the statement that women in our society are oppressed while men are not. Unfortunately, in the whole of her essay, Frye does not give one clear, concise definition of oppression. We are left to determine the meaning of the word for ourselves. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to confront her on the fallacy of her views. In order to do so, we must create our own definition of oppression. For our purposes oppression shall be defined as a system of institutionalized forces and barriers, which restrict the life options of a specific group of people. By this definition, it is clear that men in American society are oppressed.
     Just as Peggy McIntosh describes male privilege as unearned assets that men receive (McIntosh 1998), women also are given a set of unearned privileges. McIntosh makes the important point that those people who receive these privileges are taught to be unable to perceive them. She then tells us that male privilege exists while implying that female privilege does not. This is only natural, according to her own statements. By her own words, it is her status as a woman that renders her unable to see the privileges that she receives. Women are not required to register for the draft. Women, more often than men, are given custody of their children after a divorce; regardless of whether they are capable of supporting the children. Young girls are given more freedom to explore the role of the other gender then are boys. Women have at least 12 legal advantages in the court system over men (Farrell, 1993). These are just a few of the privileges females are given over males in our society.
     Gloria Steinem claims that if men could menstruate, it would be an enviable event (Steinem 1998). This statement sounds disturbingly like the claim by many feminists that if breast cancer were a male disease, it would already have been cured. Reality paints a far more accurate picture. As John Sedgwick says: "men may be in charge, yet they routinely make decisions that puts the women's cancer cause ahead of their own" (1999: 161). In 1998 alone, prostate cancer killed 39,200 men, while breast cancer killed 43,500 women. In that same year, 184,500 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed, while only 178,700 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed (Sedgwick 1999). These figures show that prostate cancer is roughly equivalent to breast cancer in terms of gender-specific diseases. However, since 1992, the pentagon has spent $884.4 Million on breast cancer while spending only $135 Million on prostate cancer despite the fact that the military is composed of mostly males. In 1999 the Senate Appropriations Committee allotted only $235 Million for prostate cancer research, while granting women $665 Million (Sedgwick 1999). It is quite obvious that men do not celebrate their medical problems, they hide or ignore them.
     "If a fetus has a 'right to life' but eighteen years later has an 'obligation to death,' which sex is it" (Farrell 1993: 130)? The answer to this question is obvious: the fetus is male. In American society, it is only the men who are obligated to go to war and die for their country. The few women who make the choice to enter the military are still not sharing the same risks as the men. In the gulf war crisis, 375 men lost their lives while only 15 women died (Farrell 1993: 129). When the USS Acadia was preparing for deployment, 40% of the women became pregnant and subsequently were not required to go into combat(Farrell 1993: 132). Women compose 11.7% of the military, but 12% of the officers. (Farrell 1993: 130). All participants in the gulf war received $110 per month in combat pay (Farrell 1993: 130). These statistics show that while women are receiving the same benefits and pay as men, they are subjected to fewer risks than men.
     In her essay, Frye describes oppression as being locked in a birdcage. She says that women are surrounded by a "network of systematically related barriers" (1998: 50) which limit their life chances. There is no question that women are locked into this cage. However, Frye denies that men are also locked in a cage. While the cage in which men are placed may in fact be made of gold, it is still a cage. Not only is it a cage, but the wires of the cage in which men are placed are electrified. When we attempt to escape, we are not only forced to remain, but by touching the wires of the cage, we are killed. The suicide rate for males age 20-24 is six times as high as that of females, while the rate of suicide for men over 85 is 1,350% higher than for women the same age (Farrell 1993: 31).
     Frye speaks of emotional life chances, and emotional well-being, when she speaks of oppression. However, it is the men who are dying in mass numbers because of their oppression. The oppression of women limits their life chances. The oppression of men is shortening their lives. The average life expectancy for a white man is 72, while the life expectancy for a white woman is 79 (Farrell 1993: 30). This difference of seven years is not of biological cause. In 1920, the gap between women's and men's life expectancy was only 1 year (Farrell 1993: 30).
    These statistics are not meant to claim that women are not oppressed. A simple look in any local newspaper will produce volumes of examples of the oppression of women. It is women who are the primary victims of rape and domestic violence. It is mostly women who are starving themselves to death because of negative body images. However, women certainly do not hold a monopoly on oppression. Although it is difficult to directly counter Frye's argument, it can be readily seen that men are oppressed in our society. The only question that remains is: "When will men start to stand up for themselves?" The process is already beginning. If one looks hard enough, resources for the masculist, or men's rights movement, are available. Groups are forming on the internet to discuss these issues, and political organizations have begun to form. Soon, perhaps there will be true equality in American society.

     Atwood, Margaret. 1986 The Handmaid's Tale. New York, NY: Anchor Books Doubleday

     Farrell, Warren. 1993. The Myth of Male Power. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

     Frye, Marilyn. 1998 "Oppression." Pp. 48-52 in Margaret L. Anderson and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

     McIntosh, Peggy. 1998 "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies." Pp. 94-105 in Margaret L. Anderson and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

     Sedgwick, John. "No Ribbon for Your Prostate." Gentlemen's Quarterly. July 1999 Pp.158-165

    Steinem, Gloria. 1998 "If Men Could Menstruate." Pp. 428-429 in Margaret L. Anderson and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.