AIBU in saying that males are not inherently violent?

[QueenofmyPrinces]

Today I was having a debate with a few female colleagues about men and violence after one of our colleagues (male) had been jumped last night by three other men who then stole from him and beat him up.

This including us talking about DV, general assaults, murders, violence in gangs, mass murderers, injuries caused to children (including causing them death), acts of terrorism, rapes, and petty (but serious) drunken brawls that occur on Friday/Saturday nights. One of my colleagues said it isn’t just coincidence that the perpetrators of the above crimes are more often than not carried out by a male.

She said that she often wonders what it is that makes men do these things whereas women generally don’t - well at least not to the degree that men do.

I just sort of shrugged my shoulders and she then said that it must be in their DNA because what else is the fundamental difference between men and women if not our genetic make up?

I told her I felt uncomfortable about that train of thought as I have two sons and I didn’t like to think of them having something present in their DNA that meant they had the potential to be seriously violent towards others.

I said that there are instances of women murderers, female gangs, females who caused DV, females who brawl when drunk, females who hurt children etc and so how could she say it was DNA related? I also said that if it were related to DNA then how come every man isn’t violent and capable of such awful crimes? She then just reiterated that the number of men who commit these crimes compared to women is staggering and that’s the only explanation she can think of.

I told her that surely it is society and other external factors that play a huge role in what causes a man to be a violent one but she was very non-committal about my suggestion.

I then left the conversation feeling slightly uncomfortable and as I walked away I heard her say to our colleagues that I was “so naive” and then she laughed

Was IBU to make my points or am I just being a soft touch by not wanting to believe that men (not all, obviously) will always be violent, that the potential is always within them and that’s just the way it is? It sounds so ridiculous that I still can’t quite believe that she said it or thinks it.

I'm not sure I agree with you. Murder and rape are almost exclusively male behaviours. That's not to say all men are capable of it but I think men probably do have more of a genetic disposition to commit these types of crimes than women.

She wasn't saying your boys will be rapists and murderers, I'm sure they won't, but yeah... Men do these things which women very rarely do.

Yeah, yeah, NAMALT. And not all violence is male. But male violence is a fucking enormous problem.

Men are (as a class) bigger, stronger, more entitled. Give anyone the opportunity and they will use their advantage.

Of course NAMALT, but Too Many Are LT.

Men are more agressive
Men are stronger
Any average woman who attacked any average man would likely lose any fight so they dont.

Look at school bullying- boys are more likely to physically bully someone, girls will emotionally or psychologically bully someone

That's like saying all women are genetically predisposed to like makeup and dresses.

Circumstances make people who they are. Stereotypes do an enormous amount of harm when it comes to expected behaviours.

There is a truth that the majority of violent crimes are committed by men. But I suspect it is stereotyping and upbringing which plays a bigger part than dna.

Have you been asleep for a very very long time OP? Is this the first time you have come across this? You just need to read a newspaper, male violence is fucking everywhere.

NAMALT but those that are LT are almost exclusively M.

We ignore that correlation at our peril. The facts are that men make up the vast majority of the prison population and are much more likely to commit violent crime than women. I think I saw a study a few years ago which found the only crimes which women committed at a higher rate were things like fraud and embezzlement. However I can't remember the source and am happy to be corrected if wrong.

No mother wants to believe their sons are capable of violence but many are forced to confront it.

I don't agree. Well , I kind of agree that it's like saying women are predisposed to like makeup etc... I do think there's a genetic drive for women to look attractive to men (in our society often that equals makeup and dresses) and I think men are more likely to have a drive to be aggressive and violent to "kill off" the competition (men mostly kill other men). Its evolution.

We socialise girls to turn their anger inwards in an unhealthy way and we socialise boys to turn it outwards in an unhealthy way.

I don’t think the potential is in ALL men but majority? Yes.

The crime rate speaks for itself, the pure amount of rape and DV that is committed and never prosecuted or even reported therefore not in any statistics is so large that i truly worry about it.

what is NAMALT?

I agree with you, I think it’s society that breeds male violence rather than something inherently in men.

Violent crime is overwhelmingly commited by men, if you look at the stats. But also if you look at stats in America gun crime and murder are both overwhelming commited by black people. It doesn't mean that everyone who falls into that category should be judged by these stats. That's just ignorance.

From birth men are fundamentally biologically different to women both physically and psychologically due to prenatal exposure to androgens. Like men as a class tend to be taller than women and weigh more, men too are likely to be more prone to acts of aggression. The biological differences between the sexes aren't necessarily morally justifiable or desirable as such but it's important to acknowledge that they do exist if we wish to understand and manage these traits in a way that benefits society.

what is NAMALT?

Not All Men Are Like That.

I disagree. I think male violence is biological and that society/civilisation attempts to rein it in.

But also if you look at stats in America gun crime and murder are both overwhelming commited by black people.

I know the point you are making and I appreciate it. But let's be fair here - those stats aren't about "black people" they are about black men. Black women aren't a huge contributer to the black crime and murder stats in the US.

Because females are physically weaker, we have to cow-tow to the dominant male. We are not inherently nicer or more moral, it’s a strategy for survival. The only DNA involved is that which makes females smaller and less physically strong.

Because females are physically weaker, we have to cow-tow to the dominant male. We are not inherently nicer or more moral, it’s a strategy for survival. The only DNA involved is that which makes females smaller and less physically strong.

I presume this is just your opinion/thoughts on the subject.

But if there are any studies that show that when women are in all-female societies they exhibit the same level of violence as males to those weaker physically than them, I would be fascinated to learn that.

Also, surely lots of men are smaller and weaker than other men,

But also if you look at stats in America gun crime and murder are both overwhelming commited by black people.

But they are underrepresented in the perpetration of mass shootings and sexual abuse of children. For balance.

I think male violence is probably, like almost everything, an interaction of genetic predisposition and environmental factors.

Interesting thou is the fact that for the majority of the DV cases I have worked on it has been the female who has attacked the male. Which was completely something unexpected to me.

Are you the same wombat with the DH with a lab stuffed with women?

The anecdata is strong in you if so. Or maybe you live in Opposite World.

Are men doing all the housework, taking parental leave, paid less and spend all their time trying to look good for women? And all the sex workers are men and all the punters are female?