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In an answer to another question, a user mentioned "rampant anti-male bigotry in academia". This sounds strange to me; I am a male and in academia (mathematics), and have observed no such bigotry. In fact, I see plenty of males in positions of high authority (full professors, rectors, etc.), and the two sexual harassment cases with which I am somewhat familiar both targeted non-male researchers. So, given what I have experienced and what I know, the claim sounds implausible.

But maybe (as in much of feminist literature) there is some kind of structural issue that might be hard to see for someone who is part of the system.

Since this issue is likely to be controversial, please cite reliable sources for any factual claims in your answer.

That given: Is there "anti-male bigotry" in academia? If yes, how precisely does it affect a male researcher?

Related: How is sexism unknowingly perpetrated in academia?

Tommi
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    Maybe this (ridiculous) question is better suited for the top minds of skeptics.SE. –  Feb 27 '18 at 14:33
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    People on the internet say a lot of things. It's a waste of time to follow up on random claims made by disgruntled anonymous users, especially if they are counter-intuitive and lack references to facts. You are just falling for provocation and (involuntarily) contribute to derailing the conversation. Please, dont feed the trolls. – henning Feb 27 '18 at 14:48
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    I can already hear the stampede of people with an opinion trampling across the gate called "hot network questions". – henning Feb 27 '18 at 14:57
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    I hope there will be a decisive answer, to which people can be pointed in future. – Tommi Feb 27 '18 at 15:05
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    @TommiBrander Hoping for a decisive answer is futile. The only people who believe that there is "rampant anti-male bigotry" will not be swayed by evidence. – MJeffryes Feb 27 '18 at 15:32
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    @TommiBrander You may point people to the source, but you can't make them read it, unless they want to. And a sensible person would not need pointers to something fairly obvious. – Dmitry Savostyanov Feb 27 '18 at 15:33
  • @TommiBrander I don't doubt your reasonable intention, but I fear your strategy is a bit dewy-eyed. – henning Feb 27 '18 at 15:46
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    The question is also worded in such a way that any answer will be deformed and attacked by ill-intentioned people. You could point that men get promoted more often and more easily, win more grants, win bigger grants, blahblahblah, and trolls will still manage to move the goalposts and say it's not the kind of "bigotry" they were talking about, they were asking about, I don't know, harassment. Then you would answer with facts about harassment, and they would claim they were asking about something else. It's just not worth it. –  Feb 27 '18 at 16:04
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    I would ask for the question to be more specific. Most men in academia will agree that no such bigotry exists, but to prove the non-existence of something with precise sources will not work. So, specifically, what is the question? Is there "rampant anti-male bias in tenure and promotion decisions"? This is a testable hypothesis and easily falsified. Is the "rampant anti-male bias in graduate school admissions"? This is also testable and easily falsified. In other words, be specific in how you define "bigotry" and its specific effects. – Wolfgang Bangerth Feb 27 '18 at 17:25
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    Also, this isn't measured on a single axis with 'anti female bigotry' on one end, and 'anti male bigotry' on the other. It's very possible that both are rampant, but express in different ways. Perhaps women are discriminated against in promotions, but men are more at risk from spurious allegations, and so on. I don't think it's something we have a firm handle yet on how to objectively quantify. – Ask About Monica Feb 27 '18 at 18:37
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    Here's something I just saw: https://www.facebook.com/MarkLathamsOutsiders/photos/a.1502014859839848.1073741828.1443789595662375/2088213697886625/?type=3&theater&ifg=1 Also, there was a position open only to women in mathematics a while back: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/may/19/university-of-melbourne-mathematics-school-advertises-women-only-positions The researcher/former researcher who has a background closest to you that might also want to talk to is Jeffrey Ketland. Also: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-boys-and-men-disappearing-from-psychology – Doug Spoonwood Jul 23 '18 at 15:42
  • @MJeffryes I could say the same thing the other way around. You claim as a matter of fact that there is no anti-male bigotry, even though women are clearly getting more degrees than men. In the same way I doubt you would be swayed by evidence. – Hugo Sep 13 '19 at 08:03
  • And then there's of course recent events in the Netherlands, where a university has literally put a full hiring stop on men, and will only be hiring women in academics for the next 6 months. – Hugo Sep 13 '19 at 08:04
  • @HugoZink Please do not answer in the comments. Feel free to edit the question to get it re-opened, or to ask a new question instead. – Tommi Sep 13 '19 at 08:06

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