Andrews fall from grace.

It is truly wonderful when women don’t feel powerless. However, calling it “a man’s world” is not a matter of opinion; it is a statement of fact, not only historically, but still today.

Of course, there are women who feel in control and powerful, and I love that for them. And there are men who feel powerless and without control, and my heart goes out to them.

But moving beyond individual feelings, it is factually accurate to say that this is a man’s world. Men still hold the majority of official titles and positions of power, socially, economically, and politically. Men continue to dictate, legislate, and make laws about women’s reproductive rights and bodies. Equal pay still does not exist. Women are significantly more likely to experience sexual abuse and domestic violence.

There are countries where women face severe restrictions on clothing, education, employment, medical care, and even their freedom to appear in public, restrictions that the broader, male-dominated global system often ignores. There are still nations where women face extreme legal inequalities. There are no state-level legal systems anywhere that repress men in ways even remotely comparable.

I acknowledge that men, in general, face certain gender-based disadvantages, such as mandatory military conscription in some countries, higher incarceration rates (though also higher rates of committing crimes), and higher workplace fatalities. However, most of these disadvantages stem from patriarchal systems and could be changed by the men who hold power within them.

Returning to the individual level: not all men control or benefit from every system, and not all women feel repressed or controlled. But worldwide, and even within this country, men disproportionately hold institutional and policing authority. Men are, overall, less restricted and less likely to experience gender-based abuse.

So yes, it is a man’s world. To claim otherwise is to speak from a position of privilege and to ignore the direct suffering of women and girls around the world.

Two additional points I’d like to add:

Class likely matters more than gender in many contexts. However, the class system itself is largely maintained by men in positions of power.

And although I acknowledge that it is indeed a man’s world, I do not, and will not, live as if that defines my limits. I refuse to be silenced or controlled, and I consciously choose to “not get the memo.”