much of what we hear about the plight of American women
if false, and some phony claims had been repeated so often
they're almost beyond the reach of critical analysis
coming up next on the factual feminist
5 feminist Myths that will not die
myth number one
women are half the world's population working two-thirds of the world's
working hours
receiving 10 percent of the world's income and owning less than one percent
of the world's property
well this faux fact is routinely quoted by
advocacy group by the World Bank, Oxfam
The United Nations, but it's a fabrication
more than 15 years ago to Sussex University expert on gender and
development
explain that the slogan was simply made up by somebody at the UN back in the
80's
and you seem sorta right to that to that person there's no evidence that it was
ever accurate and it's certainly not accurate today in Africa for example
Yale economist Cheryl das
found that female and ownership range from 11 percent in Senegal
to 54 percent in Rwanda and Burundi. Next Myth...
between 100,000 and 300,000 girls are sold into slavery
each year in the United States. Now this sensational claim is a favorite of
celebrities journalist
advocates politicians both conservative and liberal by the way
the source for the figure is a 2001 report
on child sexual exploitation but that 100,000 - 300,000 figure
refer to children at risk for exploitation
not actual victims, and as one of the authors made clear
in an email exchange that he had with the Village Voice, the
actual number of children abducted and pressed into sexual slavery
is quote a few hundred and still a hundred too many
but they're not gonna be helped by a thousand-fold inflation of the number
Next Myth... in the United States
22-35 percent of women who visit emergency rooms
do so because if domestic violence. Now this claim has appeared in countless
factsheets, books, articles its in the penguin
Atlas on women they use this emergency room figure to justify placing
the United States on par with Uganda and Haiti
for intimate violence well what is the source
it seems that several feminist scholars misunderstood a 1997 study by the
justice department
the correct figure is not 22% - 35%
but get ready... less than one-half of one percent
Next Myth one in five college women will be sexually assaulted
this incendiary figure is everywhere in the media today
the one in five figure is based on a survey called the cap a sexual assault
study
but two prominent criminologists have noted fatal flaws
it had a very low response rate a non representative sample of respondents and
an overly broad definition of what counts is assault I mean it included
such things as attempted forced kissing
or intimate encounters while intoxicated. Now defenders of the one in five figure
will apply that the finding has been replicated by other studies
but the study suffer from the same sort of flaws
now the best study that we have on sexual assault on campus suggest the
figures for closer to
One in 40 not One in Four. 1 in 40 is still bad
but apparently not bad enough for the activist.
And now for the mother of all feminist factoids, women earn 77 cents for every dollar a
man earns for doing the same work
now no matter how many times this wage gap claim
is decisively refuted by economists including feminist economist it always
comes back
the bottom line 23 cents gender pay gap is simply the difference between
the average earnings have all men and women working full-time
it doesn't take into account differences in occupation positions education job
tenure
hours worked per week when such relevant factors are considered
the wage gap narrows to the point vanishing
now wage gap activists will say no, women with identical
backgrounds in jobs is man they still earn less
but they always fail to take into account critical variables i mean why play
this game
all these reckless claims are nearly impossible to correct
because armies of advocates, journalists, political leaders,
they depend on killer stats to promote their cause
and I guess there's also an admirable human tendency to be protective of women
and stories a female exploitation are readily believed
killer stats undermined good causes
and they send scarce resources in the wrong direction
my advice to women advocates,
Take back the truth. and any of you have questions about anything I've said or
would like to see
other dubious feminist facts investigated please leave comments below
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... and remember check your fax not your privilege