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The ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ Defense of Sexual Misconduct is Deeply Insulting to Good Men
Author’s note: Though this article was originally written during the Kavanaugh nomination process, I feel the content below is still worthy of discussion.
With the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh now facing four accusations of sexual misconduct and assault at the time of writing, a number of people — both men and women — are coming forward to defend him. Some, like President Trump, have simply dismissed the accusations as fabrications. Others have skipped this step and gone straight to shrugging it off as not being a big deal.
This latter shift demonstrates a truly disturbing acceptance of sexual assault by claiming that it is a matter of “boys will be boys” among other inane tautologies.
In a televised panel held with Republican women who support Kavanaugh, one woman’s response, when allegations of attempted sexual assault by 17-year-old Kavanaugh were raised, was to ask “What 17-year-old boy hasn’t done this in high school?” Since then, the woman and her comment have been heavily derided, but she was merely saying what an enormous number people in the United States are thinking.
And while this should certainly enrage women, it also comes across as deeply offensive toward men. This long-perpetuated notion that men are…
