The Rub
The other day I was attending a CPR / First aid training put on by the Red Cross. This is not the first or even second time I’ve been certified, but it had been 10 years or so since my last one and thought it might be a good idea. During the AED training portion, the instructor mentioned cutting away the shirt, and if a female, the need to remove the bra because of potential burns from the underwire and clips. She mentioned that all modesty went out the window when trying to save a life, which I totally agree with.
It was at this point she passed around a newspaper clipping about a study that said men are afraid to see and touch boobs, therefore less likely to perform CPR on women, and really… that women want to be saved vs modesty. I don’t think CPR should be restricted from anyone but I did want to get a copy of that article which passed around way too quickly to read. Unfortunately, the class ended in a weird abrupt way that didn’t permit it. However, after a quick search online, I brought up the article, syndicated across dozens of newspapers each with their own spin, but all saying the same. While some were more benign, like the article I snipped the above picture from in the New York Post, many were outright atrocious claiming that men are afraid of boobs, sexist, men hate women, etc… and as a result, more women are dying.
This kind of narrative is damaging in so many ways but the articles all pointed to this mysterious study that claimed men were sexist when it came to CPR. I say mysterious because not one single article actually linked to the study they referenced, not even mentioning the name of the study. After much digging and 3 hours later, I was finally able to track down and email one of the study’s authors, who was kind enough to provide me a pdf of the study[1]. I was indeed curious, since the feminist community in general likes to paint all males as abusers in waiting, how exactly it is that males are suddenly afraid of breasts, since according to them, men are all “chewing at the bit” to act out and abuse. Its either one of the other isn’t it?
The Analysis
The 8-page study was a quick read and was quick to produce many enlightening quotes such as “In our work, the gender of rescuers was unreported, as is common in most investigations of OHCA care.” So the gender of bystander rescuers are not even known, yet men are being blamed? Let’s continue, “...few studies have evaluated motivational factors among laypersons and barriers to actual performance…“. Well that’s disappointing, but maybe this study is unique and tells us, right? Nope, as in this quote “Next steps may include designing a study that understands bystander motivation and, more generally, layperson CPR quality.“
The study goes on to say all they know is that there’s a disparity between men getting CPR and women receiving CPR in a public setting, whereas this disparity does not exist in a private setting. And secondarily, that men have a better survival rate once getting CPR than women do, which they pointed out, may have something to do with previous studies on estrogen. Yet all these articles are using this as their scientific basis for their narrative.
Now I want to point out that the study authors did a great job in highlighting an important disparity that more needs to be learned about. They, however, were not the ones writing dozens of articles blaming men and linking to it as scientific proof. I can’t help but think that with increased awareness of Mens issues, more fear of being accused of sexism and impropriety, treading carefully in the workplace, and the witchhunt of the #MeToo movement[2], that more males are reluctant to perform CPR for fear of liability reasons.
Many don’t know Good Samaritan laws will provide some limited coverage. If you’re CPR certified, many certifying agencies such as the Red Cross will back you legally. However, even knowing that, one wonders if that’s enough? All it takes is one observer from the sidelines at a bad angle, who thinks they see you graze a boob in a wrong way when trying to switch between compressions and breath, or trying to position AED pads in the correct location. While you may not go to jail, you certainly can have your name rucked through social media and newspapers. I’ve seen individuals wrongly accused of indecency, after which the accuser admitted they lied or wanted revenge, and were still terminated from their jobs so the company could “error on the side of caution”. These stories are unsettling and do rest in the backs of mens’ minds, whether you perceive the risk as real or not.
I can’t say this is the exact reason, because the data is not clear in any direction, but it makes you wonder. Is there a parabolic curve of females more likely to receive CPR across various age groups? For instance girls 18 and under very likely, 20s likely, 30s less likely peeking around 35, 40s less likely, 50s likely, 60s and above very likely? This could demonstrate perceived risk. In general are men more likely to perform on men and females on females? Are females statistically less confident and less likely to perform? How many of those men performing CPR are actually trained and therefore aware of good samaritan laws? Do women only perform CPR when trained and men more likely to wing it? Has this disparity increased even more since the #MeToo movement? There are a dozen more questions that could be asked to better highlight this important problem, before irresponsibly claiming sexist men.
The Point
As men, we have to be ever aware and vigilant of these false narratives that spread and cause harm. The ones that try to pass a false story about men and links to science are particularly troubling. As you see here, the science was hard to track down and didn’t even come close to saying what the articles claimed, yet was presented with authority. Most people these days read a quick headline and share, without taking the time to look at the source, perpetuating an untrue narrative that is harmful to our sons, men, and society as a whole. While in the past I thought we should just ignore them, I’m now of the opinion that we should counter and challenge them with grace. If someone presents a story based on “science”, tell them it sounds interesting and you’d like to know the source of it. Ask them for the link to the study. Ask them if they’ve read the study themselves.
Dichotic viewpoints are a dangerous thing. Many in the feminist movement say “all men….” while at the same time yelling that women are individuals and not all alike. But we would be remiss if we didn’t call a spade in our own garden. Many in the mens movement will also say “all women are evil” or “all women just want money”, etc… which is equally wrong. We should always seek the full truth of the matter while doing it with love in our heart. I would hope any human being would cast aside such concerns and perform CPR regardless of who the arrest victim was.
References
[1] Blewer Gender Disparities Circ Quality and Outcomes (003)
[2] I wanted to clarify my comment here. There are serious female victims of sexual assault and/or harassment which is a horrendous thing, however, the #MeToo movement turned into an excuse for a witchhunt by male hating extreme feminists, looking for any male who might have made a crude joke, or made a gesture that only through a myriad of mental gymnastics could ever be taken as sexual harassment. One of the main #MeToo leaders, Asia Argento, it came out is a sexual assaulter herself, abusing a young actor and paying him off [3]. During this time period, many prominent men stepped up saying they were also sexual assault victims in the Entertainment industry. Often these men were belittled, told because they were men they “liked it”, couldn’t be assaulted, #MeToo is only for women, and other terrible things downplaying their experience. It also came out that Kevin Spacy sexually assaulted an underage boy [4], at which point he claimed he’s now gay, and everyone in Hollywood and the #MeToo movement clapped and applauded over how brave he was to “come out of the closet”, in the same instance as forgetting his victim and crime. Unfortunately, examples like these downplay the seriousness and trauma of real sexual assault victims.
[3] https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/20/entertainment/asia-argento-alleged-assault-settlement/index.html
[4] https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/22/entertainment/kevin-spacey-sexual-assault-case-los-angeles/index.html