Gender Bias in the Courtroom: Men's Disadvantage

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice” (“Quotes about Justice, Laws, and Crimes”). Most minority groups know that the court is not just, but what about the majority of the population; men? Men often have a disadvantage in the courtroom because people have natural biases, history has given certain groups an advantage over time, and gender discrimination is a popular issue in the media. Humans have natural biases and society has enforced stereotypes about both genders, which in most cases has caused women to gain an upper hand in court. For instance, in child custody cases most people believe that the mother should have custody over the child because mothers are generally thought to have a stronger bond with the child and tend to be more loving and responsible. The court should not consider the gender of the parents in such cases; they should do what is best for the child. These biases also cause people

Feminists and many women alike argue about inequality between men and women. They are critical in areas where women are at a disadvantage, but often refuse to acknowledge when men are at a disadvantage. Men are expected to join the draft, are not given special education opportunities (like women who go into STEM careers are), and most importantly, they are not treated equally in the courtroom. Women are also undermined in many areas, but the media already emphasizes these issues, like the gender pay gap, and those issues are being worked on by people with power, such as Hilary Clinton who is self-proclaimed women’s rights activist running for president in this year’s election. The media is very one sided and often does not tell the full story, so it becomes the individual’s responsibility to educate themselves on both sides of the