Coming at this from a social science perspective, I point out that these guys doing this stuff are not "bad apples" or aliens from another planet. They are men acting on mainstream masculine norms for our culture. That's why it's appropriate to say men, even if you don't intend it to include absolutely every last man.
As my friend Lorelei Weldon pointed out, we commonly say that "the Germans invaded Poland" even though only a small percentage of the German people were in the Nazi party, hated Jews enough to kill them, etc. They still stood by and let the Nazis come to power and proceed to do terrible things - and that's something that the German people have taken ownership of and responsibility for. Why can't men do the same?
“Not all Germans were Nazis. “As Doris Bergen writes, “Smooth functioning of the system did not require all Germans — or even most — to share every tenet of Nazi ideology. Enough enthusiasts could always be found to stage enormous public shows of support such as the annual Nazi Party rallies. On a day to day basis, the Nazi regime only needed most people to obey the law, try to stay out of trouble, and promote their own interests as best they could under the current circumstances.”
Most men are not harassers and rapists, but all it takes is the percentage that are to be living in a society that excuses and minimizes these behaviors to make for a world where most women to have had some kind of negative experience of this type.”
