Military-age male (abbreviated as "MAM," plural "MAMs") is an American military and media propaganda term used to dehumanize civilians or immigrants and whitewash civilian deaths in the face of public criticism.
[1] A concerted effort was made by the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska to capture and execute all Bosniak men of military age in the Srebrenica massacre.
[2] American usage of the term began during the Vietnam War, when the American public was disturbed by high civilian casualties, so the military-industrial complex used the media to redefine the term "civilian" as "military-age males.
"[1] This public opinion strategy involves putting civilian deaths into separate categories where one is termed "military-age males" and essentially excluded from the conscience as "possible or potential combatants," thus reducing the number of civilians deaths by only including women, children, and the elderly.
[1] This term was commonly used in the Bush-era wars around the world and later in Obama- and Trump-era drone programs.