As feminism loses strength and men's rights issues come to the fore, I'm more frequently asked what the men's movement is all about. There is plenty of misunderstanding and misinformation floating around, and in a small way, I hope to correct some of that. This is in no way intended to be a definitive or exhaustive analysis of the movement; rather it's a brief overview of the issues and orgs as they exist today.
First, you need to understand that the overwhelming majority of the people in the movement are not interested in taking anything away from women. Any movement has its radical factions. Just as the feminists have groups that promote anti-male hate, there is a tiny minority of men who would prefer women be forced into submission. But most of the men's groups are interested in gender equality.
The reason the movement exists is due to the fact that in today's politically correct social structure, men lose out in many areas. Laws and conventions intended to encourage equal rights for women have evolved into function as special privileges without responsibility and an elevated status for women only. This has resulted in serious harm to the family structure, education, social services programs, as well as a negative impact on women themselves. This is only to mention a few of the areas of concern to the men's movement.
The main, most visible issues are these:
Divorce/child custody
Domestic violence
Media representation
Workplace issues
Healthcare
Education
Divorce/child custody
No-fault divorce laws instituted in the 70s have resulted in an out-of-control system that destroys families, and causes far more harm than good to the children involved. It could be said that the 'amicable divorce' no longer exists today, as the system itself promotes animosity. Fathers are forced out of their children's lives, and the children become bargaining tools in legal actions. The usual result of a divorce today is that one parent has custody of the children while the other pays the monetary costs. Access to the children is largely dependent upon the father's ability to pay 'child support' fees and has little or nothing to do with the father's ability or intentions in caring for his children. (Note: the term, child support, does not always relate to an amount of money required for actual monetary support of children, thus the quotes.) While many families in today's economic climate require two incomes for simple survival, families of divorce are expected to maintain two households on a single income, under the threat of jail for nonpayment of 'child support' fees. This is at the very least, unfair to all involved. Various organizations have differing approaches to this issue, but all agree it is a serious, harmful situation that must be changed.
Domestic violence
In 1971, when Erin Pizzey founded the first women's shelter in England, domestic violence was a social problem that was unrecognized by any institution, private or public. This became a primary issue of the feminist movement, resulting in shelters and services for women in thousands of locations in all English-speaking countries. However, they have mostly remained services for women only, whose primary focus is on female victims. Although it has come clear over time that spouse or partner abusers are not always men, their services have not responded to the needs of either male victims or female abusers. Domestic violence should not be a gender issue, and the reluctance of organizations to change with the times has resulted in ineffective service for the community at large.
While the general public often presumes that any service accessed by the public and funded by government entities must be gender-neutral, this is not the case for domestic violence services. The Violence Against Women Act in the US, and similar laws in other countries have created a situation where men are always presumed to be perpetrators, and women are always victims. In fact, Los Angeles County recently passed legislation defining domestic violence as "The infliction or threat of physical harm against past or present adult or adolescent female intimate partners, and shall include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse against the woman, and is a part of a pattern of assaultive, coercive, and controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance from or control over, that woman." (emphasis mine) Their definition defies logic. Why a major, cosmopolitan community such as Los Angeles would promote such an obviously sexist, potentially harmful idea is unknown. Yet it is the norm in most areas today.
The result of this attitude is that male victims are left at risk, and female abusers are allowed to continue violent behavior unchecked. In cases where there are children in the home, male victims are forced to stay in the home and in the marriage in order to protect the children. A man phoning police for help in a domestic violence incident is nearly always arrested, and with the man removed from the house, female abusers tend to redirect their behavior toward one or more of the children.
There is likewise no help for female abusers, who are either laughed at or forced into victims' programs against their will
Media representation
It is nearly impossible today to turn on a TV without seeing a man assaulted, humiliated, or insulted in some way. Every week, "That 70s Show" shows women punching, slapping, and kicking men several times in each episode. Companies such as JC Penney and Sears air commercials where men are portrayed as idiots, unable to care for their children or understand the function of household appliances. News anchors and talk show hosts laugh on-air at stories where men are assaulted or injured by women.
When activists complain to the various media or their advertisers about specific incidents, the response is usually that it was intended as a joke. However, if the situation were reversed, and a woman was the one being slapped around, or too stupid to take care of her kids -- well, that kind of presentation would never even be considered. You can't show that kind of disrespect to a woman. So why is it OK to show this kind of disrespect to a man? Why is it OK to promote violence of any kind among families or friends?
Workplace issues
Discrimination is alive and well in the workplace. Affirmative action programs have done little to provide equal opportunity for anyone, while giving preference to women who may or may not be the best qualified candidate for a given position. The myth of the 'glass ceiling' has been repeatedly debunked, yet feminists continue to use it as an excuse to demand preferential treatment. Overpaying under performers will eventually result in higher costs to the consumer and lowered productivity overall. It must be understood that some professions are more attractive to, and better performed by one sex or another. While jobs should be open to anyone, men and women both deserve an equal chance to be considered on the basis of performance and ability, not gender.
The sexual harassment issue has probably done more to harm morale and cause distrust among co-workers than it has to uncover improper behavior and punish offenders. Men are especially suspect under these relatively recent company and government policies, which tend to favor women. An offhand comment or misunderstood gesture can now cost a man his job and ruin his career, and as in other areas like divorce or domestic violence, a man has little or no recourse in defending himself. Certainly women should have adequate protection in real cases of sexual harassment, but this is an issue where employers have gone overboard in implementing policies. A rational, realistic consideration of these policies needs to be undertaken, as the policies themselves are far too often abused for purposes unintended by those who established them.
Education
Along with feminism came what is called "Women's Studies" on college campuses in many parts of the world. Although the specific title of the department may vary from place to place, the basics are the same. It is feminist ideology, and little else. Much or all of "Women's Studies" curriculum is based on works written by, for and about women. There is a decidedly anti-male slant here, but woe be to anyone who dares to disagree. When you sign up for one of these courses, you are sometimes required to sign a statement at the beginning swearing you will never disagree with the teacher. Her word, no matter how illogical or incorrect, is law.
The issue here is that the anti-male sentiments expressed by the teachers and learned by the students are filtering down to the high school and elementary levels. There are few employment opportunities for people with degrees in Women's Studies beyond teaching, and so these WS graduates go out and teach. This has played a large part in what Christina Hoff Sommers calls "The War Against Boys."
These days, a boy in school automatically has the deck stacked against him. Because feminist ideology calls for boys to be educated the same as and encouraged to be more like girls, a boy's natural tendency to be more active and outspoken will always be a problem. Some schools have eliminated recess and any kind of active games. To further exacerbate the problem, acts such as the Columbine shooting were committed by boys, and so most of the violence prevention material circulating in school systems focuses on boys.
The Title IX issue is a separate issue, to be sure, but it would appear to be having a serious negative effect on athletic programs for boys. While it has been well-publicized of late, you can be sure that it is only one of the issues facing education for boys and young men.
Of course this is not more than a glance at a few of the major issues addressed by the men's movement. The lines between the issues are blurry, as well. The issue of domestic violence is confused by the fact that Orders of Protection and DV charges are often items of contention in divorce cases. Too often, fraudulent orders of protection and complaints are filed as a means of manipulating the divorce proceedings. Divorced and divorcing men often become depressed, causing or worsening any health problems. Meanwhile the media keeps spouting anti-male attitudes, and little boys and even adult men begin to wonder what's wrong with them.
As we began to value women more, and feminism became ever more exclusive and elitist, we came to value men less. This is wrong, not only factually but morally. There is no reason nor excuse for valuing one sex over the other. It is high time we recognized the fact that feminism was a social experiment that failed, and begin to repair as much of the damage done as possible.
The People
The other day, a woman from a fairly well-known anti-male hate group was on the Judicial Watch radio program, and she demonstrated her deep misunderstanding of the men's movement. I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain who's who.
Far from being a handful of angry men with newsletters and websites, the men's movement now includes dozens of orgs, large and small, hundreds of websites, and many thousands of people worldwide. That's people, men and women alike. Women come to the movement because they realize that feminism has nothing for them, if they do not fit into the narrow feminist perception of what a woman should be and want.
Originally, most of the women in the men's movement consisted of second wives, and the mothers of men caught up in ugly divorces. Today, many women are active in the movement simply because they feel it's the right thing to do. They have no anger against men, and may in fact love the men in their lives very much; but see there are problems in society that must be corrected.
The men are not all divorced fathers, or former victims of domestic violence. Just like the women, men are becoming active for the reason that they see wrongs that must be righted.
All of the organizations in the men's movement are privately funded, through donations, membership dues, or in some other way. Some, like any other non-profit org, may be working for grants from various sources. I am not aware of any organization in the men's movement with any government funding or affiliation with any governmental body.
In addition to organizations with the real-world kind of structure you'd expect, such as NCFM, the AZFathers, and ACFC, there are web-based orgs such as Men Against Discrimination, which is on its way to becoming a force to be reckoned with in the real world, with local chapters across America. The International Men's Network is at this moment entirely online. Some are focused on a single issue; for example, ACFC is a father's rights org. NCFM, IMN, and MAD are more general-purpose men's orgs. There is also a dizzying array of online discussion groups, websites, and publications. There are many more of these in the links section.
Healthcare
This is a very broad category covering many issues, from awareness and prevention of gender-specific diseases to lack of research funding for men. Things such as contraception, male depression, circumcision, and availability of healthcare also fall under this category. There is far too much to cover in a few paragraphs here.
However, Men's Health America is doing an excellent job beginning to raise public awareness on these issues, and has a wealth of information on the website.
