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Participants vary in terms of religion, politics, sexuality and a number of women are involved. The movement is predominantly western, although since the early 1990-s men's movements have been growing in non-western countries; an example is India, where dramatic rises in false accusations of dowry harassment, bride-burning, and other issues have resulted in large scale false imprisonment of innocent men and their parents, which have in turn provided impetus to a growing men's rights movement. Attitudes vary on issues such as Gender Roles , Human Relationships , Sexuality (including Gay Rights ), Reproduction (including Birth Control and particularly the Abortion Debate ), Work , Violence (its causes and resolution) and aspects of Women's Rights .


Pro-feminist


Pro-feminist men see the current model of manhood as policy, the development of Gender Equity Curricula in schools, and the counselling of male perpetrators of violence, including Domestic Violence .

They see society and personal relationships as characterised by Injustice and Inequality by men towards women and children.

They believe that Homophobia and hetero-centrism are key issues for all men. Whether this leads to attitudes which benefit males, while negatively affecting females, is a long-standing matter of debate.

Significant writers



Men's liberation


The perspective of men's Liberation is that men are hurt by the male gender role and that men's lives are Alienating , unhealthy and Impoverished .

They believe that men are Over-worked , trained to kill or be killed, brutalised and subjected to Blame and Shame . They give attention to the damage, isolation and suffering inflicted on boys and men through their socialisation into Manhood .

They may seek ways to "liberate" men and have some sympathy with Pro-feminist views.

Activities include:


Significant writers



Mythopoetic Men's Movement

See Also: Mythopoetic


The Mythopoetic men's movement is based on spiritual perspectives derived from Psychoanalysis , and especially the work of Carl Jung , Joseph Campbell , and the poet Robert Bly . It is called "mythopoetic" because of the emphasis on mythology communicated as poetry with some appropriation of Indigenous mythology and knowledge, (Bly draws on Native American mythology.) There is an emphasis on "elder honouring", "reclaiming" fathers, and "unleashing the wild man within", but with an emphasis on the impact of fatherlessness on men's Psychological Development which is related to their criticism of "soft" men - the victims of feminism and single motherhood. With the exception of a few groups such as the Radical Faeries they are generally not politically active as groups, but may be as individuals.

Masculinity is seen to include deep Unconscious patterns and Archetype s that are revealed through Myth , Story and Ritual , as supported by theories drawn from Analytical Or "depth" Psychology .

There is some overlap with men's rights and men's liberation perspectives.

Activities include:
  • Male Mentoring programs (based on the belief that mature males should help boys to become healthy men)

  • Ritual, drumming and storytelling camps.

  • Support Groups

  • Attempts at developing curricula for boys' programs in schools.



Significant writers within the Men's Mythopoetic genre



Men's and father's rights, Masculism


The men's rights and fathers' rights differ in their orientation with men's rights relating more to Civil Law and Civil Rights and fathers' more to Family Law , they share some of the ideas of other groups, however with:
  • men's liberationists that men's roles are harmful and limiting to men, particulrarly regarding the failure to enhance nurturing behaviours (and in particular in terms of their relaionships with their own offspring).

  • mythopoetics that the idea that masculinity inherently comes with prescribed qualities, roles, responsibilities and privileges.


To some extent they are a reaction to Feminism and there is a tendancy to draw attention to feminism for harm done to men through Affirmative Action and institutions like the Family Court , etc.

They dispute the proposition that all men are empowered and privileged in society. Some hold that men can be objectified as "success objects", just as women can be objectified as "sex objects" and that a symmetry exists between these roles. The majority of men's rights groups are non-religious and politically neutral; few are linked to conservative Christian and non-Christian political groups.

Issues addressed by men's rights advocates include:
  • Women are equally responsible for Family Or Domestic Violence .

  • Men are discriminated against by the family court.

  • Single Parent families (ie: single mother families) correlate with an increased crime and drug abuse in children.

  • Women frequently make false claims of domestic violence or Child Sexual Abuse during divorce proceedings.

  • Child Support is unfair to non-resident parents.

  • Benefits and child support encourage women to leave relationships.


Men's rights groups advocate:

Main activities include:
  • Providing support for men facing proceedings in the family court.

  • Provide information and advice on child support.

  • Challenging feminist-dominated mainstream media.


Some people claim that strand, a moderate Equality-oriented one, and a liberal one which takes a more socialist approach and suggests a larger governmental role in resolving the problems.


Significant writers



FURTHER READING

  • Kenneth Clatterbaugh: Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity: Men, Women, and Politics in Modern Society, Westview Pr, 1990, ISBN 0813309921

  • Michael Messner : Politics of Masculinities. Mens in Movements, Thousand Oaks 1997, ISBN 0-8039-5576-6



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