Equality Issues: Men's Rights Groups - Report Example

Introduction The feminist movement was very effective in its stand for womens rights, and has undoubtedly achieved most if not all of its goals as ofthe present day. For starters, women now have the right of suffrage and of profession, both of which had been denied them in the old days. Gender discrimination was also minimized as a whole, making America a good place for women to live. Unfortunately, some feminists have gone too far in their objectives, such that what they seek is no longer equality but privilege. Laws on various issues such as divorce settlements, reproductive rights, domestic violence and sexual harassment seem heavily biased toward women, such that women tend to win these cases most of the time. Whether or not they have noticed, the feminist movement has already gone way beyond their original objectives, much to the detriment of other parties. To illustrate, the word misogyny - discrimination against women - exists in the dictionary, yet the equivalent term misandry - discrimination against men - does not. In fact, it is even highlighted in red on Microsoft Word, which hints at its absence from the dictionary. Enter, then, the mens rights movement. One will notice that the circumstances under which this movement was formed are very much similar to those that gave rise to the feminist movement, and that both movements are a response to gender discrimination. However, where feminism was born with the intent of securing rights and privileges due every person regardless of gender, mens rights activists instead focus on achieving true equality, where men and women complement rather than compete against each other in society. Unfortunately, their aims - which necessitate, among other things, the negation of the advantages enjoyed by females over males - do not sit well with the more zealous feminist movements, putting them at odds with each other. Mens Rights Activism: History / Background The mens rights movement as we know it today actually started out as an offshoot of the mens liberation movement of the 1970s, which eventually rejected its parent organizations pro-feminist principles and went its own way (Messner, 2000). In doing so, it also abandoned the latters rhetoric of gender symmetry, placing a greater focus on mens issues and adopting a much stronger anti-feminist stance. In effect, they openly put themselves at odds with the feminist movement, and so they tend to clash from time to time. The first of the true mens rights movements was the Coalition of American Divorce Reform Elements of 1971, from which the Mens Rights Association would later emerge 2 years later (Newton, 2004). Both of these would be outlasted by the National Coalition for Men, also known as Free Men, Inc., which remains the oldest of the various mens rights organizations still in operation today (NCFM, 2012). Mens rights activists include individuals of all backgrounds and from all walks of life, and all of whom ultimately seek the advancement of mens rights despite small disagreements on certain issues (Farrell and Sterba, 2008). They also vary in their manner of organization, consisting of formally organized groups on one hand, and more informal and casual alliances on the other (Farrell, 2001). Anyone can be a mens rights activist regardless of background and history, as long as they share the movements goals. This even extends to women, the most prominent of whom was Naomi Fenner who supported the creation of the NCFM despite her own advocacy of womens rights (NCFM, 2012). Christina Hoff Sommers is also a prominent supporter of mens rights organizations, criticizing the feminist movement on its borderline irrational hostility against men as well as its inability to understand that males and females still have differences in spite of their fundamental equality (Sommers, 1994). As a whole, the mens rights movement is alive all over the world, with organizations operating in countries such as Israel and India. Again, it should be reiterated at this point that the movement as a whole does not distinguish between its members, as long as they share the same goals and objectives. Among their foremost goals include reformation of laws relating to divorce, child custody, domestic violence and paternity fraud. Mens Rights Issues: Divorce Divorce laws are a delicate topic among mens rights movements, with most early mens rights activists decrying family and divorce courts as heavily biased in favor of women. Messner (2000) likens these courts to slaughterhouses, accusing them of depriving fathers of their children and extorting money out of them in a blatantly unconstitutional manner. As a matter of fact, there are those who describe these courts as being bankrupt when it comes to compassion and reason, thanks in part to their tendency to rule in favor of women without regard for the husband. Worse still, women exist who fully intend to take advantage of the system by marrying successful men, only to cheat them out of up to half their assets by means of a lucrative divorce settlement. Those who are unable or unwilling to pay such extravagant divorce settlements are termed runaway fathers or deadbeat dads and, in an outrageous travesty of justice, can be thrown in jail for failure to pay even the most unreasonable or unfair obligations. In crude terms, the current system is horrendously messed up and needs to be changed. As a matter of fact, efforts are already being made in this regard. legal precedent had already been set by the case of Orr v. Orr, which struck down Alabamas alimony laws as unconstitutional for being violative of the constitutional right to equal protection. More recently, Levitz (2009) noted how existing alimony laws in the US have come under scrutiny, not without efforts on the part of mens rights crusades to reform such laws at both state and federal levels. At this rate, such efforts on their part could eventually culminate in the achievement of their goals. The legal principle of stare decisis demands that like cases ought to be decided alike; if Alabamas alimony laws were struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, legal precedent exists for petitions to be filed assailing the constitutionality of similar laws in other states as well. At this point, it should be easy to understand why divorce tends to be a sore point among mens rights activists, most of whom were unfortunate enough to be marginalized by the system. These men lost a large chunk of what they owned to their ex-wives in divorce proceedings, usually for the flimsiest of justifications if at all. Given how situations exist where a man is obligated to support his ex-wife even as she enters a new relationship with another man, all in spite of his own financial destitution, such developments are definitely a step in the right direction. Mens Rights Issues: Child Custody For the longest time, women were entitled to custody of their children in child custody cases, especially thanks to the tender years presumption which held that children over 7 years old should not be separated from their mothers. However, this doctrine was abandoned by the US Supreme Court in recent years for violation of the Equal Protection Clause found in the 14th Amendment. Instead, the best interest of the child should be taken into account. In theory, this should be the case. In practice, however, child custody decisions still tend to be heavily biased in favor of mothers, with the admittedly well-intentioned best interest doctrine being applied in a manner still violative of equal protection rights (Newdow, 2004). The end result is that children are deprived of their fathers, who themselves are forced into a situation describable as slavery in all but name, all thanks to the capricious whims of their less-than-saintly mothers. One of the most recent, tragic victims of this system was Thomas Ball who, in 2011, burned himself to death outside the Cheshire county courthouse as a sign of protest (Moore, 2011). Quite understandably, this is another issue mens rights activists have been expounding on. And while cases have been reported in which these activists have been reported as getting physically violent, at least half of them tend to turn out to be fabricated. That being said, these men cannot be entirely blamed for venting their outrage in such a manner; if nothing else, it would be the height of injustice to deprive a father of custody over his children, all for no reason other than his being male. Mens Rights Issues: False Domestic Violence Claims Yet another issue mens rights activists tend to bring up relates to laws on domestic violence. Contrary to popular belief, they point out, females are just as capable of domestic violence as males, though this is aggravated at least in part by a kind of reluctance among males to admit to being battered husbands (Miller, 2001). This could possibly be a consequence of the machismo and bravado inherent in males, few of whom are willing to admit that they have been victims of abuse, much less by women. Ego or not, however, they cannot be entirely blamed for such reluctance; to their mind, no one would be likely to believe them anyway, and in fact, domestic violence shelters have been known to turn away men claiming to have been victims of domestic violence. Regardless, the truth of the matter is that domestic violence is gender symmetrical, with some studies even attesting to the capacity for violence some women are known to possess (Dragiewicz, 2011). Even those who dispute the gender symmetry of domestic violence have conceded that men can also be victims. Again, the problem lies with the US judicial system, which is infamous for being readily accepting of false allegations of domestic violence made by women against their partners (Menzies, 2007). Sommers (2011) attests to this as well, noting how such false claims tend to be made frequently, and are often immune to reputation to boot. With statistics such as these, the reluctance of battered husbands to come forward about the abuse of their partners becomes much more understandable, if not more pitiable. Mens rights activists have even gone so far as to decry legal and policy protection for abused women (Loseke et al, 2005), while also campaigning for the requirement of greater evidence to support domestic violence and rape allegations. Another of their aims involves the creation of shelters for male victims of domestic abuse, and for education on domestic violence to be part of the legal system (Doward, 2003; Miller, 2005). The crux of the issue, they argue, is that domestic violence committed by women is underreported, and often goes unpunished as a result. Thus, existing domestic violence laws, most infamously the VAWA, are in major, major need of improvement. Again, there are those who downplay the legitimacy of the cause espoused by these mens rights activists. These parties have insinuated that their focus on womens violence is intended to draw attention away from violence committed against women, as well as to undermine services for those female victims. However, it has already been conceded that women, too, are capable of acts of domestic violence. More importantly, domestic violence is wrong regardless of who commits it. If anything, these parties should be working together with mens rights activists in pushing for more effective and gender-neutral laws against domestic violence. Conclusion In light of all that has been said, the claims of feminists with respect to societys bias against women are extremely suspect. Their reports of gender discrimination against them are greatly exaggerated, and if anything, they have never been above doing the same to men themselves. Far from the furtherance of gender equality, the feminist movement has in reality furthered gender discrimination, albeit against males rather than females. Clatterbaugh (1997) argues, and convincingly so, that male privilege no longer exists. On the contrary, he says, the era we live in has become one of female privilege. The efforts of the mens rights movement to counteract gender discrimination against men have in fact borne fruit, if the Supreme Courts abandonment of the tender years presumption is anything to go by. However, much more remains to be done; fathers are still being deprived of their children in family courts, aside from being swindled out of their hard-earned income in mockeries of divorce settlements. For such efforts to be effective in the long term, society first needs to be ready to abandon certain stereotypes and face the truth that when it comes to gender discrimination, women are not always the victims, and men are not always the perpetrators. References Clatterbaugh, Kenneth Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity. WestviewPress, 1997 Doward, Jamie Battered men get their own refuge. The Observer, 2003 Dragiewicz, Molly Equality with a Vengeance: Mens Rights Groups, Battered Women, and Antifeminist Backlash. UPNE, 2011 Farrell, W. & Sterba, J. Does feminism discriminate against men? A Debate. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 Farrell, W. Father and Child Reunion. New York: Finch, 2001 History of The Coalition of Free Men, Inc. 19 Oct 12 NCFM.org 19 Oct 12 Levitz, Jennifer The New Art of Alimony. Wall Street Journal, 2009 Loseke, Donileen R., Gelles, Richard J. and Cavanaugh, Mary M. Current controversies on family violence SAGE, 2005 Menzies, Robert Virtual Backlash: Representations of mens "rights" and feminist "wrongs" in cyberspace UBC Press, 2007 Messner, Michael A. Politics of Masculinities: Men in Movements. Lanham: AltaMira Press 2000 Miller, Susan L. Victims as offenders: the paradox of womens violence in relationships. Rutgers University Press, 2005 Moore, Michael Last statement sent to Sentinel from self-immolation victim. Sentinel Source, 2011 Newdow, Michael Family Feud Slate.com, 2004 Newton, Judith From Panthers to Promise Keepers : rethinking the mens movement. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield 2004 Sommers, Christina H. Domestic violence myths help no one. USA Today, 2011 Sommers, Christina H. Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women Simon and Schuster, 1994 Read More