Issues[edit]
The men's rights movement is concerned with a wide variety of issues, some of which have spawned their own groups or movements, such as the
fathers' rights movement, concerned specifically with
divorce and
child custody issues.
[72] Some if not many men's rights issues stem from
double standards,
gender roles, and, according to sociologist Allan Johnson,
[73]
Adoption[edit]
Men's rights activists seek to expand the rights of unwed fathers in case of their child's adoption.
[74][75] Warren Farrell states that in failing to inform the father of her pregnancy, an expectant mother deprives an adopted child of a relationship with the biological father. He proposes that women be legally required to make every reasonable effort to notify the father of her pregnancy within four to five days.
[75] In response, philosopher James P. Sterba agrees that for moral reasons a woman should inform the father of the pregnancy and adoption, but this should not be imposed as a legal requirement as it might result in undue pressure, for example, to have an abortion.
[76]
Anti-dowry laws[edit]
Men's rights organizations such as
Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) state that women misuse legislation meant to protect them from
dowry death and
bride burnings.
[77] SIFF is a men's rights organization in India that focuses on the abuse of
anti-dowry lawsagainst men.
[78] SIFF has campaigned to abolish
Section 498A of the
Indian Penal Code, which protects wives from being harassed for refusing to pay dowries.
[79][80] SIFF states anti-dowry laws are regularly being abused to settle petty disputes in marriage
[81] and that they regularly receive calls from many men whose wives have used false dowry claims to imprison them.
[82]
Child custody[edit]
See also:
Fathers' rights movement
Family law is an area of deep concern among men's rights groups. Men's rights activists argue that the legal system and
family courts discriminate against men, especially in regards to
child custody after
divorce.
[83][84][85] They believe that men do not have the same contact rights or equitable
shared parenting rights as their ex-spouse and use statistics on custody awards as evidence of judicial bias against men.
[86] Men's rights advocates seek to change the legal climate for men through changes in family law, for example by lobbying for laws that would make
joint custody the default custody arrangement except in cases where one parent is unfit or unwilling to parent.
[87][86] They adopted the feminist
rhetoric of "rights" and "equality" in their discourse, framing custody issues as a matter of basic civil rights.
[15][55][88][89] Some men's rights activists suggest that the lack of contact with their children makes fathers less willing to pay
child support.
[90] Some others cite the
parental alienation syndrome as a reason to grant custody to fathers.
[91]
Critics argue that empirical research does not support the notion of judicial bias against men
[83] and that men's rights advocates interpret statistics in a way that ignores the fact that the majority of men do not contest custody.
[86] Academics critique the rhetorical
framing of custody decisions, stating that men's rights advocates appeal for "equal rights" without specifying the constitutional rights that they believe have been violated.
[92] Critics assert that the men's rights rhetoric of children's "needs" that accompanies their plea for equal rights helps deflect criticism that it is motivated by self-interest and masks men's rights advocates' own claims.
[55][93] Deborah Rhode argues that contrary to the claims of some men's rights activists, research shows that joint legal custody does not increase the likelihood that fathers will pay child support or remain involved parents.
[94]
Circumcision[edit]
See also:
Circumcision controversies
Men's rights activists see
circumcision, especially routine neonatal circumcision as a violation of men's genital integrity.
[57] They criticize that
female genital mutilation has received more attention than male circumcision.
[95]
Some doctors and academics have argued that
circumcision is a violation of men's right to health and bodily integrity,
[96][97][98][99] while others have disagreed.
[100][101][102][103]
Divorce[edit]
Men's rights groups in the United States began organizing in opposition of divorce reform and custody issues around the 1960s. The men involved in the early organization claimed that family and divorce law discriminated against them and favored their wives.
[104]Richard Doyle wrote of the view of the men's rights movement concerning the court handling of divorces and child custody processes:
Divorce courts are frequently like slaughter-houses, with about as much compassion and talent. They function as collection agencies for lawyer fees, however outrageous, stealing children and extorting money from men in ways blatantly unconstitutional... Men are regarded as mere guests in their own homes, evictable any time at the whims of wives and judges. Men are driven from home and children against their wills; then when unable to stretch paychecks far enough to support two households are termed "runaway fathers." Contrary to all principles of justice, men are thrown into prison for inability to pay alimony and support, however unreasonable or unfair the "obligation."
[72]
Men's rights activists assert that men are consciously or unconsciously opting out of marriage and engaging in a "marriage strike" as a result of the lack of benefits in marriage and the emotional and financial consequences of divorce, including alimony and child custody and support.
[105][106][107] Men's rights activists have argued that divorce and custody laws violate men's individual rights to equal protection. Gwendolyn Leachman writes that this sort of framing "downplays the systemic biases that women face that justify protective divorce and custody laws."
[108]
Domestic violence[edit]
See also:
Domestic violence against men
Men's rights advocates describe domestic violence committed by women against men as a problem that goes ignored and under-reported,
[109][110] in part because men are reluctant to describe themselves as victims.
[110] They state that women are as aggressive or more aggressive than men in relationships
[111] and that domestic violence is sex-symmetrical.
[112][113] They frequently cite family conflict research by
Murray Straus and
Richard Gelles as evidence of sex-symmetry.
[114][115][113][116][117] Men's rights advocates argue that judicial systems too easily accept false allegations of domestic violence by women against their male partners.
[118] Christina Hoff Sommers has commented that "false claims about male domestic violence are ubiquitous and immune to refutation."
[119] Men's rights advocates have been critics of legal, policy and practical protections for abused women,
[113][120][121] campaigning for domestic violence shelters for battered men
[109][110] and for the legal system to be educated about women's violence against men.
[109]
Some critics have rejected the research cited by men's rights activists and dispute their claims that such violence is gender symmetrical,
[6][15][111][111][122][123][124] arguing that the focus on women's violence stems from a political agenda to minimize the issue of men's violence against women
[122] and to undermine services to abused women.
[111][124] Donileen Loseke, Mary Cavanaugh and Richard Gelles cite as an example the challenge to the
Minnesota Battered Woman's Act by the Men's Defense Association claiming that it was discriminatory because it protected women but not men.
[113]
Education[edit]
Men's rights activists describe the education of boys as being in crisis, with boys having reduced educational achievement and motivation as compared to girls.
[125] Advocates blame the influence of feminism on education for discrimination against and systematic oppression of boys in the education system.
[126] They critique what they describe as the "feminization" of education, stating that the predominance of female teachers, a focus on girls' needs as well as a curricula and assessment methods that favour girls have proved repressive and restrictive to men and boys.
[125][127]
Men's rights groups call for increased recognition of masculinity, greater numbers of male role models, more competitive sports and the increased responsibilities for boys in the school setting. They have also advocated clearer school routines, more traditional school structures, including single-sex classes, and stricter discipline.
[127]
Critics suggest that men's rights groups view boys as a homogeneous group sharing common experiences of schooling and that they do not take sufficient account in their analysis of how responses to educational approaches may differ by age, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, and class.
[127]
In Australia, men's rights discourse has influenced government policy documents; less impact has been noted in the United Kingdom, where feminists have historically had less influence on educational policy.
[126]
Female privilege[edit]
See also:
Criticism of male privilege
The men's rights movement denies that men are privileged relative to women.
[128] The movement is divided into two camps: those who consider men and women to be harmed equally by sexism, and those who view society as endorsing the degradation of men and upholding female privilege.
[128]
Governmental structures[edit]
Men's rights groups have called for male-focused governmental structures to address issues specific to men and boys including education, health, work and marriage.
[129][130][131] Men's rights groups in India have called for the creation of a Men's Welfare Ministry and a National Commission for Men, as well as the abolition of the National Commission for Women.
[129][132][133] In the United Kingdom, the creation of a Minister for Men analogous to the existing
Minister for Women, have been proposed by
David Amess, MP and
Lord Northbourne, but were rejected by the government of
Tony Blair.
[130][134][135] In the United States,
Warren Farrell heads a commission focused on the creation of a "White House Council on Boys and Men" as a counterpart to the "White House Council on Women and Girls" which was formed in March 2009.
[125][131]
Health[edit]
Men's rights activists view the health issues faced by men and their shorter life spans as compared to women as evidence of discrimination and oppression.
[72][136] They state that feminism has led to women's health issues being privileged at the expense of men's.
[137] They point to higher
suicide rates in men compared to women,
[136][137] and highlight the funding of men's health issues as compared to women's, including noting that prostate cancer research receives less funding than breast-cancer research.
[136][138]David Benatar has suggested more money should be put into health research on males in order to reduce the disparity between men's and women's
life expectancy.
[139]
Some have critiqued these claims,
[122][136][140] stating, as
Michael Messner puts it, that the poorer health outcomes are the heavy costs paid by men "for conformity with the narrow definitions of masculinity that promise to bring them status and privilege"
[140] and that these costs fall disproportionately on men who are marginalized socially and economically.
[140] In this view, and according to
Michael Flood, men's health would best be improved by "tackling destructive notions of manhood, an economic system which values profit and productivity over workers' health, and the ignorance of service providers" instead of blaming a feminist health movement.
[122]
Military conscription[edit]
Men's rights activists in the US have argued that military
conscription of men is an example of discrimination against men.
[72][2]
In 1971, draft resisters in the United States initiated a class-action suit alleging that male-only conscription violated men's rights to equal protection under the US constitution.
[141][142] When the case,
Rostker v. Goldberg, reached the Supreme Court in 1981, they were supported by a men's rights group and multiple women's groups, including the
National Organization for Women.
[142] However, the Supreme Court upheld the Military Selective Service Act, stating that "the argument for registering women was based on considerations of equity, but Congress was entitled, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, to focus on the question of military need, rather than equity.
[141][143]
Paternity fraud[edit]
Main articles:
Misattributed paternity and
paternity fraud
Men's and fathers' rights groups have stated that there are high levels of misattributed paternity or "paternity fraud", where men are parenting and/or supporting financially children who are not biologically their own.
[144] They hold biological views of fatherhood, emphasizing the imperative of the genetic foundation of paternity rather than social aspects of fatherhood.
[144][145] They state that men should not be forced to support children fathered by another man,
[146] and that men are harmed because a relationship is created between a man and non-biological children while denying the children and their biological father of that experience and knowledge of their genetic history. In addition, non-biological fathers are denied the resources to have their own biological children in another relationship.
[144] Men's rights activists support the use of
paternity testing to reassure presumed fathers about the child's paternity;
[146] men's and fathers' rights groups have called for compulsory paternity testing of all children.
[144][147][148] They have campaigned vigorously in support of men who have been shown by genetic testing not to be the biological father, but who are nevertheless required to be financially responsible for them.
[145] Prompted by these concerns, legislators in certain jurisdictions have supported this biological view and have passed laws providing relief from child support payments when a man is proved not to be the father.
[144][145] Australian men's rights groups have opposed the recommendations of a report by the
Australian Law Reform Commission and the
National Health and Medical Research Council that would require the consent of both parents for paternity testing of young children,
[146] and laws that would make it illegal to obtain a sample for DNA testing without the individual's consent.
[149] Sociologist Michael Gilding asserts that men's rights activists have exaggerated the rate and extent of misattributed paternity, which he estimates at about 1–3%.
[147][150][151] He opposed as unnecessary calls for mandatory paternity testing of all children.
[147]
Prison[edit]
Men's rights activists point to differential prison terms for men and women as evidence of discrimination.
[152][153][154] In the USA, Warren Farrell cites evidence that men receive harsher prison sentences and are more likely sentenced to death in the United States. He critiques society's belief in women as more innocent and credible, as well as
battered woman and
infanticide defenses.
[154] He criticizes conditions in men's prisons and the lack of attention to
prison male-to-male rape by authorities.
[154]
Rape[edit]
False accusations against men[edit]
Main article:
False accusation of rape
Men's rights activists are concerned with
false accusations of rape and
sexual assault[155] and desire to protect men from the negative consequences of false accusations.
[156] Quoting research including that by Eugene Kanin and the
U.S. Air Force they assert that 40–50% or more of rape allegations may be false.
[157][158][159] They state that false accusations are a form of psychological rape.
[157][160] They assert that the naming of the accused while providing the accuser with anonymity encourages abuse.
[161][162][163] Robert O'Hara of
A Voice for Men stated in a June 2014 interview that "this is one of those issues that it's so easy to draw so much hysteria about because we have this natural inclination to want to protect women, especially from rape, that this whole rape thing has been used by feminists to garner political power, lots of it, and money. The whole thing has been used as a scam".
[164]
Criminalization of marital rape[edit]
Main article:
Marital rape
Legislation and judicial decisions criminalizing
marital rape are opposed by some Men's rights groups in the United Kingdom,
[165][166][167][168] the United States
[113][169] and India.
[170] The reasons for opposition include concerns about false allegations related to divorce proceedings,
[171][172][173] the belief that sex within marriage is part of the institution of marriage,
[174][175] and in India anxiety about relationships
[176] and the future of marriage as such laws give women "grossly disproportional rights".
[177] Virag Dhulia of the
Save Indian Family Foundation, a men's rights organization, has opposed recent efforts to criminalize
marital rape in India, arguing that "no relationship will work if these rules are enforced."
[176]
Reproductive rights[edit]
In 2006, the American
National Center for Men backed a lawsuit known as
Dubay v. Wells. The case concerned whether men should have the opportunity to decline all paternity rights and responsibilities in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. Supporters said that this would allow the woman time to make an informed decision and give men the same reproductive rights as women.
[178] The case and the appeal were dismissed, the U.S. Court of Appeals (Sixth Circuit) stating that neither parent has the right to sever their financial responsibilities for a child, and that "Dubay's claim that a man's right to disclaim fatherhood would be analogous to a woman's right to abortion rests upon a false analogy."
[179][180]
Social security and insurance[edit]
Men's rights groups argue that women are given superior social security and tax benefits than men.
[58] Warren Farrell states that men in the United States pay more into social security, but in total women receive more in benefits, and that discrimination against men in insurance and pensions have gone unrecognized.
[181]
Suicide[edit]
Main article:
Gender differences in suicide
In the United States, the male-to-female suicide death ratio varies between 3:1 to 10:1.
[182]
