The Rights Of Man

MEDIA RAISE THE ISSUE OF WHO IS THE SECOND SEX AND CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES ON ABUSE

The media blow hot and cold on male issues but whenever they are raised they are most welcome. It is always a pity that no politicians, beyond Iain Duncan Smith MP who has raised the issue of boys education, fatherlessness and gangs, seem to care about the plight of men and boys in society.

Two articles have appeared in the past few days raising some fundamental questions and also challenging stereotypes.

The first was written by Eleanor Mills in The Times which in a wide ranging and thorough article which looks at whether men have become the Second Sex, a term used on this site to describe the situation men now face (here). Of course, there should be no first or second when it comes to gender as we are human first, last and always, but it is a useful term to show how far men are discriminated against in the UK.

The second is really shocking and was in yesterday's Daily Mail, written by Barbara Davies. It tells the story of a man who as a boy was abused by his foster mother. It is based around the Childline figures which showed that boys were more likely to be abused by a woman than a man, which goes against all known stereotypes and societal knee-jerk thinking.

These two articles both highlight the plight of men, an issue which has been hidden away for too long. It is welcome that the British media in some quarters publish them. If only politicians, members of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, the Fawcett Society and others would take notice of them.

CHILDLINE FIGURES ON FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE MAY GIVE SOME BALANCE TO THE WAY MEN ARE PORTRAYED?

No-one likes reading about the issues of child abuse but at least the figures from Childline, which is run by the NSPCC, might stop the sole demonisation of men when it comes to this subject.

Childline's figures released yesterday showed that the number of calls from children stating they had been sexually abused by a women had doubled since 2004/05 and that now 1 in 4 calls where the gender could be identified showed that the abuser was female, a figure the NSPCC states is still too low because of under-reporting. Boys are more likley to sexually abused by a woman than a man. The BBC and the Press Association do a good job of covering the subject here and here.

In many respects this report show results similarish aspects to the previous NSPCC research which talked about physical violence in that the figures between men and women are closer than you would think given the propaganda and the general perception that only men commit these crimes.

The issue about who commits sexual abuse and physical abuse against children is also like the issue of domestic violence against male adults. It has been underground for years and the stereotypes that only men are involved in such crimes has become ingrained in popular culture.

Perhaps, male teachers will no longer be treated with such suspicion, that only men are depicted in popular culture as abusers and perhaps we can now see such awful crimes in a gender-neutral fashion where both the victims and perpetrators can be seen as from different genders and not just portrayed as men. Maybe we can have equality?

Google News

STORIES ROUND-UP

As things have been a bit hit and miss on the site for the last few months, please find below a selection of stories and issues that have not been covered in any detail but should have been.

Daily Mail: Paedophile Fears Driving Male Teachers From Primary Schools

Scottish Sun: Domestic Violence Against Men Rises At Time Of Old Firm Matches

Conservative Home: All Women Short-Lists Break All Notions Of Fairness

BBC: Asian Abused Men's Living Hell

BBC: Are Women Paying For Sexism Laws?

BBC: Women Who Abuse Children

Daily Mail: Erin Pizzey - Why I Loathe Feminism

Independent: Prescott Tells Harman To Stop Going On About Women's Rights

Times: Men In Boardrooms Have been A Disaster

Daily Mail: Falsely Accused Victim Wins £25,000 Compensation

Lib Dems: Domestic Violence Convictions Against Women Trebles

Daily Mail: False Accusers Must Go To Jail

Wigan Today: Labour Party All Women Shortlists in Wigan

WHY DOES THE COALITION ON MEN & BOYS DO DOWN MEN & BOYS?

In 2007, a group called the Men's Coalition was set up by a number of public funded organisations who  speak up for men. The organisation mutated into the Coalition on Men & Boys and its members include the Fatherhood Institute, Men's Advice Line, Men's Health Forum, Relate, Respect and the White Ribbon Campaign.

A month or so ago they produced a report called Man Made: Men, Masculinities and Boys which attempts to "provide a unique, in-depth picture of the circumstances and needs of men and boys."

So far so good you would think, but as ever, it depends what lens you are looking through and the lens in this report is one that on one hand says public policy needs to ensure it better meets the need of men (good), but then blames and patronises men and is guilty of making some serious and glaring omissions. It is based on the fact that men need to change not that society or public policy needs to.

The 158 page report says that men need help but bases this on a feminist world-view (it says "The report draws significantly upon feminist scholarship" page 19) and throughout suggests that men need to change to help women, children and men themselves. Indeed, it keeps coming back to the theme that male dominance in positions of power (which is reducing all the time) means that men have to be more aware of gender equality and to stop blocking and being sexist towards women.

In addition, in key areas it fails to address the key problems of discrimination or the lack of help for men and boys such as education (exam results) and issues such as domestic violence, forced marriage,  and the bias of the family courts. It only really excels in the area of health which will be down to the Men's Health Forum's input.

It says that the Coalition of Men and Boys is committed to work with women's groups, but whilst at face value we should all be working for gender equality, the basis for this statement is to patronise and not recognise the discrimination that men regularly face in their lives. Would such a report on Women & Girls state that it would like to work with men's groups, I very much doubt it.

In fact, some of the things it says are a bizarre for a report and organisation purporting to be on the side of men. An example includes:-

"The Government's Equalities Dept and Equalities Commission should establish designated policy and research positions focusing on how men and boys can contribute to tackling gender and other inequalities." This though is about men and boys pushing a female equalities agenda and has nothing to do with helping men and boys in terms improving access to health, improved examination results etc?

There is plenty of mentions of a Minister for Women but the report does not mention that it is unequal therefore not to have a Minister for Men.

In addition, "it admits that the Government has no strategy or have not been a work stream within the work of the Women's Unit (page 33). This is partly due to lack of resources but probably also to the relative invisibility of masculinity as a gender issue". No mention of course to the fact that why would a Women's Unit look at supporting men and of course, no irony is given in the report to the fact there is no resources. The report mentions it but does not condemn it.

It's key policy-specific recommendations (page 16) on work, fatherhood and education do not mention the bias in the family law court system (the report in Chapter 6 rejects that men get a raw deal in the family court system), the poor results of boys in the context of a lack of male teachers and the switch from exam-related O' Levels to course-based GCSE's (it rejects the notion that the lack of male teachers is a problem) and domestic violence - it makes no mention of male victims and the lack fo support they receive.

It even says that the proposals in the Equalities Bill to allow men to be discriminated against in the workplace are 'mild' (page 41). Not if you are a man who is discriminated against.

The health section is the only one that could be said to be positive in that it demands more that the health authorities not only do more to educate men about male heath issues but also that an assessment of services is needed to ensure they are there to support men.

Overall, the report is negative about men and boys, it patronises them, wants them to change (to be less masculine)  and does not confront, on purpose, the obvious problems that men face in areas such in education and elsewhere.

The report is a wasted opportunity and one that look at the problems that men face not through a male lens but one that believes men are a negative force in the UK.

Editors Note

There are many references in the report to the "men's rights movement". References include

"..There are some risks in involving men in gender equality strategies" (page 12)

"Some men are resistant to change - especially if the proposed changes entail giving up some privileges (better pay than women) and result in them having less power at work and in the home. The emergence in recent decades of a range of vocal 'men's rights' groups, both in the UK and internationally, is evidence to this." (page 12)

"It should not be assumed, however, that all men and boys share the same hostile approach of many 'men's rights activists to the progress of women and girls" (page 26)

These accusations, probably aimed at this site and other organisations/sites are a disgraceful slur not backed by any evidence. This is a example of using a report to try and trash people who believe that equality should actually mean equality for both men and women. If the reports authors can find anything on this site that is anti-women, then they will not find it.

Editors Apology #1

In this post I originally called the Coalition - Coalition of Men & Boys but as Bob rightly pointed out (see comments) I was sorely mistaken. It is the Coalition on Men & Boys, a subtle mistake but one that is vital to be aware of because it shows emphatically and with more clarity that it is not a coalition about supporting men & boys at all. It is a coalition that hectors men & boys.

MALE GRADUATES SUFFERING IN RECESSION

Imagine a scenario where fewer female graduates were finding jobs in this recession than men or that fewer females were entering the professions than men. Imagine, the acres of newsprint, airtime and gnashing of teeth from Harman Towers, the Fawcett Society, the Equalities Commission and anyone else wanting to moan about discrimination.

Of course, the reality is that the opposite is happening in Britain in 2009 but the silence is deafening.

The  Higher Education Statistics Agency produced research this week that showed that one in ten men (10.3%) who graduated with a degree last year is unemployed, compared with 6.3% women. With fewer boys now going into university in the first place, this is a worrying trend partly I believe because of the collapse of the private sector (men predominate) as opposed to the continuing expansion of the public sector (female predominate). Certainly, it nails again the myth that Harman put about that women would suffer more in the recession than men.

The gender balance has been changing for years now as the education gap between boys and girls continues as now more women are entering the professions than boys (I swear there was more up-to-date research on this last week but cannot find it). No mention of this profession issue in the gender pay gap debates.

STORIES ROUND-UP

As is now becoming increasingly common, there is such a volume of stories and issues to cover it is difficult to keep up. However, please find below links to issues stories of interest that have not been covered in the last six or so weeks:-

False Accusations

There has been a deluge of false accusation coverage in the newspapers, it is concerning because the power of the false allegation is increasing all the time, to the detriment of the men falsely accused and of course, the women who are genuinely attacked:-

Basildon, Essex

Shropshire

Aberdeen

Durham

Berkshire

Thurrock, Essex

Jarrow, Durham

Advertising

Why men is ads are dumb?

British Men Make Best Husbands

Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph

Have You Turned Your Man Into a Hermaphrodite?

Judith Woods

Men Held for Playing Football With His Children

Daily Mail

President Obama

His betrayal of the working class male

GENDER EDUCATION GAP SHOWS AWARENESS IS BUILDING

One of the most satisfying parts of running this site is when issues raised end up being discussed in the mainstream media or elsewhere.

There was great article in the Mail on Sunday by Winifred Robinson about the gender education gap, a subject raised here.

The issue is now being discussed more widely, even though it has been an issue for decades now, but action is needed, talk is cheap.

IS ANTI-MALE BRITAIN DRIVING INCREASE IN BULLYING?

One of the most disturbing news stories last week was the news from the NSPCC via their What Boys Talk About To Childline report that the number of boys calling their Childline has more than doubled in the past five years.

Their key findings included:-

Between 2002/03 and 2007/08, the annual number of boys counselled by ChildLine more than doubled, from 24,823 to 58,311.

The boy-to-girl ratio of callers has increased from one boy to every four calls from girls, to one in very two.

Bullying was the single biggest reason for boys calling.

Disturbingly, there was a high number of boys reporting sexual abuse and the number of boys ringing because they were depressed, lacked self-esteem or lonely had increased fivefold.

On the latter point, the seriousness of male depression is one that continually is overlooked not just because of the implications for the boys who call but also because I would suspect it is one of the main reasons for the increase in bullying being seen in schools and has lead to more calls.

Why is there an increase in bullying, perhaps it is because those bullies are also lacking in self esteem and I suspect this is in some part due to the lack of progress they make at schools with their exam results. Is it because of the general debasement of men in UK society that instead of finding ways to channel their testosterone into learning or being seen as role models, they take it out on other boys. There is no outlet for them and society, the media, the state and The Government do not seem to care.

Media Coverage - Google News

 

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STORIES ROUND UP

As ever, the stories and issues have come thick and fast so here are some that were too important to miss:-

The Guardian (Lee Elliot Major) - Why Boys Can't Keep Up With The Girls

Daily Telegraph (Melanie McDonagh) - Maybe Men Are Now The Underdog Sex

Sunday Times (Sarah Baxter) - Women Are Victors In The ManCession

The Guardian (Sarah Boseley) - The Future Is Female

The Independent (Richard Garner) - University Women Beating Men At Almost Everything

Scotland on Sunday (Dani Garavelli) - Let Our Boys Be Boys

Daily Express (Anil Dawar) - Outrage At White Men Prevented From Being PCs

LEICESTER COUNCIL SHOWS HOW TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST MEN AND BOYS

If it is not women-only hours for swimming baths, women-only courses, awards and everything else, this site has been alerted to the fact that Leicester Council's Highfields Library offers a women-only session on Tuesday's between 1pm and 3pm. In addition, on the same day it offers women-only drop in sessions.

Not only is this in breach of the Sex Discrimination Act, it shows how ignorant Leicester Council is.

A few weeks ago, a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute highlighted the barriers faced by boys in education and that more needed to be done to break these down. In addition, sites like Books for Boys highlight the need to get more boys reading as they are a long way behind girls in English subjects.

So what does Leicester Council do to help boys read, it turfs them out of the library every Tuesday.

This needs a complaint to the Equalities Commission and the Council.