The Men’s Movement Deserves More Recognition

Article here. Excerpt:

'The idea of men’s rights is often considered taboo to talk about. It is this idea that a conversation about men’s social concerns would have the power to negate the accomplishments that feminists throughout history have made. The buzzword “equality” has limitations, where the conversation stops right when you start to mention the voice of men. So, what is this movement all about?

These issues are the things that largely go unexamined. These are the things that cannot be heard above the humming of every other right’s movement. We are talking about child custody cases, criminal sentencing, domestic violence, workplace fatalities, men’s reproductive rights, educational inequality, and men’s health issues. I myself was very misinformed about men’s social concerns and grievances and so, like many of us do, defaulted to whatever was easiest to believe. I was looking at this from a woman’s perspective believing that this movement was only a backlash to the momentum of the Women’s Rights Movement- and in some ways, this is true. The men’s rights movement has definitely taken some ideas from the Women’s Movement and tried telling them from their perspective.

Unfortunately, these men are falling right into the trap of being labeled “misogynistic”. But, I encourage you to challenge that view. Let’s take domestic violence for example. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 3 women have been the victim of physical violence by an intimate partner. This isn’t a shocking statistic for many, yet what they might not know is that 1 in 4 men will also be the victim of physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. I also challenge this statistic by asking if this truly accounts for all men that have been victims. We claim we want to help men feel comfortable opening up and yet, when they do, men face severe backlash by people saying that they are “misogynistic” for having the audacity to address men’s domestic violence issues. Is it truly misogynistic to look at the statistics and be concerned not only for women but understand the need to extend that to men?'