Tonight's on-line chat will be on the topic of boy's issues. Several recent news stories posted to Mensactivism.org have covered the way men's rights is related to issues facing our young men - be it the
over-prescription of Ritalin for "overactive" boys, the supposedly
"inferior" physical and mental development that boys experience in
contrast to girls, and how sex crimes perpetrated against boys by
older women are not taken as seriously as if the genders were
reversed. Join us for a lively discussion on what we should do to help advocate for boys and young men, and what possibilities exist for educating young men about the harm that anti-male feminism is causing them. The chat login page can be found here, and the chat begins at 9:30 PM Eastern Time.

Anonymous User writes "The L.A. Times Magazine published an excellent article about the glamorization of WWII, and war in general, and the lifetime of psychological scarring that war leaves on soldiers. The story focuses on WWII veterans, specifically how the U.S. shipped them off to war, forced them to commit horrendous acts, then gave them no emotional support system when they returned to the States. Even though many of these vets suffered, and continue to suffer, from PTSD, the U.S. military insisted that these men suck it all in and "take it like a man." As a result, many vets fell into a lifetime of depression, alcohol/drug abuse and other emotional disorders. Even worse, Hollywood continues to pump out feel-good WWII movies that portray battle as a positive, wholesome, and overall glamorous experience. After reading this, you'll never look at those movies the same way again."

This story on Excite News describes a new Phillipine government policy which labels "offensive jokes" sent via e-mail or instant messaging ("texting," the article calls it) as sexual harassment. The interesting part of this story is at the end, though, where a female official is quoted admitting that there's a stereotype against men when it comes to sexual harassment. Arroyo added that she was glad the practice was no longer viewed in stereotypical terms as always involving an older male superior harassing female subordinates. "This is true in the vast majority of cases ... but it is also true that sexual harassment can and does occur with the traditional roles reversed or with the same gender involved." Personally, the number of ways in which someone may be considered a "harasser" scares me.

frank h writes "The title of the article is "Are Boys the Weaker Sex?" which I find to be deliberately inflammatory, and the article quotes my favorite (not!) male feminist, William Pollack. But it does finally begin to recognize that boys are not, and have not for a long time, been doing well in schools, and it recognizes something that feminists have been fighting for a long time: boys and girls are different. I'll read the article again before I decide how I feel about it, but I would encourage all to read the article; don't judge it on its title. The article can be found at this link."

New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has begun a campaign to decrease the gap in men's awareness of prostate cancer and what they do about it, according to this article on Excite News. Apparently, even though we are aware of the dangers of prostate cancer, most of us still aren't taking steps to avoid it. On a related note, Baylor University is currently enrolling men in a prostate cancer prevention study.

The Dallas Morning News reported here that Connecticut recently passed legislation barring school officials and counselors from recommending psychiatric drugs for students. Schools can still recommend that a student be evaluated by a doctor or psychiatrist, and I think this makes sense - so students who do have mental health problems can still be helped. The strong support for this bill is testimony to the fact that too often, kids (especially boys) are being drugged up excessively and needlessly, and the public is concerned about this.

A recent article in the National Post delves into the different ways that boys and girls view dinosaurs, and certain gender differences in general. I felt that the article seemed to focus on these differences in a fairly pointed way, explaining how girls have a more intellectual and productive interest in dinosaurs and science, while boys are only interested in the visceral response they get from movies like Jurassic Park III. Click here for the story.

This report on Excite News opens up some interesting questions about the biological link between fathers and their offspring. According to the article, fathers who smoke pot create a greater risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) for their offspring than mothers. Not much more is known about this phenomenon right now, but it does further the scientific fact that a child is half his father and half his mother (with respect to genetic make-up)... not all his mother and only fertilized by father.

Ned Holstein sent out another update on the public hearings in Massachusetts for reviewing the state's Child Support Guidelines. With one hearing left tomorrow, in Springfield, we need to finish this off on the right foot. Be there if you can! Click Read More below for his announcement.

An editorial in the Olympian newspaper makes some well-needed points that we are doing a great disservice to society and young men by not taking seriously situations where boys are statutorially raped. Too many people, including judges and the media, accept a double standard when an older woman seduces an underage boy, but the consequences are very real. "The media has even romanticized idea of the young man or teen-age boy being guided through sexual encounters by an experienced, mature woman -- as if it were a rite of passage for him. Does anyone stop to consider what this does to the development of these boys as sexual beings as they enter adulthood?" Bravo to Mr. Davis for writing this opinion piece.

frank h sent in this article from TownHall.com and writes "This is a call to action for anyone who thinks that men and women are not equal in combat to contact their Congressmen and tell them so. Thanks to Mona Charen for writing this." The article points out that "Recently, the Center for Strategic and International Studies did a study on the military culture. It found that two-thirds of junior enlisted men did not believe women would pull their own weight if it came to combat. Forty-four percent of junior enlisted women agreed!" Obviously, things aren't right here, something which both genders seem to agree on.

AngryHarry sent in this link from FrontPage Magazine, about an Ohio man who was recently sentenced to seven years in prison for privately writing disturbing thoughts about sexually abusing fictional children. While I'm not going to claim that there isn't something wrong with this man, the fact that he will be in prison for seven years for simply writing about something is direct evidence that our civil liberties mean nothing in the U.S. First Amendment? What First Amendment?

Gordon Clay from the MenStuff web site sent out an announcement reminding everyone that the U.S. Post Office Prostate Cancer Awareness stamp will no longer be available at post office branches as of September 30. My local PO hasn't had them in a while, and while they're only 33 cents (requiring an additional 1 cent stamp for first class mail), they're a great way to help remind people about the existence of this critical men's health issue.

Andrew writes "Some time ago a question occurred to me: If, as a white male, I am responsible for everyone else's suffering, then who is responsible for mine? (And furthermore: If I am responsible for my own suffering, while non-whites/non-males are not responsible for theirs, doesn't that set me apart as, well, a superior order of being? Whoops, don't want to go there!) I've never really seen this question addressed (though I do have some ideas about it myself), but this article makes an interesting (and amusing) start. Nice to see somebody (not a white man) finally say it: 'Everybody should have a white man. Even white men should have a white man. Because when you have a white man, nothing is ever your fault.'"

Aileen Wuornos, who was convicted of killing six men and claimed that she'd done so because they had sexually assaulted her, may have won her fast track to execution Friday after a Florida circuit judge said he would recommend to the Florida Supreme Court that Wuornos' execution be carried out. Wuornos recently admitted that she had lied about being sexually assaulted by men, that she just wanted to know what it felt like to kill a man. From the story: "I am a serial killer. I would kill again," Aileen Wuornos said during 1 1/2 hours on the witness stand.