This bold story, which appeared in the UK Observer, confronts the stark reality of mothers who use men as sperm donors, then wallets. It begins with a disturbing story of a woman who changed the locks on their house as soon as the father's name was on the birth certificate. It also mentions, "These women are not rare: the Government's Children First consultation paper found that 40 per cent of the divorced or separated mothers admitted to thwarting child-father contact....Fatherhood is an inalienable right, for both child and father, and we should defend it from those women bent on trampling it."

Yes, it's here again - National Men's Health Week, June 11-17, 2001. It's time to think about heading to the doctor for a checkup if you haven't been there in a while, and to educate and raise awareness of men's health issues. The Men's Health Week web site has lots of good info, including a calendar of events. I'd also highly recommend subscribing to Ed Bartlett's Men's Health America mailing list to receive updates on news about men's health. And don't forget your mental health, too - when's the last time you took a vacation?

Peter sent in this article from the New York Times (free registration required). It's about the rise in sexual harassment lawsuits filed by men against male employers. The article is testimony to the unequal treatment of gay men in the workplace. From the article: "While some of these men are complaining of unwanted sexual overtures, just as women frequently do, most complaints involve men being picked on, through boorish hijinks that come across as offensive and humiliating...Men's claims now account for 13.5 percent of all sexual harassment charges being brought to the commission, nearly double the percentage a decade ago." The article describes the problems faced by those who file same-sex harassment claims, which the courts do not take as seriously as claims filed by women against male employers.

Mark sent in this USA Today article and writes "After the success of Shania Twain's 1995 anti-male "The Woman In Me" album and the success of other female acts such as the Dixie Chicks (whose song "Goodbye Earl" was about murdering an abusive husband), country radio stations began tailoring their format to appeal almost entirely to women. Now after having chased away most of their male listeners, these stations are trying to win them back. However, the article mentions that "You can have a record that may send men screaming from the room on your radio station, but you cannot have a song that sends women screaming from the room." Still, the pendulum appears to have started swinging back. The article mentions that women are tired of "bend-over-backward proclamations of love and songs about empowered women." And any male country music listener today has no doubt enjoyed songs like Toby Keith's "How Do You Like Me Now" and Montgomery Gentry's "She Couldn't Change Me""

Nightmist writes "This editorial in the Daily Texan defends the University of Texas-Austin for temporarily converting an all-female dorm to co-ed because of a summer schedule population explosion on campus. The dorm's female occupants are outraged and have signed a petition to keep men out, claiming that (because men are violent and immature) women will be more likely to be attacked and the dorm will be more likely to be vandalized. The author of the editorial, however, points out that these women are succumbing to stereotypes."

Nightmist writes "This article on Excite News reports that deaths from testicular cancer are on the decline, although there are a greater number of cases. Interestingly, some researchers are saying that exposure to high levels of estrogen in the womb may be one of the causes for the increase in cases. Testicular cancer is also more likely in men ages 25-29, first-born sons, and fraternal twins."

Nightmist writes "Excite News reports that father-oriented Web site Dadmag.com has named a list of a dozen fathers its "Twelve Top Pops" for Father's Day. Among the names on the list are: Dr. Wade Horn of the National Father's Initiative; Prime Minister Tony Blair; Weatherman Al Roker; "Daddio" star Michael Chiklis; and Bill Clinton. The reasons for each selection are noted by the names."

Now this is an interesting article. American social scientist Charles Murray believes that "advances in genetics and neurology will lead to the death of egalitarianism within 20 years." From the sounds of it, psuedo-science could finally be eliminated. This last quote is quite interesting: "What he calls the "intellectual egalitarianism" of the Left actually is not about equal outcomes at all, he says. It just "hates the idea that some people are inherently smarter or more charming [and that you can't change that] by the right social program or the right liberation of people from their oppressors." Social engineering can't cure inequality."

Feminist groups in Canada have threatened to boycott nation-wide
government consultations on changes to divorce law since they might have to sit with Father's advocates. The hypocrisy here is unbelievable, this quote says it better than I ever could "The best interests of children...can only be met by ensuring the well being of their mothers." if you think that's bad, the rest of the article gets worse. The full article can be read from the National Post Online.

Nightmist writes "The Detroit News ran the article recently on Real Men Cook, which is slated to take place Father's Day in various cities around the country. The event raises money for various urban men's and family's causes."

Nightmist writes "Christian Science Monitor reports on a widespread protest of family court justice in America. The protestors advocated "shared parenting," in which both parents get equal time with their children. It also points out that in 85 percent of cases, the mother gets custody, even though some states already have shared parenting legislation (Massachusetts is apparently working on it)."

Nightmist writes "Along with Cancer-Option.com's breast cancer and lung cancer sites, Excite news reports that a new prostate cancer-specific site has been launched. ProstateCancerOption.com will focus solely on news and assistance for men suffering the disease. CancerOption.com, meanwhile, is still a general resource on all types of cancers."

Andrew writes "Remember that famous feminist slogan? Something like, 'To get respect in a man's world, a woman must do twice as much in the same time as a man. Fortunately, this is not difficult.' (If anyone has a more accurate version of this, and a source, I'd like to hear about it.) Gee, I guess this news story, Women find army training too tough must be some kind of anti-feminist plot. While the Western nations work to make their military training female-friendly, the Chinese are busy toughening up the largest army on the planet. 'Those who will not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.'"

bernee writes "There is no question that when it comes to the health stakes, men are often short changed, especially in rural areas. An initiative in Australia is hoping to address this. "Pit Stop", as it is known grew out of the observation that getting men to go to the doctor was often difficult but they turned up in droves to car races etc. "Pit Stop" is a mobile clinic that travels to organised car events doing check-ups and advising men on health issues. This initiative was featured on a national TV program, the transcript of which is available here."

The iFeminists.com web site had an article by Wendy McElroy about battered men. It discusses the uphill battle male victims of DV and their supporters have to climb in order to get help and recognition by society, and mentions the recent battered men conference which was held in Portland, ME. From the article: "For self-interested reasons, many women's shelters continue to deny that men comprise a significant portion of those victimized by domestic abuse. Their funding depends on the denial...The only right abused men seem to have retained in full is the right to remain silent."