Men's Health America has upped the ante in the debate about gender health research disparities that adversely affect men. We reported on the debate which is ongoing with the Society for Women's Health Research. Now, MHA has issued a press release to help thrust this debate into the public spotlight. Seeing that the facts are easily researchable and that we have the truth on our side, this was a very wise thing to do. You can read the press release by clicking "Read More" below...

frank h submitted this link to a Chicago Tribune article about a civil lawsuit being filed by a man upset that women receive discounts routinely at night clubs. He's claiming that it's sex discrimination along the same lines that women have won lawsuits about the different pricing of haircuts or dry cleaning for men and women. The article ends with a somewhat ironic statement that the man filing suit "would rather spend the extra money I'm charged at the door to buy women drinks at the bar." I guess while he's against businesses discriminating against men, he doesn't mind cultural discrimination against men. (!)

Hey, we've been running this web poll for a few months now, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about a new poll to run. Either e-mail them to me at scott@mensactivism.org or post them as a comment to this message. Thanks!

Marc Angelucci writes "Here is a great article in the New Times LA about Jeffrey Grant, who spent months in prison on rape convictions that were later overturned by DNA evidence. Grant won a $1.7 million judgment against the city as a result. Justin Brooks of the Innocence Project says that, of the cases in which the Project uses DNA to prove that a convicted person is innocent, 85% were convictions based on eyewitness testimony."

The Washington Post is reporting that the testimony of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) can no longer be considered scientific evidence in rape trials in Fairfax County, VA. These nurses examine the victim immediately after an alleged rape and can supposedly tell whether sex was consentual or not. One defense attortney quoted in the article said: "It turns out our SANE nurses here have taken their conclusions far beyond what the research says." A deputy's attorney also noted, "when consent is the ultimate issue, experts shouldn't be allowed to testify either way...It's for the jury to decide." I'm inclined to agree.

There seems to be a surge of stories about boy's issues and men's health recently. Ed Bartlett from Men's Health America writes, "DHHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has just released his proposed budget
for Fiscal Year 2002. His budget includes $0 for an Office of Men's Health. In contrast, the DHHS Office of Women's Health is slated for a
whopping $10 million increase, from $17 million in FY 2001 to $27
million in FY 2002." Click here to find out what you can do about this problem.

The Sydney Morning Herald printed this story which explains that young boys strongly need male mentors and teachers to learn most effectively, particularly about male identity. "There were important aspects of learning connected to boys' sense of male identity which could not be adequately addressed without the involvement of men...Of course, females make excellent teachers for boys...However, there are important aspects of learning connected to boys' sense of male identity which cannot be adequately addressed without the involvement of older males." It's a common-sense notion that we would do well to heed.

Marc Angelucci writes "The Society for Women's Health Research posted Fallacies and Facts about Women's and Men's Health to dispute many of the claims about gender health research disparities. In response, Dr. Ed Bartlett of Men's Health America posted these point-by-point refutations. This important debate is thankfully taking place in what seems to be a very professional manner. The arguments provide excellent material for research, op-eds and letters to editors."

James Hanback, Jr. reviewed a group of pro-male web sites for his Online column in the Nashville Scene, an alternative newspaper. Mensactivism.org is included in the review, as well as several other great sites for men. You can read his article here. As he points out, "it's the Internet that is giving the greatest rise to men's causes, providing the widest forum for the discussion of these issues." From Hanback's discussion of what "men's issues" are in the article, he's obviously someone who "gets it."

Cathy Young wrote an excellent article for Reason magazine about the current "gender warfare" going on about socializing children. She begins by discussing Jane Fonda's recent donation to Harvard for a program on gender studies, and does a balanced job reporting the current trends and how this field is being applied to children. "It's clear that the proposed interdisciplinary Center on Gender and Education will pursue not only academic research but also a social agenda...Maybe the real danger is that, in these ideological gender wars, the needs of children of both sexes will take a back seat to scoring points in the debate."

Ed Bartlett from Men's Health America submitted this link to a news article about prostate cancer prevalence and treatment rates. It set out to investigate to what extent socioeconomic factors affect the higher death rates of prostate cancer in men of different races. The study raised some new questions about the cancer in black men, as socioeconomic factors did not explain the increased prevalence (but did explain the difference for Hispanic men).

I have to admit, I am more than a bit confused and frustrated with this article by Betsy Hart, from the Union Leader. Hart comes down hard on men who are expected to take time off of work to be present when their wife gives birth, and it's apparent that Hart thinks men's place is at work and women's is childrearing. She does make the comment that "Hey, if a husband really wants to be in the delivery room, OK," but she obviously is somewhat repulsed by the idea. What do you make of this?

The Massachusetts News is reporting that Judge Malcolm Jones, a retiring judge in Bristol County Probate Court, is openly claiming that restraining orders (or 209A's, as the are officially called), are routinely administered indiscriminately by judges. He was quoted as saying, "It's a necessary law, but it's an abused one. I've seen it used too many times as leverage in divorce cases, not for women in imminent fear of physical danger. One third of them are not legitimate, merely used as an "I'll fix you."" A lawyer was also quoted as saying, "they are issued like candy. It's a rare case that they won't be issued as long as somebody says the magic word, "I've been hit" or "I've been threatened." Unless that person has three heads or something really incredible like that, a District Court judge is going to issue them."

An article from the National Post discusses the numerous ways in which schools have become more unfriendly to boys and the ways boys are seriously lagging behind girls in the public education system. It's a short article that does an overview of the issues at hand, but I thought a couple of good quotes/facts where included in the article, such as, "[schools have been called] "the most boy-unfriendly places on Earth"...[there are] institutions where the budget for the equity office may exceed the budget for the library to purchase books. Where administrators turn a blind eye to academic offences such as cheating, but come down hard on any student who might give a sexist chant at a football game."

Thomas Sowell has written this article explaining the dangers of Ritalin and of government intrusion into family life. "Claims that "studies prove" the need for Ritalin are far less convincing when you realize how often studies have "proven" one thing, only to have later studies prove the opposite. Parents and voters need to wake up to the dangerous extension of government despotism into the family."