There is a new conflict surrounding Title IX, and this one seems absurd. Schools are now starting to require private donation funds, such as booster clubs, to donate equally to men and women's sports, or not to donate at all. As it was put in the article: "'We're the ones who have been out here working to make money, and ... they're
now telling us how we can spend it,' says Mrs. Proctor, president of the booster club, whose son is a center and linebacker on the team. 'If we would like our boys to go to Louisville and be a part of a passing competition, and we have the money, why can't we send them?'" You can read the Christian Science Monitor article here.

Marc Angelucci writes "The UCLA Daily Bruin surprisingly printed my letter even though they just printed another of mine a week ago. You can read it here. There's also an interesting letter by a "pro-life feminist" just above mine that even asks "where are the father's rights?" regarding abortion. The elections are making gender a hot topic and we need to take advantage of the moment while we have it by writing to the papers." Marc, your success and enthusiasm are a great sign to me and encouragement to others. Thank you!

Voter.com news has this article, which outlines the public views of presidential candidate Al Gore regarding welfare, fatherhood, and child support. It's not particularly positive to men, to say the least. Note: The Men's Activism News Network does not officially endorse any political candidates.

Claude Saint-Jarre wrote in to inform me of this news article from China Daily. It talks about a disturbing rise in male sexual problems, including sterility, erectile dysfunction, and prostate hyperplasia. It is believed that these diseases are "increasing among men due to the growing stress of work and the family, and the fact that men are often reluctant to visit the doctor. Serious environmental pollution is also seen as a major reason for the increase."

According to this Excite news story, a conference will be held November 10-12 to "explore whether men have an inherent paternal instinct to maintain supportive and nurturing relationships with their offspring and, if so, how that basic drive can be harnessed for the benefit of their children." Warren Farrell will be a keynote speaker at this conference, so you can be sure it's going to be pro-male and pro-father.

This is an online book by Erin Pizzey who founded the first refuge for battered wives in 1971, the book is her personal story of all the struggles she had in getting the shelter set up, her encounters with DV victims and the men's side of the story and how she also set up a men's shelter, but it was closed down due to the grant being withdrawn. You can read it here. I remember hearing a rumor that Erin Pizzey fled Britain soon after publishing this book due to death threats from women's groups, I can't confirm this but would any of us be surprised? Scott's note: Murray Straus, a family violence researcher, has also received death threats and bomb threats at his speaking engagements. At times radical feminists act more like terrorists it seems.

Jim Castelli writes "An article by Alex Beam appearing in the Boston Globe today, is entitled Tom Sawyer and the End of Boyhood. According to the article, since the 1960's the natural spirit of boyhood has been turned into a psychological illness. The writing of William Pollack (Real Boys) is cited as one of the most egregious examples of pathologizing what had been considered normal boy behavior. From the article: "If Tom Sawyer were a boy in school today he would most likely be in therapy three times a week and jacked up on Ritalin." Is there a correlation between the rise of "male-bashing feminism" and the pathologizing of normal boys behavior? Let's see, most teachers in grades K-12 are women schooled in the contemporary "male-bashing feminism" begun in the 1960's. You decide!"

Paul Weller, a popular music artist in the UK, was recently accused of raping a woman during a party back in 1996. The police have finally said he will not be charged with rape. Weller described the ordeal as "one of the most depressing moments of my life," and also said, "I
understand the need for anonymity, [but] it should be extended to both parties in such cases, especially prior to any criminal charges
being brought." My sentiments exactly. You can read the Yahoo! Music news article here.

This is incredible - The Washington Post held an on-line chat on domestic violence, and a "DV expert" was on the program who told the typical distortions and lies about gender and domestic violence. Amazingly, enough supporters of battered men were participating that she was quickly put on the defensive. Best of all, the moderator of the chat seemed very supportive of men, and undoubtedly facilitated the turn of events. You can read a transcript of the chat at this link. Thanks to Marc Angelucci for sending me this!

Since the election is only a few days away,I thought an update would be useful.Here's an article that says married women could be the deciding bloc in the election, but you can probably take it for granted that whoever wins will do so with a very narrow margin of voters, be they married women or another social group. As we've said before: The Men's Activism News Network does not officially endorse any political candidates.

Ed Bartlett from MHA forwarded me this story from HealthScout. It discusses new research which shows that men (especially poor men) have a significantly higher risk of suicide shortly after a divorce. The reasons for this have to do with the fact that men generally have smaller support networks, and often loose their family and home, which makes them feel that everything they've worked for has come to nothing. Please consider this if you know a man going through a divorce, and keep an ear open to his pain.

As if the depths of depravity and greed in television weren't deep enough, the Fox network has created a game-show like program called I Want a Divorce, as a followup to the Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire show. You can read the article here. "I Want a Divorce will be a two-hour special in which couples who have recently separated can tell their opposing sides of their stories, answer questions about their spouses' lives, and have a chance to win a grand prize of $100,000 as well as marital assets." I haven't owned or watched TV regularly for over five years now. Apparently I'm not missing much!

bernee writes "Steve Biddulph, an Australian author with a variety of men's and boy's health books to his credit, is releasing a new book which he has edited and is an anthology of "Mens' Stories".
This article reflects on some of the issues which are pushing the growing movement towards a need for recognition of issues affecting men's and boy's health and well being." I hope that the explosion of the movement is as inevitable as Biddulph makes it sound.

Let's hope other states follow this trend; in Ohio, a 500 year old common law stated that any child born in wedlock is assumed to be the mother's husband's child, and child support payments have been enforced against men who have proven with DNA tests that they are not the father of the child. A new law has been passed that nullifies the old law, so that "Ohio no longer rewards mothers who lie about who the father of their baby is," as described by the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Peter Lawson Jones. You can read the story at this link. This is an important, basic step in moving toward the concept of male reproductive rights.

I came across this a while ago, in this interview Fred Hayward explains what he's been doing for men's issues the past 20 years, his clashes with feminist groups, his meetings with Warren Farrell and much more. Quite a story I'm sure you'll agree, and you can read about it here.