Article here. Excerpt:

'Many of the young men I spoke to felt surrounded by signals that a muscular body was what they needed. They had noticed that celebrities, from movie stars to the sexed-up randos on reality shows such as Love Island, had got more muscular, though no one I talked to wanted to emulate a movie star exactly, let alone go on reality TV. The idea that “muscles get you girls” came up often, although most men I spoke to acknowledged that only a small subset of women prefer a mammothly muscular body. Many mentioned social media, where they saw constant images of successful muscular men – friends they knew and influencers they didn’t – which had, in some small way, made them feel bad about themselves. Many had got into weightlifting or fitness in order to feel better, and yet they often felt as if they were falling behind, or not achieving the milestones – “gains” in muscle or strength – that they should. Steroids, they hoped, would help.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The introduction of gender quotas in Welsh elections "could lead to legal challenges", according to a new report.

Politicians say those challenges could disrupt the outcome of the next Senedd election.

The cross-party Reform Bill Committee says the Welsh government has to take action.

The bill that's being considered would only change the rules when it comes to Senedd (Welsh parliament) elections.

The next vote to choose representatives in Cardiff Bay is due to take place in May 2026.

If approved, the changes would come into effect ahead of that vote.

The aim of the proposals is to increase the number of women who stand for election to the Senedd.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has been accused of mansplaining after interrupting a radio debate in which his fellow party member was speaking.

The prime minister made a surprise appearance at France Info on Monday, appearing on stage next to Valerie Hayer, candidate for the upcoming European Parliament elections on June 9.

Ms Hayer, of the presidential Renew party, was taking part in a debate with lead candidates when Mr Attal interrupted an exchange with the anchor.

LFI MP Raquel Garrido called the incident "mansplaining or, to be more precise, manterrupting".

But writing on X, Ms Hayer lashed out at opponents accusing Mr Attal of sexism.

"Instrumentalising the feminist cause only harms it. Real sexism is believing you can think for me," she wrote, adding she was "proud" to have Mr Attal "by my side" in the campaign.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Politicians from all the major parties got behind our campaign to fund healthy relationships workshops in schools to address sexist abuse and harassment, as the Rotary Club of London gave its support with a four-figure donation.

It follows support from Mayor Sadiq Khan who backed our campaign along with our call for the Department for Education to create a new category that records when a pupil is excluded for sexist abuse.

It comes as a report from the Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza highlights the problem of “rape culture being normalised in schools” with “boys in particular mimicking harmful sexual behaviours they have seen online”.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Watched by 2.8 million, the TikTok video touched off a viral conversation about microfeminism, inspiring women – and men – to respond with their own small but mighty clapbacks at sexism that are spreading online and off.

Refusing to step aside for a man barreling down the sidewalk? That’s microfeminism. Claiming the armrest when you’re in the middle seat or the whole seat when the guy next to you on the subway is “manspreading?” Those, too, are acts of microfeminism.

So is greeting women first in a meeting, referring to "hers and his," assuming a CEO is a she and saying "girls" instead of "guys" as a gender-neutral term.

“I’m doing this thing, this tiny little act of collaboration with women, and I wondered if they noticed, and if anyone else is doing it,” Chaney told USA TODAY. “And, wow, I learned they absolutely do.”

And now these everyday acts of defiance are turning into an online movement.

Article here. Excerpt:

'For a long time, the internet and social media have been bloated with memes, even articles, that denigrate men and most forms of traditional masculinity. Many of the people behind these posts insist that they are simply snarky barbs aimed at people with the most “privilege” who can’t take a joke.

If there was ever any doubt about the veracity of or honesty behind such a statement, a growing trend appears to pull back the veil.

In one American study, white parents picked a female embryo 70 percent of the time. A 2010 study showed that American adoptive parents were 30 percent more likely to prefer girls than boys, and were willing to pay an additional $16,000 to ensure they got a girl.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Rapist, school-shooter, incel, man-child, interrupter, mansplainer, boob-starer, birthday forgetter, frat boy, dude-bro, homophobe, self-important stoner, emotional-labor abstainer, non-wiper of kitchen counters.”

These were some of the thoughts that kept Ruth Whippman up at night when she was pregnant with her third son and imagined his future. The year was 2017, when the Me Too movement was in full swing and a year into what she described as the “Pussy Grabber” administration of Donald J. Trump — “a time when the news was a rolling horrorshow of male bad behavior.”

Even in the “liberal urban bubble” of Berkeley, it became “increasingly clear that girls were now considered the prize. Boys, while cute and puppy-like, were generally viewed on some level as trouble — feral, hard to control, animalistic,” Whippman writes in her new book, Boymom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Zoe Rider, 36, and Nicola Lethbridge, 45, were sentenced for a "vicious and extremely violent joint attack" on 60-year-old neighbour Stephen Koszyczarski in his Sheffield flat.

The court heard how they recorded their attack on the vulnerable man as they falsely accused him of being a paedophile on 9 August 2023.

Mr Koszyczarski was robbed by the pair and was left bleeding and with 22 separate injuries around his face, head and body. He died from his injuries two days later.

Judge Sarah Wright told Sheffield Crown Court the pair were "both clearly fuelled by drugs and probably alcohol" when they carried out the attack.

"You set about him in the most brutal, heartless and despicable manner. You launched a vicious and extremely violent joint attack upon him.

Article here. I think she's a bit hyperbolic here but I get her general idea. Excerpt:

'Author and TV correspondent Candace Owens recently said “straight white males” are now being treated the same as Black people during the degrading segregation era in America.

Owens is known for controversial remarks she makes as a Republican correspondent, whether she’s on the job or off. According to Mediaite, the media host was a recent speaker at Turning Point USA‘s latest college event at Michigan State University. The non-profit organization was founded by Trump supporter Charlie Kirk, and its mission is “to build the most organized, active and powerful conservative grassroots activist network on high school and college campuses across the country.”

During the event Twitter user Jason Campbell, a senior researcher at Media Matters, tweeted a video of Owens on stage sharing her viewpoint on what she sees as the modern-day reality of “straight white males.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Recently, Victoria’s government in Australia announced the creation of a new parliamentary role aimed at changing men’s behavior to address gender-based violence. This decision marks a significant step in the government’s strategy to combat violence against women by focusing on men as the primary agents of change. While the intention to eradicate such violence is commendable, the approach raises profound concerns about gender bias and societal division.

Article here. Excerpt:

'MEN could be checked for prostate cancer with a simple saliva test after a trial found it works better than blood testing.

It could save them unnecessary GP visits and embarrassing physical exams.

Scientists at the Institute for Cancer Research in London said the DIY spit test would catch more aggressive tumours and lead to fewer false alarms than the current NHS system.

Men simply spit into a tube at home and send the sample off for lab analysis.

Their DNA is checked for high risk genes or damage that could indicate prostate cancer, which is the most common type in men, with 52,000 cases per year.

Patients with the most concerning results are sent for further scans and exams, while those with low-risk scores can be discharged.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Make of this what you will because it left me scratching my head this morning. But just in case something similar pops up in the United States in the near future (don't rule it out), we should probably keep an eye on the situation. This story comes to us from Victoria, the second-largest state in Australia by population. Jacinta Allan of the Labor Party serves as the Premier there and she has just announced the creation of a new position in the state's Parliament. It's called the "Parliamentary Secretary for Men's Behavior Change." That's quite a mouthful, but all of the word salad that accompanied the announcement didn't do much to clarify precisely what the new Secretary is supposed to do or what powers or authorities they are being granted. In any event, the first person to hold the title is Tim Richardson, an MP from Mordilloc. Best of luck, mate. (Daily Wire)'

Article here. Excerpt:

'American men ages 18 to 25 would be automatically signed up for the draft if a measure making its way through Congress becomes law.

The proposal by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan would mean that men would be automatically registered for the draft when they turn 18. Under current federal law, all American male citizens and green card holders 18 to 25 years old must register with the Selective Service, but the requirement to do so falls on individuals. Those roles would be the basis of a military draft if Congress or the President decided to implement one, which Houlahan’s proposed measure does not address.

Women would continue to be exempt from Selective Service registration under the proposal submitted as an amendment to the national defense policy bill for fiscal year 2025.

During debate on her amendment last week, Houlahan argued that the measure would allow Congress to spend more money on “readiness and towards mobilization” instead of “education and advertising campaigns driven to register people.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'Ukraine urgently needs new soldiers, but some — left uneasy by brutal fighting and intensifying conscription efforts — are desperately trying to avoid being called up.

“When you see people in uniform, you panic. You start thinking someone will mobilize you now against your will,” a lawyer based in Kyiv told NBC News. He did not want his identity known, fearful, like a growing number of men across the country, of being drafted into the army if his name is made public just as Russia launches a wave of attacks to try to decisively seize the battlefield initiative.

The 25-year-old has no military experience and just became eligible to be conscripted after Ukraine lowered the age men can be drafted from 27 to 25 last month.

Facing a third year of assaults from its vast neighbor, Ukraine is running out of men.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Within an hour of being arrested by Russian security forces, Roman Shapovalenko was threatened with rape.

On August 25, 2022, the day after Ukraine’s Independence Day, he said three armed, masked officers from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) stormed his home in the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson, which was occupied by Russian forces at the time.

They turned his house inside out searching for incriminating evidence. A message in Shapovalenko’s phone that called Russian soldiers “orcs” — a derisive reference to the evil forces in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth books and a popular Ukrainian slur for the Russian army — was enough for them. He said he was tied up, blindfolded and stuffed into an unmarked car.

For days after, Shapovalenko said he was repeatedly electrocuted in his genital area, threatened with being raped with a glass bottle, and was even made to believe he could be sterilized.'