Article here. Excerpt:

'One in three boys at primary school today believe Pink Floyd's Number One hit "We Don't Need No Education" should be rewritten to read "We Don't Need No Spelling and Grammar".

They think the basics are superfluous now spellcheckers have been invented, according to research out today. A similar number say they would never or rarely write anything outside of a lesson.

The study, by the National Literacy Trust, also reveals that one in five say they would be "embarrassed" if any of their friends found them writing out of school.

The boys' lack of enthusiasm for writing contrasts starkly with girls - one out of three of whom say they write out of class every day.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'I always laughed at the joke - "Why do men die before women? Because they can" - until I read the latest report from the Council for Australian Governments titled Tracking equity: Comparing out-comes for women and girls across Australia.
...
Based on the results for the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment of 15-year-olds the average difference between girls and boys in literacy is 37 points, representing one full year of schooling.

In the 2011 PIRLS test girls also do better than boys in reading both internationally and in Australia by 17 points. The advantage girls have over boys is also reflected in Australia's national literacy tests at years 3, 5, 7 and 9 where girls always outperform boys.
...
Since the late '60s and early '70s, mainly due to the rise of feminism and the fact that there are so few male primary school teachers, the way teachers teach and the way classrooms are structured have been feminised.

Essay here. Excerpt:

'Chances are that when you read this, most of your friends and peers are circumcised, you’ve never had a problem with it, and you’re perfectly happy (G-d willing.) But on the off chance that you feel wronged or violated in any way, there’s something I have to tell you. (And no more jokes for this part.)

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry that I let my religious upbringing override my mommy instinct. I’m sorry that I didn’t give you a choice. I wanted to make sure you feel like you belong instead of feeling different the way I did growing up.
...
... Because if I had fully embraced my true belief system earlier, I would have fought tooth and nail to leave you intact. To let you decide if you want to follow in some of your male ancestors’ footsteps, whatever the reason. Every part of you was perfect when you were born, and every part of you still is. I just wish I hadn’t decided to remove part of you without your consent.

When the Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized, we were happy to see educational programs included. Which is why we are so disappointed in the results of our Truth Team campaign.

Of the six Domestic Violence organizations whose Fact Sheets we checked, all six got the grade "F."

In fact, the "education" offered by these organizations is so lacking, they are committing FRAUD, or EDUCATIONAL MALPRACTICE!

See why: Leaving out key risk factors puts people's lives in danger.

Contact your Representatives in Washington today.

Tell them to end the fraud. Tell them to, "END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EDUCATIONAL MALPRACTICE"

Here's the Capitol Hill switchboard: 800-965-4701

Thank you for standing up for TRUTH!

Teri Stoddard, Program Director
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments
www.saveservices.org

From an OWH mailing-list email sent on 19 Nov 2013:

'Now is your opportunity to order the remaining copies of the Office on Women’s Health’s consumer mental health publication, Women’s Mental Health: What It Means To You. This 22-page booklet can help you talk to women about mental health — it addresses stigma, discusses mental health throughout the lifespan, offers information about signs and symptoms, and provides advice on prevention and coping mechanisms.

We are looking for organizations that can order bulk quantities — for FREE — and disseminate this important resource to women. To order the booklet, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or use our online order form.

For more updates on important women’s health issues, visit the new Office on Women’s Health blog. It’s a place where you can learn about and comment on topics that matter to you. Be the first to know when we publish a new entry — subscribe for email updates.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Are men necessary?

No.

And I can prove it in eight words: Rob Ford. Ted Cruz. Dick Cheney. Anthony Weiner.

For centuries, it was widely thought that women were biologically unsuited to hold leadership positions.

Power was best wielded by men, theorists felt, because men were impersonal, unemotional, forthright and reasonable.
...
But the tables have finally turned. Men have not only stopped evolving. They’re devolving.

Now it is unstable male temperament that is causing alarm. Male politicians are engaging in sneaky, catty, weepy, ditzy, shrewish behaviour that is anything but reasonable and impersonal.

Women are affected by lunar tides only once a month, after all. Men have raging hormones every day, as we noticed when Dick Cheney rampaged around the globe like Godzilla.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Ms. Paglia was having none of it. She reminded Ms. Rosin and the female supremacists that their busy Alpha-female lives are made possible by an invisible army of men – “men who do the dirty, dangerous work of building roads, pouring concrete, laying bricks, tarring roofs, hanging electric wires, excavating natural gas and sewage lines, cutting and clearing trees, and bulldozing the landscape for housing developments.” Ms. Paglia described the modern economy, with its vast system of production and distribution, as a sublime “male epic.” Women have joined it – but men built it. “Surely,” said the fiery Ms. Paglia, “modern women are strong enough now to give credit where credit is due!” And she reminded women that without strong men as models to either embrace or reject, women will never attain a distinctive sense of themselves as women.
...
Caitlin Moran, British writer and humorist, began by warning that her feminism was strident, Marxist, and “fueled by cocktails.” But she turned out to be a down-to earth humanist, reminding everyone that calling men obsolete was no better than the bad old sexist days when women were said to be irrelevant. We are in this together, said Ms. Moran: if one sex fails, the other staggers. All of the speakers acknowledged that working class men’s fortunes have fallen and that boys are having serious difficulties in schools. But, Ms. Moran insisted, that does not mean we should celebrate their travails, but rather that we should do everything possible to improve their prospects. She shocked and delighted the audience with her concluding remark: “The question of the evening is: Are Men Obsolete? My conclusion is: No! I won’t let you be – you fuckers!”

Article here. Excerpt:

'The men's issues movement is about to get a Canadian home.

The Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) announced Monday that it has raised enough money to open the first Canadian Centre for Men and Families in Toronto.

CAFE describes itself as an organization committed to "achieving equality for all Canadians, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family status, race, ethnicity, creed, age or disability."

Article here. Excerpt:

'Gender quotas might not have a sterling reputation, but Germany thinks they're the answer to its male-dominated corporations. According to a new agreement between the parties negotiating to form Germany's next governing coalition, supervisory boards for companies registered on the German stock exchange will need to be at least 30 percent female starting in 2016.

This idea has been around for some time. In 2011, the 30 companies of the DAX index avoided binding quotas and instead pledged voluntarily to increase the proportion of women in management positions. France, Norway, Belgium, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain have already instituted government-mandated quotas on public companies, though some will only take effect several years from now.

Story here. Excerpt:

'CROSSVILLE (WATE) - A Cumberland County father didn't want to wait in a long line of traffic to pick his kids up from school. That led to a series of encounters last week at South Cumberland Elementary, and now the dad's facing charges.
...
"I'm going to call some help down here and we're going to take you up to the jail right now. I'm not putting up with this today. You're being childish and it's uncalled for," Sheriff Deputy and School Resource Officer Avery Aytes said in the YouTube video.

The video goes on to show the dad arguing with the school security officer over state law, then the dad winds up in handcuffs.

If this had been a video of women shaking their labias to make a sale, there would be outrage. Boycott Kmart. Story here. Excerpt:

'From the retailer that brought " Big Gas" and " Ship Your Pants" to the advertising lexicon comes what will surely not be the last controversial ad of the holiday season, a new Kmart ad showing hunks in boxers strutting their stuff to "Jingle Bells."
The ad, which made its debut this week, begins innocently enough, showing six men dressed in tuxedo jackets playing "Jingle Bells" with hand bells behind a table.

The six hunks then ditch the hand bells, come out from behind the table and continue to play "Jingle Bells," this time with their hips.
...
"The commercial I saw last night with the men in tuxes ringing their … was disgusting and in poor taste. I couldn't believe this was allowed on air!! I won't be shopping at K Mart this Christmas," Jerry Carr wrote.

Link here. Excerpt:

From a USAID.gov mailing-list email:

'Today, November 19, 2013, we gather as a global health community to commemorate International Men’s Day and to discuss this year’s theme, “Keeping Men and Boys Safe.” On the road to an AIDS-free generation, we are keeping men and boys safe by addressing gender norms, recognizing the disproportionate impact that HIV has on men who have sex with men (MSM) and other key populations, and supporting voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) as an important strategy in preventing HIV. Check out today’s IMPACT blog, Men for Others: Keeping Men Safe as They Battle Against HIV, penned by Robert Ferris, Technical Leadership & Research Division Chief in USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS.

Stay informed and participate in the conversation!

• Join us today at 11 a.m. for a Twitter expert hour on VMMC with Emmanuel Njeuhmeli, Senior Biomedical Advisor in USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS and co-chair of the PEPFAR Male Circumcision Technical Working Group. Tweet your #VMMC questions @USAIDGH using #GHhour.

Article here. Finally, maybe an issue most MRAs and at least some feminists can agree on. Excerpt:

'But both FGC and MGC, where the erogenous foreskin is removed, can cause serious physical, mental and sexual harm. In 2011, 11 boys under the age of one were treated in Birmingham for life threatening hemorrhage, shock or sepsis relating to circumcision. In the US it’s estimated that 100 boys die as a result of circumcisions every year. MGC is also far more common globally: 13m boys to 2m girls annually.
...
But this isn’t a harm competition. It’s about how FGC, often referred to as female genital mutilation because it’s widely seen as a violation of women’s rights and a form of oppression and sexual control, is easily accepted when that girl is a boy.

FGC has been banned in the UK since 1985 (despite no convictions ) and since 2003, it has been illegal to carry out the procedure on British nationals abroad.

But, as bioethicist Dena Davis put it: “When one begins to question the normative status of the male newborn alteration in the West, and when one thinks of female alteration as including even a hygienically administered "nick,” one begins to see that these two practices, dramatically separated in the public imagination, actually have significant areas of overlap."

Although FGC is practised because of religious beliefs and seen as an important part of cultural identity (imparting a sense of pride, a coming of age or a feeling of community membership), aversion to it overrides concerns about protecting these religious or cultural freedoms – a view also held by some community leaders.

But when it comes to Male Genital Cutting (MGC) it’s neither explicitly illegal nor compulsorily regulated. Instead it’s perceived as a relatively innocuous procedure, a “routine neonatal circumcision”, or brit milah for Jews and khitan for Muslims.
...

Article here. A fairly well balanced article on International Men's Day. Excerpt:

'So do we really need an international day for men? In a world where us chaps are still running politics, business, religion, media and sport, it seems only fair that the ladies have had their own international day for over a century, but for the men to muscle in with a day of their own day, well, it’s not very gentlemanly, is it?

And yet all is not well in the state of “Man Land”.

We know that men in the UK are still dying four years sooner than women, on average; that 12 men each day take their own lives; that 90% of rough sleepers are men; that 95% of the prison population is male; that seven out of ten murder victims are male; that girls are outperforming boys at every stage of education; that women are a third more likely to go to university than men; that young men account for 70% of long-term youth unemployment; that male graduates are 50% more likely to be unemployed; that men in their twenties are earning less than their female peers; that 96% of people who die at work are male and that men accounted for 84% of suicides linked to the recession.

If women and girls were experiencing any one of those problems at the rate that men and boys are, it would be grounds for an international day in its own right - so why are we so indifferent to the various problems that are more likely to impact the male half of the population?
...
This year the day has inspired people around the country to hold events which include a special meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood in Westminster; a public debate about men and violence in Preston and the Guardian journalist Ally Fogg raising money for male victims of sexual abuse by staying silent for the day - a move that has delighted both his fans and critics in equal measure.