Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 20:49, 15 August 2010

Rights
Theoretical distinctions
Claim rights and liberty rights Individual and group rights Natural rights and legal rights Negative and positive rights
Human rights
Civil and political Economic, social and cultural Three generations
Rights by beneficiary
Accused Animals Autistic Children Consumers Creditors Deaf Disabled Elders Family Farmers Fetuses Humans Indigenous Intersex Kings LGBT Transgender Men Minorities Parents Fathers Mothers Patients Peasants Plants Prisoners Robots States Students Victims Women Workers Youth
Other groups of rights
Assembly Association Asylum Civil liberties Clothing Development Digital Education Fair trial Food Free migration Health Healthy environment Housing Linguistic Movement Property Repair Reproductive Rest and leisure Security Self defense Self-determination of people Sexuality Speech Water and sanitation
v t e

The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Masculism is the advocacy of men's rights and the adherence to, or promotion of, social theories and moral philosophies concerning issues of gender with respect to the interests and legal protection of men. The term masculinism was coined as the counterpart of feminism in the early 20th century. The shortened form masculism appears in the 1980s.

The masculist political movement originated with E. Belfort Bax's 1913 The Fraud of Feminism. The term masculism itself gained currency in the late 20th century, in the context of changing gender roles, advocated by authors such as Warren Farrell.

Masculist concerns

Part of a series on
Discrimination
Forms Institutional Structural Statistical Taste-based
Attributes Age Caste Class Dialect Disability Genetic Hair texture Height Language Looks Mental disorder Race / Ethnicity Skin color Scientific racism Rank Sex Sexual orientation Species Size Viewpoint
Social Arophobia Acephobia Adultism Anti-albinism Anti-autism Anti-homelessness Anti-drug addicts Anti-intellectualism Anti-intersex Anti-left handedness Anti-Masonry Aporophobia Audism Biphobia Clannism Elitism Ephebiphobia Social determinants of health Social determinants of health in poverty Social determinants of mental health Fatphobia Gayphobia Gerontophobia Heterosexism HIV/AIDS stigma Homophobia Leprosy stigma Lesbophobia Discrimination against men Misandry Misogyny Nepotism Pedophobia Perpetual foreigner Pregnancy Sectarianism Supremacism Aryanism Autistic Black Chauvinism Female Illusory Jewish Male Nordicism Tigraynization Ultranationalism White Transphobia 21st-century anti-trans movement in the United Kingdom Non-binary Transmisogyny Trans men Vegaphobia Xenophobia
Religious Atheism Exclusivism Baháʼí Faith Buddhism Christianity Persecution Catholicism Eastern Orthodoxy Jehovah's Witnesses LDS or Mormon Protestantism Tewahedo Orthodoxy post–Cold War era Falun Gong Hinduism Persecution Untouchability Islam Persecution Ahmadiyya Shi'ism Sufism Sunnism minority Muslim Judaism Persecution Neopaganism Rastafari Sikhism Yazidism Zoroastrianism
Ethnic/national Afghan African Albanian Arab Armenian Asian France South Africa United States Assyrian Australian Austrian Azerbaijani Black people African Americans China South Africa Bengali Bulgarian Catalan Chechen Chinese Colombian Croat Dutch English Estonian Filipino French Fulani Finnish Georgian German Greek Haitian Hazara Hungarian Igbo Indian Indigenous people Australia Canada United States Iranian Irish Italian Japanese Jewish Antisemitism New Korean Kurdish Lithuanian Malay Māori Mexican Middle Eastern Mongolian Montenegrin Nigerian Pakistani Palestinians Pashtun Polish Portuguese Quebec Romani Romanian Russian Scottish Serb Slavic Somali Spanish Tatar Thai Turkish Ukrainian Uyghur Venezuelan Vietnamese Welsh
Manifestations Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric SPLC-designated list of anti-LGBTQ hate groups Anti-LGBTQ movement in the US Anti-trans movement in the UK Anti-Zionism Blood libel Bullying Cancel culture Capital punishment for homosexuality Compulsory sterilization Corrective rape Counter-jihad Cultural genocide Defamation Democide Disability hate crime Dog whistle Domicide Economic Education Employment Eliminationism Enemy of the people Ethnic cleansing Ethnic conflict Ethnic hatred Ethnic joke Ethnocide Excellence Gender-based dress codes Cosmetics policy High heel policy Forced conversion Freak show Gay bashing Gendercide Genital modification and mutilation Genocide examples Glass ceiling Hate crime Violence against LGBTQ people Hate group Hate speech Homeless dumping Housing Indian rolling Kill Haole Day Lavender scare LGBTQ+ grooming conspiracy theory List of people killed for being transgender Lynching Mortgage Murder music Native American mascots Occupational segregation Opposition to immigration Paper genocide Persecution Pogrom Political repression Purge Racialization Religious persecution Religious terrorism Religious violence Religious war Scapegoating Segregation academy Sentencing disparity Sexual harassment Sex-selective abortion Slut-shaming Untermensch Trans bashing Victimisation Violence against women White flight White genocide conspiracy theory Wife selling Witch hunt
Policies Age of candidacy Blood purity Blood quantum Crime of apartheid Disabilities Catholic Jewish Gender pay gap Gender roles Transphobia in the US House of Representatives Gerontocracy Gerrymandering Ghetto benches Internment Jewish quota Law for Protection of the Nation LGBTQ rights opposition MSM blood donation restrictions No kid zone Numerus clausus (as religious or racial quota) One-drop rule Racial quota Racial segregation Jim Crow laws Nuremberg Laws Racial steering Redlining Same-sex marriage (laws and issues prohibiting) Segregation age racial religious sexual Social exclusion Sodomy law State atheism State religion Ugly law Voter suppression
Countermeasures Affirmative action Anti-discrimination law Anti-racism Constitutional colorblindness Cultural assimilation Cultural pluralism Diversity, equity, and inclusion Diversity training Empowerment Fat acceptance movement Feminism Fighting Discrimination Hate speech laws by country Human rights Intersex human rights LGBT rights Nonviolence Racial integration Reappropriation Self-determination Social integration Toleration
Related topics Allophilia Amatonormativity Bias Cisnormativity Civil liberties Criminalization of homosexuality Dehumanization Diversity Multiculturalism Neurodiversity Ethnic penalty Figleaf Gender-blind Heteronormativity Historical eugenics Internalized oppression Intersectionality Masculism Medical model of disability autism Net bias Oikophobia Oppression Police brutality Political correctness Polyculturalism Power distance Prejudice Prisoner abuse Racial bias in criminal news in the United States Racism by country Racial color blindness Religious intolerance Reverse discrimination Reverse racism Second-generation gender bias Snobbery Social equity Social exclusion Social identity threat Social model of disability Social privilege Christian male white Social stigma Speciesism Stereotype threat The talk
v t e

Masculists cite one-sided legislation, selective enforcement, and neglected civil rights as examples of discrimination against men and boys. Examples of questions raised by masculists may include:

Violence

Masculist concerns focus on societal acceptance of violence harming men paired with the stigma against violence harming women, as well as males being taught or expected to take on violent roles.

• Violence against men minimalized or taken less seriously than violence against women.
• Women are more violent than men in some research studies asking both men and women.
• Depiction of violence against men as humorous, in the media and elsewhere (see Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them!), when women are also violent.
• Assumption of female innocence or sympathy for women, which may result in problems such as disproportionate penalties for men and women for similar crimes, lack of sympathy for male victims in domestic violence cases, and dismissal of female-on-male rape cases.
• Societal failure to address prison rape, including issues such as prevention (e.g., reducing prison crowding that requires sharing of cells), impunity for prison rapists, and even correctional staff punishing prisoners by confining them with known rapists. Attention has been drawn to portrayals of male rape by women, or implied rape, as humorous.
• Only men are called up during a military draft though in recent wars women as well as men are placed on the front lines during a war being exposed to the most dangerous situations.
• Circumcision (characterized as harmless tradition by some, and as male genital mutilation by others) being advocated while female genital mutilation is prohibited, although both practices are purported to reduce sexual pleasure and expose the patient to possible health problems.
• Some areas do not have laws that criminalize rape of men when perpetrated by women, and there's also controversy among countries that do have these laws that they are not enforced. Some feminist scholars argue that men cannot actually be raped because their mental status cannot feel the same feelings as a female rape victim.

Parenting

• Discrimination with regard to child custody.
• Unfairness in the way the alimony and child support systems are structured.
• Related to both of the above, gynocentric divorce law.
• Pregnancies carried to term despite agreements ahead of time that they would not be, subjecting men to unwanted parental responsibilities and/or child support expectations. (see Dubay v. Wells)
• The opposite of the above, where a man who wants to have a child has no say in whether his partner aborts their child and is not even notified if the abortion takes place. (see paternal rights and abortion)
• Equality in adoption rights allowing either unmarried males or females to adopt.

Discrimination

• Legislation that addresses women's needs without considering the corresponding need in men. (e.g., Women, Infants, and Children Act; Violence Against Women Act)
• Biases in the justice system against men, such as higher incarceration rates and longer sentences for men (compared to women) for the same crimes.
• Statutory rape laws enforced more vehemently in instances where the victim is female and/or the perpetrator is male.
• Rape shield laws, which may prevent some men from adequately challenging their accuser.
• Cathy Young, who does not consider herself a "masculinist," argues that in rape cases, "the dogma that "women never lie" means that there is, for all intents and purposes, no presumption of innocence for the defendant".
• Women are allowed to marry at younger ages than men in some U.S. states.
• Men pay higher premiums for auto, life and disability insurance, though discrimination according to race or other criteria is prohibited.
• In some countries, men have to pay more income tax than their female counterparts. E.g. in India the income tax exemption limit for men is Rs 150,000 per annum while that for women is Rs 180,000 per annum.

Social concerns

• Increasing suicide rate among young men, four times higher than among young women.
• It's usually seen as socially acceptable for a female to try out or follow masculine social norms, whereas if a male does the same for feminine social norms they often attract unwanted attention and are victims of ridicule, insult, harassment, and threatening behavior. For example, stay-at-home dads, men who want to be nannies or babysitters, men who cry or express emotions can all be treated poorly.
• Lack of advocacy for men's rights; little domestic abuse support for men.
• Bias in health concerns; for example, more advertisements and awareness for breast cancer than prostate cancer, though both cancers kill approximately the same number of people each year. Breast CancerProstate Cancer
• Incarceration for not paying child support, particularly for unwanted children, in contrast to women's right to abort. (see Male abortion)
• Special government agencies for women's affairs with no corresponding agencies for men's affairs.
• Lack of legal ramifications or enforcement for paternity fraud.

Education

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Lack of educational aid for boys and men, given that their performance/enrollment at most levels lags behind that of girls and women; some states declaring (de jure or de facto) all-male schools illegal and all-female schools legal.
• There is concern that some university women's studies departments are more concerned with teaching feminist ideology than equality of gender. The content and emphasis of these courses vary, and some even discuss "masculinities"; but masculists fear that many such courses contribute to animosity towards men.
• Some universities also carry men's studies courses. Some feminists argue that these are redundant, stating that academia throughout history was predominantly focused on men; however, supporters of these courses note that most subjects throughout history have not dealt with gender directly.

Employment

• Harder physical entrance criteria for men in many occupations, such as the army, police and fire service. Requiring men to be physically stronger than women in these occupations leaves men responsible for a greater share of the physical work, for no more pay.
• Legal inequality and protections of paternal vs. maternal leave.

Differences in masculist ideology

There is no consensus as to what constitutes masculism. Some feel the word describes a belief that the male and female genders should be considered complementary and interdependent by necessity. Such expressions of masculism are built around the belief that differentiated gender roles are natural and should be exempt from government interference. Other masculists, such as Warren Farrell, support an ideology of equivalence between the sexes, rather than a belief in unchangeable gender differences. A more encompassing definition might be "a movement to empower males in society, and to redress discrimination against men."

Because it is the name of a political and social movement, masculism is sometimes considered synonymous with the men's rights or fathers' rights movements. However, many of the fathers' rights movement make a clear distinction between masculism and their own often quite varied approaches to gender relations.

Gender roles in religion are a source of disagreement among masculists: some support a general leadership role for men, while others argue for relative equality between the genders. Liberal masculists such as Warren Farrell tend to favor a secular, gender-neutral stance, whereas conservatives tend to prefer a religious approach, such as represented in The Inevitability of Patriarchy by Steven Goldberg. Conservatives may promote a "New Patriarchy" by countering feminist ideology with their own. Such liberal-conservative dynamics illustrate the diversity of a movement that nonetheless has a unified purpose of promoting men's welfare.

Progressive masculism

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Progressive masculists view masculism as a complementary movement to feminism, both movements seeking to correct gender discrimination. Progressive masculists do not reject feminism as a movement nor consider feminism a hostile movement and adopt cooperative vision.

Warren Farrell, widely seen as a progressive masculist stated in The Myth of Male Power that both genders are hampered by the "bisexist" roles of the past: sexism that oppresses both genders. He emphasises the compatibility of both movements:

I use two podiums to debate myself as a feminist and masculist.

— Warren Farrell,

Another supporter states:

We must not reverse the women's movement; we must accelerate it... Men's liberation is not a backlash, for there is nothing about traditional sex roles that I want to go back to.

— Fred Hayward, Speach to the National Congress for Men, 1981

Farrell suggests that masculism in his conception can assist and aid the women's movement.

Likewise, gender egalitarians call for both masculists and feminists who are truly interested in equality to unite under one banner of gender egalitarianism. This philosophy is sympathetic to legitimate grievances of both males and females.

The principle of defining masculism on gendereconomy.com is by reverting the definition of feminism and including the same two levels – men are subordinate to women, this condition has to be changed. Masculism carries assumptions about the proper distribution of power and privilege and serves as the bases for a plan of action. Masculism here is defined as a tool to reveal gender inequality. It focuses on the domination of women over men and claims that men are oppressed by hierarchical structures and stereotypes in different levels of society. The scapegoats of masculism are women and domains of female dominance are claimed to be responsible for all the injustice done to men in particular and society in general. Men and women both are found equally responsible for the unsatisfying relations between sexes.

Patriarchal masculism

This section contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (March 2010)

Contrary to self-styled "progressive" masculism, which is essentially grounded in, and a complement to, the feminist worldview, Patriarchal masculism emphasises and defends "traditional manliness" and traditional male (and, by extension, female) gender roles.

It is argued by this branch of masculism that these roles are essentially positive for men. This branch perceives that traditional male behavior and norms are on the decline, and that it is necessary to resurrect them through articulation of their virtue.

This branch of masculism can be said to be androcentric in some instances, as opposed to the allegedly gynocentric nature of "progressive" masculism.

This branch views the (loose) replacement gender roles for men in the feminist and post-feminist landscape as unsatisfactory. Also, the practical shortcomings of the gender egalitarian philosophy are critiqued.

Literary theory

Masculist literary theory is a response to feminist literary theory. The term was coined by Rachel Bishop in "The Masculinist Manifesto".

See also

• Misandry
• Masculine psychology
• Masculinity
• Men's spaces
• Patriarchy
• Reverse discrimination
• Complementarianism

Men's movements and organizations

• Fathers 4 Justice
• Men's movement
• Promise Keepers
• Save Indian Family
• International Men's Day (19 November: Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Australia, India, United States, Singapore, United Kingdom, Malta, South Africa, Hungary, Ireland, Ghana, and Canada)

People associated with masculism

• Warren Farrell
• Harvey Mansfield
• Henry Makow

Books

• Manliness (book) (2006)
• Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man (1999)

Bibliography

• Politics of Aristotle asserts excellence varies with social role, including gender.
• The Legal Subjection of Men, 1908 antithesis of John Stuart Mill's 1869 The Subjection of Women.
• The Fraud of Feminism by Ernest Belfort Bax, 1914.
• The Myth of the Monstrous Male and Other Feminist Fallacies; John Gordon, Playboy Press, New York, 1982; ISBN 0-87223-758-3
• The Myth of Male Power: Why Men Are the Disposable Sex; Warren Farrell, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1993: ISBN 0-671-79349-7
• Manliness by Harvey Mansfield (2006) Yale Press ISBN 0-300-10664-5
• Not Guilty: The Case in Defense of Men; David Thomas, William Morrow and Co., Inc., New York, 1993; ISBN 0-688-11024-X
• Good Will Toward Men; Jack Kammer, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1994; ISBN 0-312-10471-5
• Moral Panic: Biopolitics Rising; John Fekete, Robert Davies Publishing, Montreal-Toronto, 1994: ISBN 1-895854-09-1
• The New Men's Studies: A Selected and Annotated Interdisciplinary Bibliography (2nd Edition); Eugene R. August, Libraries Unlimited, Inc., Englewood, CO, 1994: ISBN 1-56308-084-2
• A Man's World: How Real Is Male Privilege - And How High Is Its Price?; Ellis Cose, Harper Collins, New York, 1995: ISBN 0-06-017206-1
• Why Men Don't Iron: The Real Science of Gender Studies; Anne & Bill Moir, Harper Collins, Hammersmith, London, 1998; ISBN 0-00-257035-1 (Trade Paperback); ISBN 0-00-257048-3 (Hardcover)
• The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity; Leon J. Podles, Spence Publishing Co., Dallas, TX, 1999. (The title is a play on the Christian theological terms church militant and church triumphant.)
• Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture; Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 2001; ISBN 0-7735-2272-7

• Sex Differences, Modern Biology and the Unisex Fallacy, Yves Christen
• Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women; Christina Hoff Sommers ISBN 0-684-80156-6
• The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men; Christina Hoff Sommers ISBN 0-684-84956-9
• Domestic Violence: The 12 Things You Aren't Supposed to Know by Thomas B. James ISBN 1-59330-122-7
• Ceasefire! : Why Women And Men Must Join Forces To Achieve True Equality; Cathy Young ISBN 0-684-83442-1
• The Masculine Mystique; Andrew Kimbrell ISBN 0-345-38658-2

References

1. OED; "allwords.com".; "Merriam-Webster".
2. E. Belfort Bax, The Fraud of Feminism, at Marxists.org
3. menz.org.nz/2008/minimization-of-violence-against-men/
4. iol.co.za
5. Prof. Hilde Pape, University of Oslo. The report is also referring to studies from US in 1977 (In Norwegian)
6. Professor David Fergusson and Associate Professor Richie Poulton, University of Otago, New Zealand. (Missing the research report itself)
7. ^ The Myth of Male Power: Why Men Are the Disposable Sex; Warren Farrell, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1993: ISBN 0-671-79349-7
8. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/prison/report8.html#_1_50
9. Zenas Baer (1996). "Are Baby Boys Entitled to the Same Protection as Baby Girls Regarding Genital Mutilation?". NOHARMM.org. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
10. newsamericanow.com Double Standard: The Bias Against Male Victims of Sexual Abuse
11. dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2004/03/26/rape_shield/index.html?sid=1213003
12. www.law.cornell.edu/topics/Table_Marriage.htm
13. query.nytimes.com/gst
14. "Difference in income tax exemption limits for men and women in India"
15. National Statistics (UK)
16. http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/militarypaytables/2009MilitaryPayTables.pdf
17. Gender Economy, section Definitions, subsection Masculism - As a political and social movement masculism is considered by some feminists to be synonymous with the men's rights or fathers' rights movements. However, many of the fathers' rights movement make a clear distinction between masculism and their own often quite varied approaches to gender relations.
18. The Diverse and Growing Men's Movement
19. Farrell, Ph.D., Warren (1993). The Myth of Male Power. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0425181448.
20. "Warren Speaking". warrenfarrell.com. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
21. Gendereconomy.com, page Definitions, section Masculism: The principle of defining masculism here is by reverting the definition of feminism and including the same two levels – men are subordinate to women, this condition has to be changed. Masculism carries assumptions about the proper distribution of power and privilege and serves as the bases for a plan of action.

External links

• Practical Manliness, A men's blog that applies "historical ideals to modern men."
• Double Standard: The Bias Against Male Victims of Sexual Abuse
• Defending All-Male Education: A New Cultural Movement for a Renewed Debate
• American Coalition for Fathers and Children
• Equal Parental Rights for Fathers
• National Coalition of Free Men
• Men's Activism Men's rights Discussion group
• The ManKind Project of Chicago
• Masculism-Feminism Duality Concept
• Sexism Discussion Group

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from July 2010
• Gender studies
• Gender
• Men's movement
• Neologisms
• Words coined in the 1980s
• Social theories