Masculism

Masculism (Men's Rights) is an ideology which asserts that certain intrinsic rights are often denied to men in contemporary Western culture. Radical masculism even goes so far as to argue that society does not usually recognize that men, as men, even have rights. This is in contrast to the more commonly held feminist view which asserts that women have been disadvantaged in society.

Men's Rights advocates emphasize what they believe are certain frequently neglected issues pertaining to the concept of equality. Examples include child custody, abortion, compulsory military service, unsegregated professional sports, law enforcement relating to domestic violence, funding for men's and women's groups, Men's Studies vs Women's Studies, ministries of Men's Affairs to complement ministries of Women's Affairs, and health research funding.

Many Men's Rights activists also argue that the balance of political power between the genders does not necessarily equate to the relative numbers of men and women in decision-making positions. They argue that there are many other sorts of political power, such as control over the information and stereotypes that decision-makers rely on as the basis of their decisions. Many claim that this information and these stereotypes, in the West, are largely under the control of Hollywood, the mass media, the education sector, and the bureaucracies, which they assert are dominated by individuals unsympathetic to the masculist cause.

The term "Masculism" (aka "Masculinism" or "Virism") may be used interchangeably with "Men's Rights", but conservatives in the Men's Rights scene often reserve the term "Masculism" for the liberal branch of the Men's Rights movement (as epitomised by ex-feminist author Warren Farrell). Liberal Masculists (such as Farrell or Rod van Mechelen) take the position that Feminist aspirations to gender equality should be taken at face value, and men made equal to women in those areas where women are over-privileged. Conservatives (such as Richard Doyle, and religious individuals and organisations such as the Promise Keepers) would prefer to return to a traditional division of labour between the sexes. From New Zealand, Peter Zohrab's book Sex, Lies & Feminism, proposes that society either abolish the so-called female privilege, or revert to a traditional division of labour between the sexes as a fall-back position. He also charges that the power and feminist bias of what he terms the "MUC" (Media University Complex) are a central issue in the Sex War. The American Union of Men's (AUM) Tom Smith, has published a three part Masculist tract that he named the "Masculist Trinity". In it he combines both liberal and conservative men's issues and advocates the elimination of feminism by repealing all "sexual equality laws", such as the inclusion of women in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He sees this approach as way to challenge the essence of feminist advocacy and what he terms "privilege", while leveling the playing field between men and women. Sex differences also are central to Smith's advocacy, both as a challenge to feminism's legal claim to equality and as a critical area of understanding for a culture's well being.

The leading masculist theoriticians envision a greater role for men in both the family and society at large. Most think that paternal custody has lesser status than maternal custody, and they argue that it should instead have equal status. They believe that this is achievable because the socialization of men in recent years has altered to the point where fathers now have the same nurturing skills as women do; they also charge that most family breakups are initiated by women, and that paternal custody will counteract this. They believe that feminism is the ruling paradigm in society; one of their goals is to overturn this paradigm by establishing a masculinist rule, which they consider more altruistically motivated. Under this scenario, government programs and policies are guided by masculist men and women. Most masculists support opportunity for women, but want adjustments made in the workplace and in the tax area. Tom Smith's Masculist Trinity makes the most specific recommendations to date in this area.

The best-known authors on masculist issues are perhaps Warren Farrell in the USA, Neil Lyndon and David Thomas in Great Britain and Matthias Matussek and Arne Hoffmann in Germany.

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