My University's Students' Union has a Women's officer but no Men's officer

DavidTheWin · 2012-08-23T15:03:24+00:00

Perhaps you should call the Students' Union and ask for the number of the Men's Officer as you have questions for him and would like get an introduction. I assume these would be honest requests anyway. If you get a woman, object and decline speaking with her. If you get a man but not a Men's Officer of the Students' Union ask when you can expect him in so you know when to call back.

Worst case scenario, they'll probably have to admit to not having one and you can express your dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs and emphasize the extreme need for a Men's Officer given that men receive so little assistance and support compared to the catering women typically receive.

Best case, you'll get him and can introduce yourself and express any concerns and address any questions you have.

spacebootsohno · 2012-08-23T19:30:37+00:00

You could always propose that your Univ Student Union establish a Men's officer ... and apply for the position yourself.

If they don't have a position available... make one.

primaloath · 2012-08-23T17:12:36+00:00

It's my (admittedly meager) experience that student unions cater to ultra-left-wing politics. They receive money from national organizations with which to campaign on leftist issues, for instance, and your union would certainly not like to run out of money by "offending" the feminists.

inkall · 2012-08-23T18:46:06+00:00

I talked to a lecturer about a similar state of affairs at my Uni.

What she said was that basically they put "officers" and "support groups" in place for anything that a large enough number of students ask for.

As such the likes of "women's support" and "LGBT groups" exist and sadly take attention away from important support groups like those for students with disabilities, especially those with mental health.

Because of the stigmas of mental health, and disabilities in general, my Uni doesn't have something specifically named "Disabled Student Support" or whatever because people don't want to be seen going into such a department, as such there is just "Student Support" which can mean anything to anyone with people going in looking for money rather than going to financial services and the like.

On one hand this kind of allows for those who want to keep their problems private to do so but it means that while you have posters and leaflets everywhere about women's support and LGBT stuff there is very little specifically saying "DISABLED or ILL STUDENTS COME HERE FOR HELP".

Not to mention that the likes of LGBT and Women's groups are more likely to be faster to cry discrimination at the slightest percieved insult/inaccuracy.

pcarvious · 2012-08-23T19:27:52+00:00

I would see what the duties of the women's officer actually are at the university before you make a move. I would also take the time to get involved with students.t government. That puts you in the position to both lobby for a men's officer and open dialogue about issues young men face. After a few years if a men's office isn't formed start publicly discussing it. Bring it up with relevant stats. Keep all your arguments factual and go from there. You are in the position where you can make changes, both in your peer group and that attitude of those not directly connected to.you.

wntk · 2012-08-24T01:49:30+00:00

Little anecdote, for what it is worth: When I was in college, I was annoyed there was a women rights' officer but no men's rights officer, although the former wasn't a sabbatical position but one of 6 officers that were nominated each year.

The titles of these six positions could vary from year to year.

At the meeting when the positions were being picked, they asked for positions to be thrown out. I said "equality officer" which generated a bit of whispering. What ended up happening was there was both an "equality officer" and a women rights' officer that year!

2012-08-23T21:15:37+00:00

If you're from the UK, the chances are your union is part of the NUS so they're probably obliged to hold elections for that position if they want to remain part of it. You can read more about it here.

You'd also find it very difficult to get a Men's Officer because of the funding it would require.

mikesteane · 2012-08-24T11:05:57+00:00

You should get all the men you know to go and see the women's officer with their complaints and to refuse to be turned away because they have the wrong genitalia. Make sure that your issues are dealt with just as they would be if you were a woman. Or else just make her job impossible.

rightsbot · 2012-08-23T14:54:17+00:00

Post text automatically copied here. (Why?) (Report a problem.)

Title	My University's Students' Union has a Women's officer but no Men's officer
Author	DavidTheWin
Upvotes	66
Comments	13
Date	August 23, 2012 2:53 PM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/yp4mu/my_universitys_students_union_has_a_womens/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/my-universitys-students-union-has-a-womens-officer.1015192 https://theredarchive.com/post/1015192

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