There is a tendency in feminist thought to assume that men control society. Examples include statements such as "Men, generally speaking, have almost all the power around the globe."

This is an incorrect assumption which impedes the ability of feminism to help men. In fact, this idea that "men run the world" is often misused as a means to blame men in general, not only for the problems faced by women, but all the problems faced by men.

In reality, most of the power in the world is held by very small minorities which consist of both men and women. The vast majority of men have no more power than the vast majority of women. Thus, holding men collectively responsible for the faults of society is wrong.

Indeed, democratic countries mostly have a majority of female voters, and therefore their leaders often prioritise women's issues over those faced by men. It is sexist to assume that every leader will automatically act to favour their own gender over another. Most leaders are motivated either by ideology or self-interest, not gender preference as such.

Sexual and familial power, reproductive power, the power to raise and educate children - all these are overwhelmingly in the hands of women. Yet these enormously powerful capabilities are ignored by feminist theory in its attempt to portray men as a ruling class.

Feminism needs to do a lot more work if it is to acknowledge all the levers of power in society.

This needs to be understood if men's issues are to be seriously addressed. Men are not collectively guilty any more than women.