A few quick questions.

MechPlasma · 2012-10-31T12:17:16+00:00

Is it the repeal/prevention of laws/policies that discriminates against men or is it awareness in general?

They're essentially the same thing. The only real way to get rid of those laws and policies, and other discrimination, is to make ordinary people aware of them. For example, the only reason Americans don't complain about how 99% of those executed are male is because they don't actually know.

The whole "Too light on what you actually stand for" is kinda true. Because the biggest issues (aka: laws) are only in the news when they're introduced, and since this is a discussion forum, most of the topics are around current events. So the things that Men's Rights Activists care most about aren't repeated enough.

As for Feminists, well, they're pretty much "the enemy". They're the ones who're telling everyone that men are hardly discriminated against. The reason that the Men's Rights Movement even exists, as opposed to just being egalitarian, is to offset the massive imbalance in sexism awareness that they created.

...

In other words, we want awareness and acknowledgement of common sexism against men. After that, everything should fix itself.

ClaudeKenni · 2012-10-31T13:24:28+00:00

The goal, to put it simply, is equality. Most of the members of the MRM believe in equality of opportunity; to put it simply, that there should be no legal barriers to equality, and that everyone should be on as level a playing field as possible. Dealing with unequal legislation, both in word, and in how it's acted upon, is probably the most clear cut issue where we all agree. Awareness is the second part of it, because a lot of the problems that men face in society are social, rather than just legal ones, due to negative stereotypes of men, and double standards in society. Too many men's rights issues are simply ignored by mainstream media, and most people are unaware of the problems that men face in society because they are men. To get an idea on the specific issues which we want to be dealt with, look to the sidebar, and there is a link which outlines some of the answers to that question.

The reason why feminism in particular is looked badly upon by those in the MRM is because feminism is probably the most proactive force against men's rights in society today (again, take a look at the sidebar, which links to a list with a number of examples of this). So we do criticise their beliefs and actions, to try and show where we believe they are mistaken, either through intentional misinformation, or simply not having the awareness of these issues from a men's rights perspective.

However, we get feminists posting in here often, asking about men's rights, and they are treated respectfully. We may disagree with them, but where we do, it's always about the issues, and to be fair, those feminists who do come to us with an open mind on this discussion are usually in return respectful. But in many (often feminist) places, those of us who believe in men's rights are not given the same respect, and suffer a lot of personal attacks and unwarranted vitriol for our beliefs. I would say that is the reason that on a more personal level, a lot of members of the MRM dislike feminists, after being victims of such attacks.

openToSuggestions · 2012-10-31T13:46:39+00:00

We are, above all else, a bunch of individuals aiming for our own goals. Sometimes those goals are the same goals, and sometimes we need help from each other in achieving those goals. That doesn't mean that we have a uniform agenda.

We have no "goal" as a group. We have individual goals.

For example, I'd like some major family law reform, I'd like genital mutilation to be legally classified as child abuse, and I'd like less discriminatory policies when it comes to college admission, as well as many other things. I do not, however, care in the least about social issues for the most part. I don't care if some girl says "men are scum" or makes a few jokes at a penis's expense, I have real problems I want fixed.

SilencingNarrative · 2012-10-31T19:10:01+00:00

I started reading about men's rights after I watched my wife's cousin being chewed up and spit out by the family court after his wife falsely accused him of hitting her.

I read and write here because I can't bring up the topic of men's rights without being shouted down. Certainly not in public, and not even among close friends and family.

I need a place to discuss my thoughts and feelings without being woken up at 1:30am in the morning by a relative who wants to know how the fuck I could say something so outrageous the previous night in polite company.

I've already changed reddit accounts once to cover my tracks on that front.

Society has a way of shutting down conversations it doesn't want taking place by establishing taboos that have real teeth in them.

My goals are:

1). to understand how the male gender role is enforced. one type of post you see a lot here is what I call "the field report". Someone shares an experience at work, or at a dinner party, and we analyze it. Sometimes the report is about how someone was presented with a dig against men and they had trouble arguing against it. Some of my best short-and-sweet-replies to digs against men have come out of the analysis of posts like that.

2) to use what I learn here to raise awareness among my friends and relatives.

3) to learn enough about the various traps society has set to guide my son and daughter around them as they make their way through life.

C0CKPUNCHER · 2012-10-31T15:53:12+00:00

Personal education and empowerment. Mine and others.

2012-10-31T16:02:22+00:00

I think the fact that we exist at all and are raising awareness is a goal of it's self. There's constant pressure to simply make us stop pointing out inequality.

Addressing laws and political policy that are unfair is a goal but so far we are mostly just raising awareness that those laws are unfair. It's a long way off to see divorce reform or fairness in family court.

The reason we come off as so anti feminist is because one of the big half truths of feminism is that they represent equality. The need for /MR is blurred by the lie that feminism represents both sexes when that's almost never the case.

Being pro /MR doesn't mean you're against equal rights for women or feminism. It's about proving that men's right's issues are not being addressed and promoting actual equality.

Feminist's just seem to really hate that idea because 3rd wave feminism has almost nothing to do with equality in western society. Which leads to /MR being very critical of feminism.

themountaingoat · 2012-11-01T02:37:17+00:00

I think many of the people in the MRM don't have an ultimate goal. The immediate goal is raising awareness and bringing fairness to the obvious legal and social inequalities that men face. I don't see any point in worrying too much about the ultimate goal when we are still so far from any sort of first step.

rightsbot · 2012-10-31T12:10:19+00:00

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2012-11-01T01:45:41+00:00

[permanently deleted]

Title	A few quick questions.
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	29
Comments	36
Date	October 31, 2012 12:08 PM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/12e7og/a_few_quick_questions/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/a-few-quick-questions.1010187 https://theredarchive.com/post/1010187

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