Hope for the future

MakhSC · 2013-08-26T19:18:47+00:00

My advice, don't adopt aggressive or confrontational rhetoric (as is often the case on these forums).

My preferred way to describe Men's Rights issues is to frame it as an extension of feminism. Feminism looks at inequality in society, and attempts to redress it. The MRM does the same thing.

I like to say that the MRM and Feminism are "two sides to the same coin". Both strive for a world in everyone is free to make their own decisions, and be free from disadvantage or oppression for no other reason than their gender.

It's not a competition. Men's right isn't about opposing feminism, it's about adding issues to the mix. A woman should be allowed to be sexual without being a labelled as a slut: Feminists believe this, and so do MRAs. A man should be allowed to be around children without being labelled a paedophile: MRAs believe this, and I doubt many feminists would disagree.

So your first thing to keep in mind is don't make a competition. You're not saying feminism is wrong, you're saying men's issues are important too.

Second, focus on the best MRA arguments. Don't open with false rape accusations, because that's extremely contentious. Open with safer topics. My favorites are 1) Workplace injuries and fatalities; 2) The Draft; and 3) depictions of male caregivers. These are great topics because they are hard to refute. Everyone intuitively knows about these imbalances without seeing statistics. Everyone knows that men get injured and die more when working. Everyone knows only men can be drafted. Everyone knows that men are typically ridiculed in ads and in movies when they act like caregivers.

So I open with those issues, and always always always focus on how it's not a competition. Women make up a small minority of politicians and CEOs. This is a problem and we all agree that it would be better if there were more women in those positions. Men make up over 90% of workplace injuries and fatalities This is also a problem, and it would be better if fewer men were dying or being injured. Both issues stem from gender roles, both are wrong, and one being right in no way takes away from the other being right.

Once you get people to agree with the basic premise that men have gender issue too, you can slowly work into issues like male disposability theory, paternity rights, court biases, male sexuality shaming, etc.

Finally, in addition to not being confrontational, you have to know your material very well. The dominant narrative right now is that men are all privilege and women are oppressed. If disrupt that narrative, the onus is on you to make a compelling case. You have to know your facts and arguments very well. The best way to do this, is to study the counter arguments (lawyers like to say, prepare your case, prepare their case, then prepare your response to their case). You need to be expecting their counter-arguments, so that you are already ready to reply.

So in summary, 1) Be conciliatory, not confrontational, "Two Sides of the Same Coin; 2) Start with the least contentious Men's Rights issues - Workplace injuries and the draft are the best ones; 3) Come prepared, know that you're fighting an uphill battle, so be prepared for resistance - expect it, and respond calmly focusing on facts, and Two Sides of the Same Coin.

HappyGerbil88 · 2013-08-27T00:01:37+00:00

Men's rights is now FAR more popular than it was even 10 years ago. In addition, Feminism is losing ground every day, as more and more people realize how full of shit they are. Society in general becomes more logical and rational, and focuses more on actual facts and data as time goes on. We can see now with religion, atheism is at an all time high and even within religious people not many are spouting nonsense about the Earth being 6000 years old. Likewise, Feminist crap like "Women earn 77% for doing the same work," along with their BS notions of male privilege, are starting to fall as people take a more rational look at the issues.

guywithaccount · 2013-08-27T19:13:33+00:00

Do you think, in the future it will be different?

Well, economy permitting, you'll move out one day.

edit: When the day comes that you're moved out, and have a stable job/career, and all of your stuff is out of the attic/basement/whatever, basically, when you have your own life and nothing physical tying you to your mom and sister, if you never spoke to them again, it would serve them right.

rightsbot · 2013-08-26T18:54:18+00:00

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

Juan_Golt · 2013-08-27T00:30:12+00:00

Do what you can to present cogent arguments, but it's up to them to change their opinions. Don't tie yourself in knots over it. Do your best to acknowledge internally that good people often have opposite opinions.

Until they do change, just ignore them like any other bigots and go live your own life as soon as you can. Same thing you would have to do if your parents were racists or disapproved of your sexuality or career choices or etc...

ThePigman · 2013-08-27T01:19:34+00:00

May your female relatives develop some sort of painful and lethal cancer. Oh, wait, they already have...

Title	Hope for the future
Author	Mymyilikepie
Upvotes	11
Comments	24
Date	August 26, 2013 6:52 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1l4tun/hope_for_the_future/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/hope-for-the-future.1165418 https://theredarchive.com/post/1165418

Comments