Men’s rights activists descended upon the New York Academy of Medicine last week for the Second Annual Conference on Male Studies, to discuss exactly what plagues the modern man. Their unsurprising conclusion: feminism.
The men’s rights movement has been the subject of more attention in recent years, as male unemployment persists. The concerns it raises are not without merit; the financial crisis has indeed hit men harder than women and the gender discrepancy in higher education becomes more pronounced with each passing year. But, as we’ve explored before, these men’s rights activists too often blame their favorite scapegoat—feminists—for economic and social hardship.
According to Jonathan Liu of the New York Observer, this conference was no different. Hosted by Guy Garcia, a journalist and former AOL executive, it featured a series of six “scholars” who provided a bit of statistical evidence coupled with a heavy dose of paranoid conjecture. Among the highlights was Garcia blaming male unemployment on working mothers.
Mr. Garcia’s greatest hit came some time later, an off-the-cuff theory on the scandal of male underemployment. “As we all know,” he said, “when boys are growing up, the way teenage males define themselves is against their mothers. They want to be not-Mom. So what do you think happens when Mom works?”
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Later, Garcia argued that if the current sociological trends continue, men will become violent. “We know what happens when men have no hope,” Liu reports Garcia as saying. “They turn to violence.”
In another lecture, Michael Gilbert (author of The Disposable Male and a researcher at USC), lamented that society no longer limits sports and coming-of-age celebrations to boys. After all, girls get to menstruate— what need do they have for other rites of passage?
Even couched in faux-academia, the argument sounds ridiculous:
[Boys’] bodies don’t move to lunar rhythms—menstrual cycles. Jewish boys will not get a sweet 16. They won’t be given away in marriage—which is a bride-centered ceremony—behind a mysterious veil. Jewish husbands will not get pregnant, they will not go through the tunnel of birth, they will not suckle infants at their breast. All these powerful, recurring, female-affirming passages aren’t available to males.
Garcia, Gilbert and the other attendees (mercifully only 40, Liu estimates) highlight exactly what’s wrong with the men’s rights movement: it’s willfully blind critique of feminism. As GMPM contributor Amanda Marcotte points out here and elsewhere, most of their problems could in fact be solved with more feminism.
Take the concerns brought forth at this conference. The concern that teenage boys won’t be able to identify as men if their mothers work? If we don’t define manhood as superiority over dependent females, but in other ways, both the teenage boy and his mother get their needs met. Concern that men can’t compete economically as more of the American economy becomes service-oriented? Dismantle the social stigma against men doing nurturing work like teaching and nursing, and men will be able to take those jobs. Concerned that men die younger than women? If we adopted a feminist worldview where men don’t have to prove themselves with violence or poor health habits, that disparity would mostly disappear.
Thankfully, some men recognize that true gender equality benefits everyone. Just three days before the Conference on Male Studies convened in New York, NOMAS, a pro-feminist men’s organization, hosted its 36th National Conference on Men and Masculinity. Rather than whining about being victimized by feminism, this conference discussed gender roles, violence prevention, LGBT issues, and abuses of social power. The juxtaposition between the two symposiums underlines the central failure of men’s rights movement; they refuse to recognize that gender parity—and the erosion of gendered cultural imperatives—is key to achieving their goals.
Unfortunately, the negativity in this article does not accurately reflect the Male Studies versus the Masculinities Studies divide. Masculinities studies is supported by the unwittingly naive men who want to make things right between men and women by socially deconstructing what it means to be male. The motives are noble, but at what serious costs? Our boys and young men are falling behind in numbers in academia while increasing their numbers of deaths to suicides, drug overdosing, homicides, etc. Attempting to blur the lines between what it means to be a man and a woman by some very unscientific social… Read more »
I’m Michael Gilbert and, if nothing else, I take credit for instigating an interesting discussion on these pages regarding the role rites of passage play in young lives. Asked to address the recent, much maligned NYC convocation on the subject of the current muddled state of gender affairs, I struggled with the brief time limit and decided I could best do justice to this big issue by describing the sometimes perilous journey boys set out upon, through male youth, on their way to contemporary adulthood. Some big steps along that pathway for boys used to include exclusive male passages (there,… Read more »
Well this is old…really freaking old…but I really wanted to reply. If someone sees it, awesome. If not, oh well: Gilbert: “Adolescent male bodies do not go through a dramatic transformation signaling a female’s life-giving capacities. Males don’t get monthly reminders of this. They don’t get a Sweet Sixteen or get given away at bride-centered weddings behind a mysterious veil. Young men don’t get pregnant, give birth, or suckle infants at their breast.” In the west, menstruation does not signal that a girl has become a woman. It does signal that a girl is starting to become a woman. She… Read more »
I know, I know…it’s old and yet I’m replying yet again. I can’t help myself. Gilbert: “But these male passages are (I should say “were”) there to compensate boys and young males for the things that don’t happen to them – the many, powerful, often recurring passages girls and young women experience.” That is incorrect. Rites of passage are created for both genders as ways to indicate a shift in social status and identity. Birth is a rite of passage (not giving birth, but being born). Going to school for the first time. Graduating from school. Having sex for the… Read more »
Just three days before the Conference on Male Studies convened in New York, NOMAS, a pro-feminist men’s organization, hosted its 36th National Conference on Men and Masculinity. Is this the same NOMAS that likens father’s rights groups the plague, generalizes them all as male supremicists, recommends against court ordered mental heath treatment for abusive men, and as far as I can tell totally ignores heterosexual male abuse victims? In short NOMAS pretty much translates into, “Everyone will be better off if just put all of our efforts into the damage that men do and ignore the damage done to them.… Read more »
It is also the same NOMAS that claims men cannot be victims of domestic violence, states on its site under its Position Statements “Are there instances in which men are physically dominated and assaulted by their female partners? This does occur, often when a man has become weakened by a factor such as illness, injury, or old age. Even in these circumstances abuse by a woman is unusual and when it does occur, it is most often motivated by self defense, fighting back and other protections. Even in these instances, the language “battered husbands” is not useful especially in light… Read more »
This this this a thousand times THIS.
The moment NOMAS wrote those words they silenced hudreds of male victims and denied their experiences. They excused abusers and rapists aike. They told millions of men “what happens to you doesn’t matter, because women have it worse, and women’s needs are vastly more important than yoiur own. Always.”
They sold men out to curry favor with their female leash-holders.
Jacobtk’s quote of NOMAS: “Are there instances in which men are physically dominated and assaulted by their female partners? This does occur, often when a man has become weakened by a factor such as illness, injury, or old age. Even in these circumstances abuse by a woman is unusual and when it does occur, it is most often motivated by self defense, fighting back and other protections. Even in these instances, the language “battered husbands” is not useful especially in light of the thousands and even millions of women known to have suffered or been murdered at the hands of… Read more »
According to Jonathan Liu of the New York Observer, this conference was no different. Unfortunately, Liu’s article is incredibly biased. At no point does he take the conference or the issues mentioned there seriously. One must wonder what comments he chose to ignore in favor of ones he could take out of context and exploit. Hosted by Guy Garcia, a journalist and former AOL executive, it featured a series of six “scholars” who provided a bit of statistical evidence coupled with a heavy dose of paranoid conjecture. According to Male Studies’ website, Dr. Marianne Legato, Tom Mortenson, Gordon E. Finley,… Read more »
Gender roles and LGBT issues ARE men’s issues. Gender roles place high expectations on men, restricting them to certain attitudes, behaviors, careers, and beliefs. I’d say gender roles are a root cause of violence, unemployment, depression, fatherhood, and suicide. Millions are men ARE GBT–and so is the violence perpetuated on that community.
If Gilbert wants in on the “rite of passage” that is menstruation, he can have mine. I’d be more than happy to be rid of the cramps and save all that cash on pads, tampons, and pain relievers. Or anybody who wants it, really. Any takers?
Gender roles and LGBT issues ARE men’s issues. While some men are gay, bisexual, or transgender, the majority of men are not, so focusing on GBLT issues does not address the problems most men face. Gender roles present problems for men, however, the way they impact men is different from how feminists explain it. Most men do want to fulfill the roles society asks them to. The problems lie in the severity of the demands, not the demands themselves. We need to address these issues from a male, non-feminist perspective. The latter is necessary because feminism is a partisan, biased… Read more »
Jesus, I had my period when I was 11. Did that make me a women? No. Was there fanfare? Not unless you count a trip to CVS.
FFS. Get a grip.
No one said anything about fanfare. It is about social recognition. Menstruation designates a girl’s first step into womanhood.
I think the real problem lies in the fact that men feel they need to have their manhood validated in the first place. Why is this? Why do they feel they need to have a rite of passage to declare manhood? I would not say menstruating is a rite of passage at all. A rite of passage is a ritual event. For an American woman, menstruating is not a ritual event. It is not celebrated, it is not lauded. It just is. In other countries, like countries in Africa, a female’s menstruation is celebrated and lauded as a passage to… Read more »
I also question this because, really, there is nothing special about menstruating. All women do it. There is nothing to prove one’s womanhood with; yet, when men expect rites of passage, they want something to prove their manhood, something that only they, the individual can do, that not every man can. Every woman, for the most part, menstruates. Not all women do, but they aren’t any less of a woman for not being able to do so, and society doesn’t view a woman has any less because she can’t menstruate. Menstruating is biological, and there is nothing to prove that… Read more »
I guess I also find it an egotistical thing, too, that men expect some sort of recognition for manhood, but women don’t expect any recognition for womanhood at all. We don’t expect recognition when we menstruate–and we don’t receive any recognition, far as I’m concerned.
I guess I also find it an egotistical thing, too, that men expect some sort of recognition for manhood,
Its a response to the burdens put on us.
We don’t expect recognition when we menstruate–and we don’t receive any recognition, far as I’m concerned.
But in the event that a woman doesn’t mensturate (or are infertile in general) she is often regarded as not being a “real woman”.
Well, lucky for you, we don’t live in a world where people wonder where all the “real women” have gone. We don’t have people constantly telling other people to “woman up” or claiming that femininity is toxic.
Is it really any wonder that boys are confused on when they become “real men” if the title can be stripped away by anybody who doesnt feel like you’re living up to their standards?
In this society, the onset of menstruation is about all it takes for a girl to be considered a woman. No wonder there’s no need for recognition – there’s nothing to recognize. Young women who accomplish somnething, rather than just passively experiencing a pre-set body change – graduating from college, completing basic Training or getting a miltary commission – expect and deserve formal, public recognition. And that is what peole are saying here – socially becoming a man is not like socially becoming a woman. It is not passice like menarche, and it is not well-defined like menarche. So it’s… Read more »
I think the real problem lies in the fact that men feel they need to have their manhood validated in the first place. Why is this? Why do they feel they need to have a rite of passage to declare manhood? Two reasons. One, people like to be validated by their peer groups. Two, manhood is defined by the external, i.e. through what males do. That is why no one considers a jobless adult male who lives with his parents a man. So it is important for men, both for their individual identities and the social status, to have their… Read more »
” I’d say gender roles are a root cause of violence, unemployment, depression, fatherhood, and suicide”
Perhaps, but we as men deserve the chance to study these things for ourselves, and come to our own conclusions without having to have feminist dogma shoved down our throats. Feminism isn’t gospel truth, and the fact that so many react so negatively to having any of their “truths” questioned is pretty telling actually. Truth that cant stand up to scrutiny… isn’t.
Jacobtk….in my head I’ve TU’d you 10 million times, regrettably, only one will show up here. Thank you
“Men’s rights activists descended upon the New York Academy of Medicine last week…” This makes it sound like an army when, in fact, it was merely 40 members of the lunatic fringe gathered to swap conspiracy theories. Are these guys way out there? If the quotes are any indication it sure as hell seems like it. Should they be taken seriously? I don’t think so. But it’s 40 people. In writing about the event in this way, you’re doing what the MRA folk are often criticized for doing, which is taking the extremists on the opposing side and using their… Read more »
If only those moderates would speak up more and stop letting the extremists take the spotlight.
“The only “spot-light” that extremist mras have is the artificial one that’s created by feminists…”
I’d have to agree with this….the reputation that mrm gets in mainstream is NOT what the mrm is actually about
It also goes to show that they are not interested in addressing the issues mentions by the men’s rights movement. Nothing stops them from challenging questionable statements AND tackling MRA concerns.
This mrm writer is predicting violence too h ttp://www.avoiceformen.com/2011/04/15/so-its-open-war-now/#comments
Thing about equality dogmas, they always seem to result in a closed, oppressive police state that operates under the threat of violence. If the system could push average men into a revolution, it could just invoke martial law and its done.
Citing NOMAS as credible compared to male studies is hilarious.
Thankfully, some men recognize that true gender equality benefits everyone. Just three days before the Conference on Male Studies convened in New York, NOMAS, a pro-feminist men’s organization.
So in other words if it,s for the movement of feminists then thats ok but if men decide to raise their voices and do what the feminists once did then thats bad.
yep this site really is a part of ms magazine is’nt it.
because all i can see is how anti-men this site really is hust makes me sick.
I think what’s really being said is that we don’t have to take away from women for men to solve some of the social issues they face. And men clearly do face social issues. Men and women can co-exsist equally with the same oppurtunities and it doesn’t mean that that has to hurt the other or take away from the other. Currently, it seems like MRA want women to get back in the kitchen and other 1950s women roles. Instead of blaming women for the gains they made, why don’t we focus on what can realistically be done now to… Read more »
This also seems to be a problem of respect, too, is what I’m getting. When the writer writes boys want to be everything mother is not, that to me suggests a sort of sexism that needs to be overcome: that boys basically need to learn to respect their mothers and not think themselves superior to the female sex. At least, that’s what I’m receiving.
I agree with your observation Amber.
“Currently, it seems like MRA want women to get back in the kitchen and other 1950s women roles. ‘
Seems? You mean you think this is what MRAs want. Just come out and own your opinion.
It’s ignorant. This is more in line with what MRAs think of women getting back into the kitchen:
http://www.avoiceformen.com/2011/04/15/a-letter-to-traditional-women-revisited/
http://www.avoiceformen.com/2011/04/14/a-letter-to-traditional-women/
Prof. Gilbert:
You know the menstrual cycle has no connection to the moon, right?
Mr. McCann:
I don’t know if you’re in charge of the headline and subheading and illustration for the article, but they were very different from the content of the article text. I’ve observed this a lot on this blog, that the catchy, attention-grabbing link is very different from what the article actually says. Is this an editorial issue or a reporter issue?
I think it’s to initially capture attention, lol. But it is true. The MRAs are really romanticizing menstruation. It’s not bad for me, but my best friend found she had to go to the emergency room one time because hers was so bad.
“The MRAs are really romanticizing menstruation. ”
Citations please? It isn’t the MRAs who obsess about menstruation.
I only disagree with your reference that the menstrual cycle has nothing to do with the moon. There is plenty of evidence and documentation that states otherwise. Cycles are cycles and everything is everything. To discount this connection is to discount women…and science…and mythology…and archaeology…and women’s history….and spirituality and …Have I missed anything?
Leslie, I should have been more specific in my reference to the moon. Yes, certainly people for thousands of years have associated the menstrual cycle with the moon. The lengths of the lunar cycle and (on average) the menstrual cycle are close to each other, so the coincidence is notable. The moon makes a great symbol for the menstrual cycle, no doubt about it. Art and religion have made this association for a long time, no question. I would never deny the long history of people associating the two together, just as I would never deny that people have told… Read more »