# Men's Rights Movement may have a big future. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049 "2013-04-07T01:15:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/101 "2013-04-08T20:07:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I concur that the Men’s Rights Movement may have a big future. > > Because whining about how your life is unfair will never go out of style. And as feminism has proved, you don’t even need to have anything to complain about. ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/102 "2013-04-08T20:09:32Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Each year hundreds of thousands of men call police with a report of being assaulted in a DV situation. Most of them come out believing that they were treated unfairly. All of them are potential MRAs. Cite please? ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/103 "2013-04-08T20:52:31Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > Cite please? Cite for the discrimination is [here](http://wordpress.clarku.edu/dhines/files/2012/01/Douglas-Hines-2011-helpseeking-experiences-of-male-victims.pdf). As for the number of police calls, about 25% of them come from men, and about 20% of those arrested are women. No national data exists – if I wrote a scholarly work I would check every state police department. Data for one state is [here](http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/SAC/pdf/DomesticViolenceFinalReport.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/104 "2013-04-08T20:52:45Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > And as feminism has proved, you don’t even need to have anything to complain about. HA! ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/105 "2013-04-08T21:34:22Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Cite for the discrimination is [here](http://wordpress.clarku.edu/dhines/files/2012/01/Douglas-Hines-2011-helpseeking-experiences-of-male-victims.pdf). > > As for the number of police calls, about 25% of them come from men, and about 20% of those arrested are women. No national data exists – if I wrote a scholarly work I would check every state police department. Data for one state is [here](http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/SAC/pdf/DomesticViolenceFinalReport.pdf). That first article says that a study found men often experience barriers when seeking help. Systematic or severe discrimination? I’m not seeing it. Also, I’m not sure what conclusion you’re drawing from your phone calls/arrest stats.. It sounds like women are arrested in almost the same ratio as men calling the police for DV? ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/106 "2013-04-08T21:43:14Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Without a movement you get backed up, cranky, bloated and impacted. Everybody needs a movement. Once you reach a certain age you will understand this is one of the most important things in life. Most movements are initiated and carried by young people. Have I misunderstood you? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/107 "2013-04-08T21:59:51Z")
Yes, I’d say you have. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/108 "2013-04-08T22:11:11Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > :Sigh: There ARE no men’s rights, women’s rights, gay rights, white rights, black rights, purple rights green rights, blue rights, or kid’s rights. There are only human rights and, by definition of “right”, they apply to everyone. Until addressed on that level, there is no chance of achieving equilibrium. Of course there are. The right to access to abortion is a woman’s right, the right to have all your food, clothing and accommodation needs catered for is a child’s right. Equality does _not_ mean everyone is exactly the same, it means each according to their needs. Needs of some groups are just plain different to others. Does the UN declaration that access to medical care is a human right mean that women need to be offered prostate exams? There are men’s issues that need to be addressed, for example as well as the ones already mentioned, some universities have a subsidised ‘Women’s Night Bus’, for safety reasons, despite the fact that more assaults and muggings are reported on male students than female. There is definite tendency to discount violence against men as somehow less important. That said, I’m not sure the level of inequality against men justifies a full movement, but I do think that those who claim to support equality should call out discriminatory bullshit regardless of who it discriminates against. It’s one reason I do not style myself as a feminist- I don’t want to pick out my own gender as the ‘important one’ in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Crazy\_Canuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazy_canuck/32/5282_2.png) [@Crazy\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazy_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/109 "2013-04-08T22:48:33Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > I’m curious what privileges you mean, and also which feminists. This is an honest question. I mean, I suppose I enjoyed being able to stay home with my kids for the last ten years without people being weird about it, and that’s a traditional female role, but what I want is for that work to be valued equally with employment, and therefore for it to be seen as valid and natural for fathers as well as mothers. I want everyone to have the same opportunity, not keep it only for women. I’m trying to think of other areas where women have had it better, even under a patriarchy, that feminists are guarding from a gender-equality downfall, and I’m having trouble coming up with anything. I really don’t want to argue about it, as I am currently running on my third day straight with no bed, and thus maybe four hours sleep over the last four days. So if I’m incoherent, I apologize in advance. IMHO, the biggest one I can think of is the draft, although that one is fairly outdated by modern volunteer armies. Still, I have no doubt that in case a large conscript army was required, it would be men who would be drafted. There’s also issues over workplace fatalities, child custody, reproductive rights, family law, and domestic violence that effect men in a much more negative fashion then women. I think the best way to describe it is to say that while the sweetest gig in the world is likely held by a man, the shittiest gig in the world is probably help by a man too. Sure, an appalling number of CEOs are men, but an appalling number of the homeless are men too. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/110 "2013-04-08T23:12:38Z")
> [@Mithrander](#): > > IMHO, the biggest one I can think of is the draft, although that one is fairly outdated by modern volunteer armies. Still, I have no doubt that in case a large conscript army was required, it would be men who would be drafted. FWIW, feminists have a problem with a male only draft, too. As [this article](http://jezebel.com/5992479/if-i-admit-that-hating-men-is-a-thing-will-you-stop-turning-it-into-a-self+fulfilling-prophecy) so wisely puts it: > [@](#): > > Feminists do not want you to be drafted and then die in a war while we stay home and iron stuff. The idea that women are too weak to fight or too delicate to function in a military setting is part of patriarchy. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/111 "2013-04-08T23:45:05Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > That is a horrible action of one man. Would it be fair to judge all feminists by Clara Harris, Betty Broderick or at least millions of those who considered them heroes? > > Each year hundreds of thousands of men call police with a report of being assaulted in a DV situation. Most of them come out believing that they were treated unfairly. All of them are potential MRAs. The fact that you think Broderick and Harris are feminist icons worshiped by millions of women shows just how warped and misogynistic your perspective is. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/112 "2013-04-08T23:46:40Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > The fact that you think Broderick and Harris are feminist icons worshiped by millions of women shows just how warped and misogynistic your perspective is. No, it shows that I have watched TV and read news in 2003. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/113 "2013-04-08T23:48:47Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > The fact that you think Broderick and Harris are feminist icons worshiped by millions of women shows just how warped and misogynistic your perspective is. Oh, don’t be coy now. You know as well as I do that our semi-quarterly Man Hater meeting last month we just voted these two into the Feminazi Hall of Fame. Sure, there are all kinds of wonderful women who have fought for the equality of all, but there’s nothing a feminist loves more than a murderer— especially someone who murders men. > [@CCitizen](#): > > No, it shows that I have watched TV and read news in 2003. There’s your problem right there. You might want to pick up a book or newspaper in the last decade. We even have these fancy things called blogs now, you should check them out. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/114 "2013-04-08T23:53:04Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > There’s your problem right there. You might want to pick up a book or newspaper in the last decade. We even have these fancy things called blogs now, you should check them out. I have read hundreds of books about history and a few about gender issues. I have abandoned my blog. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/115 "2013-04-08T23:54:04Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > No, it shows that I have watched TV and read news in 2003. It shows you have an ability to misunderstand and distort news stories to conform to your paranoid view of women as “the enemy”, at least. > [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Oh, don’t be coy now. You know as well as I do that our semi-quarterly Man Hater meeting last month we just voted these two into the Feminazi Hall of Fame. Sure, there are all kinds of wonderful women who have fought for the equality of all, but there’s nothing a feminist loves more than a murderer— especially someone who murders men. Well, I wasn’t at the meeting, but then, according to **CCitizen** , that’s probably because I have a dick and would have been castrated had I attended. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/116 "2013-04-09T00:00:22Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > I’m trying to think of other areas where women have had it better, even under a patriarchy, that feminists are guarding from a gender-equality downfall, and I’m having trouble coming up with anything. Violence and crime, for two examples. A woman can commit crimes and is far less likely to be investigated, arrested or sentenced than a man; and even if she is sent to jail, it’ll be for less time and better conditions. Women are less likely to be the victim of violent crime than men, while being the target of far more efforts to protect them from violent crime than men. And as for domestic violence, the woman is nearly always presumed to be the victim regardless of the evidence, and if she really wanted could kill the man without provocation and likely get away with it. And all of these are things that feminists fight to preserve. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/117 "2013-04-09T00:35:57Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > It shows you have an ability to misunderstand and distort news stories to conform to your paranoid view of women as “the enemy”, at least. Unlike **woodstockbirdybird** most women (like most men) are neither liars nor slanderers. Thus, I do not consider any group of people my enemy. I have just stated the fact that Clara Harris had wide support from the media, and a considerable percentage of women and even men. Which is an example of the problems our society faces. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/118 "2013-04-09T00:41:42Z")
How about “Missing White Girl” syndrome? But missing Black women are just as SOL as men in that one; which makes me suspect that gender is like race: the real issue is class To that point, whenever I hear a (honestly: usually Feminist academic) start a sentence with “back before women worked outside the home” I can’t extend them further credibity. _Working Class Women_ worked outside the home since the Industrial Revolution. Too wiped out to cook, they grabbed a wad of fish and chips wrapped in a newspaper: that was the genesis of that meal, not proto-comfort food. No, there weren’t many women in the _Professions_ before 1950, and that change has had immense impact on the dynamic. But that only proves that class is what matters. And affluent women are prettier: they have better dental insurance, eat healthier, and can spend more on clothes and hair care. Pretty = value, so when they are in danger, society takes greater notice. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/119 "2013-04-09T00:54:52Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > How about “Missing White Girl” syndrome? > > But missing Black women are just as SOL as men in that one; which makes me suspect that gender is like race: the real issue is class The last missing girl case we had in Philadelphia involved a young black girl being abducted. It got quite a bit of attention, at least locally. (The case had a happy ending because our little girls can escape their captors.) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049/120 "2013-04-09T00:59:38Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > How about “Missing White Girl” syndrome? > > But missing Black women are just as SOL as men in that one; which makes me suspect that gender is like race: the real issue is class > > To that point, whenever I hear a (honestly: usually Feminist academic) start a sentence with “back before women worked outside the home” I can’t extend them further credibity. _Working Class Women_ worked outside the home since the Industrial Revolution. Too wiped out to cook, they grabbed a wad of fish and chips wrapped in a newspaper: that was the genesis of that meal, not proto-comfort food. > > No, there weren’t many women in the _Professions_ before 1950, and that change has had immense impact on the dynamic. But that only proves that class is what matters. And affluent women are prettier: they have better dental insurance, eat healthier, and can spend more on clothes and hair care. Pretty = value, so when they are in danger, society takes greater notice. The gender-flipped side of that is true as well, and has already been touched on. Many of the claims of “male privilege” are based on pointing at rich men, while pretending that the poor men eating out of garbage cans and the men sent off to die in wars don’t exist or don’t count. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-rights-movement-may-have-a-big-future/655049.md?page=7)