Masculism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Masculism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Masculism (or masculinism) refers to political, cultural, and economic movements aimed at establishing and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and participation in society for men and boys. These rights include legal equalities, such as those of conscription, child custody, alimony, and equal pay for equal work.^[1] Its concepts sometimes coincide with those of men's rights, father's rights, and men's liberation.

The term masculinism was coined as the counterpart of feminism in the early 20th century.^[2] The shortened form masculism appeared shortly after, and became more common in the 1980s.^[3] The masculist political movement originated with E. Belfort Bax's 1913 The Fraud of Feminism.^[4] The term masculism itself gained currency in the late 20th century, particularly in the 1990s as advocated by authors such asWarren Farrell and Jack Kammer, in the context of changing gender roles in society.^[1]

Masculist concerns

Masculists cite one-sided legislation, selective enforcement, and neglected civil rights as examples of discrimination against men and boys. Examples of questions raised by masculists may include:

Violence

Masculist concerns focus on societal acceptance of violence harming men paired with the stigma against violence harming women, as well as males being taught or expected to take on violent roles.

Violence against men minimalized or taken less seriously than violence against women.^[5]^[6]
Women are more violent than men in some research studies asking both men and women.^[7]^[8]
Depiction of violence against men as humorous, in the media^[9] and elsewhere (see Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them!), when women are also violent.
Assumption of female innocence or sympathy for women, which may result in problems such as disproportionate penalties for men and women for similar crimes,^[9] lack of sympathy for male victims in domestic violence cases, and dismissal of female-on-male rape cases.
Societal failure to address prison rape, including issues such as prevention (e.g., reducing prison crowding that requires sharing of cells), impunity for prison rapists, and even correctional staff punishing prisoners by confining them with known rapists.^[10] Prison rape is often used as a subject of humor in films such as Let's Go to Prison.
Only men are called up during a military draft.
Circumcision (characterized as harmless tradition by some, and as male genital mutilation by others) being advocated while female genital mutilation is prohibited, although both practices are purported to reduce sexual pleasure and expose the patient to possible health problems.^[11]^{[neutrality is disputed]}
In American popular culture, sex between a boy coerced by an older woman is generally considered not to be a big deal- Time has remarked that it is "viewed with a wink"-^[12] even though this form of child molestation can have serious repercussions for the male victim, including clinical mental illness.^[13]
A 1992 study found that boys are subject to the stereotype that they need significantly less protection against sexual abuse compared to girls. It also found that this leads to less reporting of abuse and to discrimination in which victims receive less treatment and less support from others if they are male.^[13]
Controversy exists that laws that criminalize rape of men when perpetrated by women are not properly enforced. Research has shown that when men are raped (by either women or other men), the rapists will use their bodys' unconscious natural responses- erections, feelings of dizziness, ejaculation, et cetera- to make them think they "actually wanted it". Psychologist Helen Smith has written, "Our society [in the U.S.] shames men who are abused by women just as it shamed and blamed women many years ago who were abused by men. Neither strategy is a good one for a society that purports to promote justice and fairness."^[14]

[edit]Parenting

Discrimination with regard to child custody.
Unfairness in the way the alimony and child support systems are structured.
Related to both of the above, gynocentric divorce law.
Pregnancies carried to term despite agreements ahead of time that they would not be, subjecting men to unwanted parental responsibilities and/or child support expectations. (see Dubay v. Wells)
The opposite of the above, where a man who wants to have a child has no say in whether his partner aborts their child and is not even notified if the abortion takes place. (seepaternal rights and abortion)
Equality in adoption rights allowing either unmarried males or females to adopt.

[edit]Discrimination

Legislation that addresses women's needs without considering the corresponding need in men. (e.g., Women, Infants, and Children Act; Violence Against Women Act)
Biases in the justice system against men, such as higher incarceration rates and longer sentences for men (compared to women) for the same crimes.
Statutory rape laws enforced more vehemently in instances where the victim is female and/or the perpetrator is male.^[15]
Rape shield laws, which may prevent some men from adequately challenging their accuser.
Cathy Young, who does not consider herself a "masculinist," argues that in rape cases, "the dogma that "women never lie" means that there is, for all intents and purposes, no presumption of innocence for the defendant".^[16]
Women are allowed to marry at younger ages than men in some U.S. states.^[17]
Men pay higher premiums for auto,^[18] life and disability insurance, though discrimination according to race or other criteria is prohibited.
In some countries, men have to pay more income tax than their female counterparts. E.g. in India the income tax exemption limit for men is Rs 150,000 per annum while that for women is Rs 180,000 per annum.^[19]

[edit]Social concerns

Increasing suicide rate among young men, four times higher than among young women.^[20]
It's usually seen as socially acceptable for a female to try out or follow masculine social norms, whereas if a male does the same for feminine social norms they often attract unwanted attention and are victims of ridicule, insult, harassment, and threatening behavior. For example, stay-at-home dads, men who want to be nannies or babysitters, men who cry or express emotions can all be treated poorly.
Lack of advocacy for men's rights; little domestic abuse support for men.
Prostate cancer funding disproportionately lower than breast cancer funding.^[1]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]
Incarceration for not paying child support, particularly for unwanted children, in contrast to women's right to abort. (see Male abortion)
Special government agencies for women's affairs with no corresponding agencies for men's affairs.
Lack of legal ramifications or enforcement for paternity fraud.

Education

Lack of educational aid for boys and men, given that their performance/enrollment at most levels lags behind that of girls and women; some^[which?] states declaring (de jure orde facto) all-male schools illegal and all-female schools legal.
There is concern that some university women's studies departments are more concerned with teaching feminist ideology than equality of gender. The content and emphasis of these courses vary, and some even discuss "masculinities"; but masculists fear that many such courses contribute to animosity towards men.^[who?]
Some universities also carry men's studies courses. Some^[who?] feminists argue that these are redundant, stating that academia throughout history was predominantly focused on men; however, supporters of these courses note that most subjects throughout history have not dealt with gender directly.
Some studies have indicated that boys attract more teacher attention in classrooms compared to girls and, thus, boys receive harsher forms of punishment as well as more frequent punishment than girls for the same offenses.^[1]

[edit]Employment

Harder physical entrance criteria for men in many occupations, such as the army, police and fire service. Requiring men to be physically stronger than women in these occupations leaves men responsible for a greater share of the physical work, for no more pay.^[25]
Legal inequality and protections of paternal vs. maternal leave in most countries.
Data from 1994 in the U.S. reported that 94% of workplace fatalities occur to men. Masculist Warren Farrell has argued that men are often clustered in dirty, physically demanding and hazardous jobs in an unjustifiably disproportionate manner.^[1]

[edit]Differences in masculist ideology

There is no consensus as to what constitutes masculism. Some^[who?] feel the word describes a belief that the male and female genders should be considered complementary and interdependent by necessity. Such expressions of masculism are built around the belief that differentiated gender roles are natural and should be exempt from government interference. Other masculists, such as Warren Farrell, support an ideology of equivalence between the sexes, rather than a belief in unchangeable gender differences. A more encompassing definition might be "a movement to empower males in society, and to redress discrimination against men."

Because it is the name of a political and social movement, masculism is sometimes considered synonymous with the men's rights or fathers' rights movements. However, many of the fathers' rights movement make a clear distinction between masculism and their own often quite varied approaches to gender relations.^[26]

Gender roles in religion are a source of disagreement among masculists: some support a general leadership role for men, while others argue for relative equality between the genders. Liberal masculists such as Warren Farrell tend to favor a secular, gender-neutral stance, whereas conservatives tend to prefer a religious approach, such as represented in The Inevitability of Patriarchy by Steven Goldberg. Conservatives may promote a "New Patriarchy" by countering feminist ideology with their own. Such liberal-conservative dynamics illustrate the diversity of a movement that nonetheless has a unified purpose of promoting men's welfare.

[edit]Progressive masculism

Progressive masculists view masculism as a complementary movement to feminism, both movements seeking to correct gender discrimination. Progressive masculists do not reject feminism as a movement nor consider feminism a hostile movement and adopt cooperative vision.^[27]

Warren Farrell, widely seen as a progressive masculist stated in The Myth of Male Power that both genders are hampered by the "bisexist" roles of the past: sexism that oppresses both genders.^[28] He emphasises the compatibility of both movements:

I use two podiums to debate myself as a feminist and masculist.
—Warren Farrell, ^[29]

Another supporter states:

We must not reverse the women's movement; we must accelerate it... Men's liberation is not a backlash, for there is nothing about traditional sex roles that I want to go back to.
—Fred Hayward, Speech to the National Congress for Men, 1981

Farrell suggests that masculism in his conception can assist and aid the women's movement.

Likewise, gender egalitarians call for both masculists and feminists who are truly interested in equality to unite under one banner of gender egalitarianism. This philosophy is sympathetic to legitimate grievances of both males and females.

The principle of defining masculism on gendereconomy.com is by reverting the definition of feminism and including the same two levels – men are subordinate to women, this condition has to be changed. Masculism carries assumptions about the proper distribution of power and privilege and serves as the bases for a plan of action. Masculism here is defined as a tool to reveal gender inequality. It focuses on the domination of women over men and claims that men are oppressed by hierarchical structures and stereotypes in different levels of society. The scapegoats of masculism are women and domains of female dominance are claimed to be responsible for all the injustice done to men in particular and society in general. Men and women both are found equally responsible for the unsatisfying relations between sexes.^[30]

[edit]Literary theory

Masculist literary theory is a response to feminist literary theory. The term was coined by Rachel Bishop in "The Masculinist Manifesto".^{[citation needed]}

[edit]Reactions

[edit]Feminism

Masculism is controversial amongst some feminists, who use and define the term synonymously with male chauvinism; the belief in the superiority of men or of masculine things and ideas.^[31]^[32] It is the general opinion of modern feminists that masculism defined as "male superiority or dominance" is inherently opposed to the equality cause and is labeled as a form of misogyny.^[33]

Some feminists are actively involved in promoting men's rights, especially father's rights and social equality, arguing that this position is necessary for feminism and women's equality. ^[34] ^[35]

[edit]Books

Manliness (book) (2006)
Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man (1999)

[edit]Bibliography

Politics of Aristotle asserts excellence varies with social role, including gender.
The Legal Subjection of Men, 1908 antithesis of John Stuart Mill's 1869 The Subjection of Women.
The Fraud of Feminism by Ernest Belfort Bax, 1914.
The Myth of the Monstrous Male and Other Feminist Fallacies; John Gordon, Playboy Press, New York, 1982; ISBN 0-87223-758-3
The Myth of Male Power: Why Men Are the Disposable Sex; Warren Farrell, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1993: ISBN 0-671-79349-7
Manliness by Harvey Mansfield (2006) Yale Press [2] ISBN 0-300-10664-5
Not Guilty: The Case in Defense of Men; David Thomas, William Morrow and Co., Inc., New York, 1993; ISBN 0-688-11024-X
Good Will Toward Men; Jack Kammer, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1994; ISBN 0-312-10471-5
Moral Panic: Biopolitics Rising; John Fekete, Robert Davies Publishing, Montreal-Toronto, 1994: ISBN 1-895854-09-1
The New Men's Studies: A Selected and Annotated Interdisciplinary Bibliography (2nd Edition); Eugene R. August, Libraries Unlimited, Inc., Englewood, CO, 1994: ISBN 1-56308-084-2
A Man's World: How Real Is Male Privilege - And How High Is Its Price?; Ellis Cose, Harper Collins, New York, 1995: ISBN 0-06-017206-1
Why Men Don't Iron: The Real Science of Gender Studies; Anne & Bill Moir, Harper Collins, Hammersmith, London, 1998; ISBN 0-00-257035-1 (Trade Paperback); ISBN 0-00-257048-3 (Hardcover)
The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity; Leon J. Podles, Spence Publishing Co., Dallas, TX, 1999. (The title is a play on the Christian theological terms church militant and church triumphant.)
Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture; Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 2001; ISBN 0-7735-2272-7

Sex Differences, Modern Biology and the Unisex Fallacy, Yves Christen
Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women; Christina Hoff Sommers ISBN 0-684-80156-6
The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men; Christina Hoff Sommers ISBN 0-684-84956-9
Domestic Violence: The 12 Things You Aren't Supposed to Know by Thomas B. James ISBN 1-59330-122-7
Ceasefire! : Why Women And Men Must Join Forces To Achieve True Equality; Cathy Young ISBN 0-684-83442-1
The Masculine Mystique; Andrew Kimbrell ISBN 0-345-38658-2