Dr. Anthony Synnott may have not discussed some of the other hidden areas of gender differences that tend to obscure that women (mostly single mothers) are 2.5 times more likely to kill or injure their children, that children raised by single mothers are far more likely to have negative social outcomes compared to two biological parent families or single father homes, yet judges award physical custody in a 9-1 ratio favouring mums, women initiate DV (upwards of 70% in some studies) more then males, that women initiate 75% of divorces in Canada and the list goes on.
Over the past 35 plus years men have been demonized in the mass media and made sport of as buffoons on sitcoms. Its an interesting juxtaposition for the gender that invented almost everything we use to ease the labour burdens, discovered most of the world and beyond and saved the world on more than one occasion from totalitarian regimes.
Times are changing and there are many men stepping up to the plate to change the gender paradigm dynamic that we are evil abusers rather than loving fathers. I commend Dr. Synnott for his bravery. It isn't easy overcoming everything taught in women's studies programs often by misinformed ideologues.
Mike Murphy
Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan
Katie Brennan, 13 Oct 2009
A new human rights issue was brought to light this past week at UNB: what about men’s rights?
On Thursday, Oct. 8 Dr. Anthony Synnott from Concordia University stood in front of a roomful of students and professors and spoke about his new book Re-Thinking Men: Heroes, Villains and Victims. Synnott sat in the hot seat as he discussed his theories on masculinity and equality for men. He believes that in the quest for women’s rights, men’s rights have been either forgotten or ignored.
Synnott points out that during and since the feminist movement, society has portrayed men as inferior and a social problem.
Synnott suggested that it is not uncommon to hear women complain that a “good man is hard to find,” to see comics or t-shirts that read “so many men, so little ammo,” or “men are stupid, throw rocks at them.”
Synnott takes this further by saying, “Prejudice against ethnic groups is called ‘racism’; prejudice against women, ‘sexism’; and prejudice against men is considered really, really funny.”
Continuing to draw attention to society’s prejudice against men, Synnott admits that men do commit more homicides and crime than women, but men are also killed more in homicides than women.
So why are men killing men, and why aren’t we doing something to stop it? Because men are seen as naturally more aggressive and dangerous, he suggested. Hate literature discusses how men are ‘in fact’ the inferior and more violent sex, proving their point by using the examples of male villains throughout history such as Hitler, Stalin, Hussein, etc.
Synnott reminds us of history’s heroes: Gandhi, Churchill, Mandela, Terry Fox, etc, as well as the reality that the majority of men are not killers and rapists.
Synnott is not only concerned with the negative portrayal of men in society but also the lack of support men receive. He said that while it is true that male dominated jobs have higher wages and are unionized more than female dominated jobs, but jobs that men are more likely to have are the jobs that have recently been cut.
Women, he says, have taken over the workforce and there is not nearly the amount of organizations or support groups out there for men as there are for women. And, Synnott said, because of this, men make up the majority of the homeless population.
And there are other statistics we are choosing to ignore, he said. There are more females enrolled in post-secondary education than males. He says men usually work in more high risk environments and are more prone to health issues, yet there is a higher percentage of men who do not have healthcare. Less money, Synnott says, is put into the research of male-specific diseases and there are fewer academic studies done about male problem areas.
Although talking about heavy subject matter, in a roomful of people ready to jump down his throat, Synnott was able to crack lots of jokes and keep his audience smiling. And after being interrupted a few times by inquiries about his sources, followed by some debates, questions were taken, putting Synnott’s viewpoint under the microscope. After his presentation, Synnott seemed relieved to be finished. He said that he often faces hostile and defensive audiences and that it surprises him how closed-minded people can be toward his unique perspective.
Synnott calls out to men to “man-up,” a term he learned from a student. But he does not share her definition, which requested that men, “Get beer, not white wine. Don’t get the baguette, get the steak. Stop whining, and just do it… oh, and hit on us more.”
No, Synnott requests that men start organizing and fighting for their rights as women have done. Because as we have all learned at some point or other, ignoring problems does not make them go away, they only come back later to bite you even harder.
“So gentlemen, man-up! There are things to do here.”
http://thebruns.ca/content/2009-10/synnott-says-man#comment-374
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rethinking-men/200908/man
Yeah - Thank you Mr. Synnott for bringing this subject to Universities, where it is long, long over-due. As a women I have had many wonderful men in my life, my father, brother, friends, husband and now my sons. I don't want my sons gowing up believing they were somehow born inferior to women, are inherentely violent or that they have to "pay" for the perceived mistakes of the past. The women's movement should not be at the detriment of men and boys, but too many times it is. Discussions such as yours, based on REAL facts and statistics (not out-dated or even mis-represented ones) are so important. Please continue your good work!
Anonymous
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Excellent Dr. Anthony Synnott your courage will not go u notice there is a long road ahead to improve the situations dealing with mens issues about health, suicide, family court ect... but you have sent a strong message to many who will not ignore mens voices any longer this will inspire other students at other Universities to talk about their mens issues and I include the female students also
this is no more a battles of the sexes but a fight for equality for all
Mike M
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The inhuman extremism and extraodinary dishonesty of the western women's movement, as it has transformed itself under the banner of feminism during the second half of the 20th century, will eventually be look back upon with horror and disbelief by future generations of human beings who will have witnessed its full social and economic consequences. That is inevitable I believe.
Peter C.
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Bravo Dr Synnott! Your courage is very much appreciated. Speaking truth as you have done in a hostile and "women first" arena is modeling for us men to actually "man up" and start to voice the truth of our situations. The world is and always has been built for the needs of women. Men are automatically assumed to show concern and put energy forth in order to provide and protect women and children. This is a given and most people carry this unconscious and powerful belief though most don't realize the depth to which it impacts their everyday decisions and behaviors. Dr Synnott is calling attention to the reality that our world is filled with automatons who expect men to be providers and protectors and NOT HAVE NEEDS THEMSELVES. This is how our idiot lawmakers have seen fit to not have any sort of special program for men and boys who are suicidal even though 80% of the competed suicides are boys and men. If it was 80% women and girls we would have multiple commissions studying the problem and money being dumped into trying to solve suich a horrible situation. Men are disposable.
Bravo Doc!
Anonymous
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"Synnott admits that men do commit more homicides and crime than women"
Only because they are bigger and stronger and are taught to be violent from childhood - what excuse women like Aileen Wournos have i dont know.
Porky Domesticus
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Interesting. It's about time this hit Academia...
I've been an MRA (Men's Rights Advocate) for over a decade and a half. I've recently completed the first issue of a magazine devoted to men's issues, and there is a huge community of us online....
Try glenn sacks' site, mensnewsdaily, Stand your Ground .com, or angry harry's site for a UK perspective.
Like i said, it's about damn time......
Factory
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There are many, many examples of blatant sexism against men in our society. Dr. Synnott has only scratched the surface, but I applaud his focus on some of the more serious ones.
Divorce courts and child custody battles routinely favor women, we only allow genital mutilation of baby boys in this country and responsibility for under age sex is always the males crime, never a females regardless of age or consent.
Men are humiliated by the opposite sex in our prison system where women are protected from this type of abuse. Female reporters have demanded, and gotten, access to the locker room of the opposite sex while female athletes are given privacy and respect. There are too many to list here.
Its not just the double standards, its the attitude from women that they are entitled to discriminate against men based on gender. If we are to change all inequalities, we must be educating women and girls that they should give out the respect that they are so quick to demand from men.
James
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There's nothing new about the need for men's rights. Historically, both men and women were institutionally discriminated against based on gender roles. Men were discriminated against in parenting laws, child custody, military conscription, forced labor, criminal sentencing, domestic violence policies, rape laws, public health policies, genital integrity laws, and more. This paper examines these and issues in more detail below.
We often hear of gender disparities at the top of society (government, CEOs), but rarely do we hear about the disparities at the bottom. Men account for 80-99% of homeless adults, work-related deaths/injuries, prisoners, combat deaths/injuries, and suicide deaths, are much more likely than females to drop out, skip a grade or be placed in special education, and still die younger and have higher death rates than women for the ten leading causes of death. http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/TopCausesDeath2000.pdf
The reason for the disparity at the top of society is that women have more options than men to be primary parents. A recent study funded by the U.S. Department of Labor found the pay gap is due to choices, not discrimination http://www.consad.com/content/reports/Gender%20Wage%20Gap%20Final%20Report.pdf. The "pay gap" is only a snapshot of average yearly full time incomes. It does not account for overtime (90% male) or other factors like flexibility, shorter hours, physical risk, experience levels, etc.
Below is a partial summary of men’s rights issues followed by links to men’s rights movements worldwide.
FATHERS
Fathers have historically been denied equal parenting rights with mothers. The 19th Century “tender years” doctrine explicitly gave mothers presumed custody for children age 13 and younger. Even after being replaced by the “best interests of the child” doctrine, the tender years doctrine still thrived.
As late as 1971, the Minnesota State Bar Association’s handbook advised lawyers and judges that “except in very rare cases, the father should not have custody of the minor children. He is usually unqualified psychologically and emotionally.” Time Magazine, 11/11/03, “Father Makes Two,”
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101011119-183968,00.html
Today, fathers usually ask for 50% custody while mothers ask for and usually get 80% custody, and fathers are relegated to visitors and must pay high child support with hardly any enforcement of their parenting time. The myth that fathers get custody when they ask for it 70% of the time has been repeatedly debunked. See Cynthia McNeeley, “Lagging Behind the Times, Parenthood, Custody and Gender Bias in the Family Court,”
http://www.law.fsu.edu/journals/lawreview/downloads/254/mcneely.pdf.
Research overwhelmingly shows father involvement is a very important part of a child's development, behavior and well-being.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/119405387/PDFSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=513962&in_page_id=1774
It also shows fathers are equal with mothers in nurturing instincts and capabilities. http://www.israelnewsagency.com/psychologytodaydivorcechildrencustodyfathersright48060307.html
Research on joint custody laws in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany that controls for pre-existing levels of conflict strongly supports presumed joint physical custody. http://fkce.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/13/
Although we often hear about "deadbeat dads," maternal gatekeeping (maternal resistance to father involvement) is a significant contributing factor to the shortage of father involvement. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19092063/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124519757969321229.html
Most men would quit their jobs or lower their pay if their partner could support the family. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/06/13/dads.work/index.html
Dad's are even stigmatized for taking parental leave or denied equal rights to take it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8149702.stm
An Urban Institute study entitled “What About the Dads?” found that CPS case workers attempted to contact fathers of children at risk in their mothers care only a little over half the time. That was true even though they knew the father’s identity in 86% of cases. http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/06/cw-involve-dads/rs.htm
Fathers are also frequently subjected to false accusations and restraining order abuse in order to gain an advantage in divorce or custody. The California State Bar has expressed concern about the rising abuse of restraining orders in divorce.
http://www.cafcusa.org/docs/family-law-news_TRO_RO_Pages%2026thru30_Vol27-Number4_2005-1.pdf
MEN’S HEALTH
The American Journal of Public Health (5/03) has declared that men are in a “silent health crisis.” http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9475.php
Almost every chronic illness affects men more often than women. Men die younger and more often than women for the ten leading causes of death.
http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/TopCausesDeath2000.pdf
Men account for 80-90% of homeless adults, job deaths and suicide deaths. Men more often have mental disabilities but are less often treated. They are the majority of special education students and are more likely to skip a grade or drop out of high school.
But men’s health has been seriously neglected. There are 7 federal offices of women’s health and similar offices at every level of government but no offices of men’s health except in Georgia. Breast cancer gets by far the most funding of all cancers, and has been known as a “horde” of existing cancer funds. In fact, for decades the National Cancer Institute spent about four times more on breast cancer research than on prostate cancer research.
http://www3.cancer.gov/public/factbk97/varican.htm
Men’s Health Magazine did an entire story on how all other sources, including the Department of Defense, have funded breast cancer at far higher and disproportionate rates compared to prostate cancer.
The claim that women were excluded from medical testing is not only antiquated (from the 60s) but is an exaggeration that has been refuted by experts such as Dr. Sally Satel. Historically, women participated in 95% of NIH clinical trials going back to the early 1970s and men were underrepresented in research on cancer, reproductive health and sex hormones. Today men represent about 37% of participants in NIH-funded research, and gender-specific budgets favor women by more than a 2:1 margin, according to this report by Men’s Health America.
http://www.backlash.com/content/gender/2000/12dec00/acfc1200.html
See, Young, C., Satel, S., M.D., “The Myth of Gender Bias in Medicine”; Satel, S.: PC, M.D.:, “How Political Correctness is Corrupting Medicine.”
CRIMINAL SENTENCING
Recent research shows men still get higher penalties than women.
Seattle Times, “State courts unfair to men, minorities, UW study suggests,”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2008782782&zsection_id=2003925728&slug=courtstudy25m&date=20090225
This correlates with prior studies that found men receive higher sentences than women for the same crime even when all other factors are equal (age, race, priors, family situation, etc.) and that “gender differences, favoring women, are more often found than race differences, favoring whites.” (Crime and Delinquency, 1989, v 35, pp 136-168.)
A study published in Justice Quarterly in 1986 found that, for the same felony, being male increased the chances of incarceration by 165% (being black increased the chance 19%).
The gender of the victim matters as well. A drunk driver will receive an average of a 3-year higher sentence for killing a female than for killing a male (compared to a 2-year higher sentence for killing a white instead of a black). (“Unconventional Wisdom,” Washington Post, Sept. 7, 2000.)
Researchers Edward Glaeser (Harvard) and Bruce Sacerdote (Dartmouth) examined 2,800 homicide cases randomly drawn from 33 urban counties by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and found killing a female instead of a male increased sentences by 40.6% (compared to 26.8% for killing a white instead of a black).
FORCED LABOR
For years, the Forced Labour Convention of 1930 exempted “able-bodied males” between ages 18 and 45 from the ban on slavery and forced labor. See Article 11 at
http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C029
We never hear of this in gender studies courses. And although the exemption was eventually eliminated, Article 2 still exempts prisoners and soldiers (90+% male).
Male slaves are frequently ignored by human rights laws and policies.
http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/14/headlines/headlines_30034148.php
For example, male slaves in China have had trouble getting their slavemasters prosecuted because only women were protected from slavery.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-06/15/content_895414.htm
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Male victims of domestic violence have been seriously neglected in public policy, outreach and services. But they are not rare. They’re less likely to report it, which makes oft-cited crime data (DoJ, etc.) unreliable especially for men.
Prevalence and Injuries
Virtually all empirical survey data shows women initiate domestic violence at least as often as men in heterosexual relationships and that men suffer one-third of physical injuries from domestic violence. Over 200 of these studies (and growing), using various methodologies, are summarized by Professor Martin Fiebert at
http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm
Harvard Medical School and the American Psychiatric Association both recently announced a major national study in the U.S. that found half of heterosexual domestic violence is reciprocal and that: "Regarding perpetration of violence, more women than men (25 percent versus 11 percent) were responsible. In fact, 71 percent of the instigators in nonreciprocal partner violence were women."
http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/42/15/31-a
http://www.patienteducationcenter.org/aspx/HealthELibrary/HealthETopic.aspx?cid=M0907d
The study also found: "As for physical injury due to intimate partner violence, it was more likely to occur when the violence was reciprocal than nonreciprocal. And while injury was more likely when violence was perpetrated by men, in relationships with reciprocal violence it was the men who were injured more often (25 percent of the time) than were women (20 percent of the time)."
A recent 32-nation study by the University of New Hampshire found women are as violent and as controlling as men in dating relationships worldwide.
http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2006/may/em_060519male.cfm?type=n
Discrimination
Many government-funded domestic violence programs still discriminate against male victims. In Australia and the UK, the government had to revoke funding from domestic violence shelters for refusing to help male victims.
http://express-advocate-wyong.whereilive.com.au/news/story/support-team-pulls-plug/#
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/05/domestic-violence-charity-funding
Other governments, like Holland, have created funds for battered men’s shelters.
http://www.amsterdamnews.net/story/464390
But in many countries, battered men’s shelters remain without any public funds.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1146783/First-refuges-battered-husbands-offer-support-male-victims.html
Battered men's shelters have recently formed in Serbia in Croatia.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48608
In October 2008, the National Coalition For Men won a landmark appellate case in California that held it is unconstitutional to exclude male victims of domestic violence from the statutory funding provisions or from state-funded services. Woods v. Horton (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 658.
http://www.metnews.com/articles/2008/wood101508.htm
NCFM did this on a pro bono basis and thus focused on overturning the law, not on doing deposition and gathering evidence of the discrimination itself. The court accepted the State's claim that 15% of state-funded shelters refuse to help men (which is significant in itself especially when they are concentrated in certain areas), but the number is much higher than that. The ones that "help men" usually just refer them to a far-away shelter that gives men hotel arrangements.
The federal Violence Against Women Act discriminates as well. First, it explicitly excludes American Indian men from its provisions on Native American. Second, it is implemented in a discriminatory manner nationwide, as the funds get routed to state coalitions that limit the funds to women. Dr. Richard Gelles explains this in his article, "Male Victims: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence."
http://www.ncfm.org/chapters/la/gelles.html
Finally, the very title discriminates and stigmatizes male victims by leaving them invisible and downplaying the seriousness of male victimization, making them an afterthought at very best. We don’t have a “Men’s Occupational Safety and Health Act” just because 92% of occupational deaths happen to men.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.t04.htm
"Build Your Own Shelters"
Some claim men's groups do not really care about male victims or do anything to help them. First, this claim is misleading because the main goal of men's rights groups is to end discrimination against men, similar to other anti-discrimination groups. Second, men's groups do care about and help male victims. Battered men's advocates also built a privately-funded men's shelter in Yreka, CA and set up the National Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women. NCFM networks with sober living homes in parts of California to shelter battered men referred by NCFM and has transported battered men to and donated money the Valley Oasis shelter in Lancaster, donated money to Valley Oasis, sent volunteer advocates to court with male victims, and provided moral and other support to male victims.
Telling men to "build your own shelters" is like telling women "build your own unions" because men built most unions. The discrimination we challenge is in taxpayer-funded programs, and men pay at least half of those taxes. It will take decades to establish the geographic spread that existing shelters have and meanwhile taxpayer-funded shelters can at minimum offer hotel vouchers to battered men, but most do not.
The CTS
Another common criticism is that the studies showing women initiate domestic violence as often as men are based on the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) which, they say, is not contextual enough and does not account for self-defense. At the outset, this is a hypocritical argument because these same critics have used CTS-based studies for decades to cite figures on female victims and they only criticize CTS when it applies to male victims. Even the DoJ, which most feminist groups cite, uses CTS. It is the most common methodology used in science to measure abuse.
In response to the criticism, researchers updated the CTS in 1985 to ask who initiated the violence first and found the same results (and even if one can "initiate" violence in self-defense, that would be true of both sexes).
Dr. Richard Gelles explains:
"Contrary to the claim that women only hit in self-defense, we found that women were as likely to initiate the violence as were men. In order to correct for a possible bias in reporting, we reexamined our data looking only at the self-reports of women. The women reported similar rates of female-to-male violence compared to male-to-female, and women also reported they were as likely to initiate the violence as were men."
"The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence; Male Victims," 1999, The Women's Quarterly, re-printed with the author's permission at www.ncfmla.org/gelles.html
Professor John Archer further explains:
“It has often been claimed that the reason CTS studies have found as many women as men to be physically aggressive is because women are defending themselves against attack. A number of studies have addressed this issue and found that when asked, more women than men report initiating the attack. (Bland & Orn. 1986; DeMaris, 1992; Gryl & Bird. 1989. cited in Straus. 1997) or that the proportions are equivalent in the two sexes (Straus, 1997). Two large-scale studies found that a substantial proportion of both women and men report using physical aggression when the partner did not (Brush, 1990; Straus & Gelles, 1988). This evidence does not support the view that the CTS is only measuring women’s self-defense."
"Sex Differences in Aggression Between Heterosexual Partners: A Meta-Analytic Review, Psychological Bulletin," Sept. 2000. v. 126, n. 5, p. 651, 664.
Subsequent research asked about motives and self-defense and found self-defense is only a small percentage of the violence by either sex. For example, one of the largest studies ever done in England found not only equal perpetration by gender but that men and women assaulted their partners for the same reasons, most often “to get through to them,” while self-defense was one of the least common motives for both sexes and men were hitting in self-defense slightly more often than women were. Carrado, “Aggression in British Heterosexual Relationships: A Descriptive Analysis, Aggressive Behavior,” 1996, 22: 401-415.
California State University surveyed 1,000 college women: 30% admitted they assaulted a male partner. Their most common reasons: (1) my partner wasn’t listening to me; (2) my partner wasn’t being sensitive to my needs; and (3) I wished to gain my partner's attention. Martin Fiebert, Ph.D., Denise Gonzalez, Ph.D., “Why Women Assault; College Women Who Initiate Assaults on their Male Partners and the Reasons Offered for Such Behavior,” 1997, Psychological Reports, 80, 583-590, www.batteredmen.com/fiebertg.htm.
A 32-nation study of domestic violence by the University of New Hampshire in 2006 found women's violence in dating relationships was just as controlling as men's. http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/ID41E2.pdf
Professor Don Dutton further refutes the self-defense myth. See Dutton, D., & Corvo, K., "Transforming a flawed policy: A call to revive psychology and science in domestic violence research and practice," (11) 2006, 457-483 http://www.nfvlrc.org/docs/DuttonCorvo.policypaper.pdf
MALE RAPE VICTIMS
Historically, many rape laws excluded male victims from the protections women receive. The Model Penal Code of the United States, for example, defined "rape" so that only women could be victims.
In England, funding for sex abuse victims is often denied for male victims.
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/06/25/4287949-sun.html
The federal government spent hundreds of thousands of dollars studying rapes on college campuses while ignoring rapes in prisons where men are frequently subjected to prison rape or sexual abuse, and not just by other men. In fact, consensual sex between prisoners and guards is considered sexual abuse, especially when the prisoner is a minor, and female guards commit this form of abuse in significantly high numbers.
"Inside youth prisons, scores of female guards violated boys." http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA041107.01B.krod.3a6c8d4.html
See also, "Female Prison Guards Are More Likely Than Males to Have Sex With Inmates"
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3024521&page=1
Rapes of males frequently occur in the form of statutory rape, and not just by other males. A student survey in New Mexico found 43% of teacher sex abuse comes from female teachers but over 90% of prosecutions are of male teachers.
http://www.newsobserver.com/672/story/501955.html
A recent study found 2 out of 5 South African boys say they were raped, “most often by adult women.”
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=ad3524cc-6076-4bc2-a015-23860553bd04
A large study in Canada found high rates of homeless kids being molested, with 3/4 of the molestations of boys being by adult women, but there were still no programs for the boys, only for girls.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=604d29af-5999-47ec-a156-0f5bc96954f2
Though there is little empirical research, adult women do forcefully rape men, including disabled men. For example:
African men being raped and battered by women in Namibia
http://allafrica.com/stories/200708210872.html
Quadriplegic man used eyes and toes to testify about female caregiver raping him. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4090392a12855.html
Female Caregiver For Mentally Disabled Man Charged With Rape
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/13766990/detail.html?rss=pit&psp=news\
Tembisia police report women gang raping men.
http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=413523
An increasing number of men in Tasmania are reporting sexual assaults.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/20/1957242.htm?site=idx-tas
Two Kuwaiti women were convicted of kidnapping and raping a man. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=iol11669473496...
Nun receives only one year in jail for raping two boys. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080202/ap_on_re_us/church_abuse_nun;_ylt=Ai...
Police Say HIV-Positive Woman Raped Boy
http://www.local6.com/news/5604460/detail.html
Men are also frequently victims of “sexual coercion” by both women and men. (Sexuality and Culture, Summer 2000.) According to a May 2008 study by the University of New Hampshire, 28% of college women and 11% of college men experienced unwanted sexual contact and the perpetrator was a member of the opposite sex 98% of the time for girls and 91% of the time for boys. See Table 1 at
http://www.unh.edu/news/docs/2006unwantedsexualexperiences.pdf
FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF RAPE
Almost every month we read of another man let free by DNA after years of incarceration due to a false rape accusation. False accusations are hard to measure and there is not much available research, but the existing research shows the problem is not uncommon.
A study in India found 18% of rape accusations are false and are often “coached.”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/18_rape_cases_false_Study/articleshow/3910217.cms
In a nine-year study of 109 rapes reported to the police in a Midwestern city, Purdue sociologist Eugene J. Kanin reported that in 41% of the cases the complainants eventually admitted that no rape had occurred. In a follow-up study of rape claims filed over a three-year period at two large Midwestern universities, Kanin found that of 64 rape cases, 50% turned out to be false. Among the false charges, 53% of the women admitted they filed the false claim as an alibi. Kanin EJ. An alarming national trend: False rape allegations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1994 http://www.sexcriminals.com/library/doc-1002-1.pdf. Kanin was once well known and lauded by the feminist movement for his groundbreaking research on male sexual aggression. But His studies on false rape accusations, however, received very little attention.
The U.S. Air Force study found 60% of rape accusations were false and the most common reasons for false rape accusations were: (1) spite or revenge; (2) feelings of guilt or shame; or, (3) to cover up an affair. Mental illness also played a role. McDowell, Charles P., Ph.D. “False Allegations.” Forensic Science Digest, (publication of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations), Vol. 11, No. 4 (December 1985), p. 64.
According to a 1996 Department of Justice report, “in about 25% of the sexual assault cases referred to the FBI, ... the primary suspect has been excluded by forensic DNA testing.6 It should be noted that rape involves a forcible and non-consensual act, and a DNA match alone does not prove that rape occurred. So the 25% figure substantially underestimates the true extent of false allegations. Connors E, Lundregan T, Miller N, McEwen T. Convicted by juries, exonerated by science: Case studies in the use of DNA evidence to establish innocence after trial. June 1996 http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/dnaevid.txt
According to former Colorado prosecutor Craig Silverman, “For 16 years, I was a kick-ass prosecutor who made most of my reputation vigorously prosecuting rapists. ... I was amazed to see all the false rape allegations that were made to the Denver Police Department. ... A command officer in the Denver Police sex assaults unit recently told me he placed the false rape numbers at approximately 45%.” http://web.archive.org/web/20050404230831/http://www.thedenverchannel.co...
According to the FBI, about 95,000 forcible rapes were reported in 2004. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Forcible rape. February 17, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20050404230831/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/kobebryanttrial/2812198/detail.html. Based on the statements and studies cited above, some 47,000 American men are falsely accused of rape each year. These men are disproportionately African-American. Innocence Project: Facts on post-conviction DNA exonerations. http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/351.php
Some of these men are wrongly convicted, sentenced, and imprisoned. Even if there is no conviction, a false allegation of rape can “emotionally, socially, and economically destroy a person. False accusations of rape are a form of psychological rape that is not included in the traditional definition of “rape.” And false accusations are not studied enough because it’s politically incorrect to talk about. Meanwhile the names of the accusers are often protected while the names of the accused are not.
Here are just a few sample stories about false accusations:
Four young men traumatized by false rape accusations.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/18/hofstra.case/index.html
Man released on rape charge after 22 years in prison.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/10/22/planes.collide.in.midair.news12longisland
6 falsely accused young men rescued by video of orgy directed by accuser.
http://www.ocweekly.com/features/sex-issue/great-dick,-babe_2006-02-09.html
Female rapists sentenced for rape and false accusation.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Rape_Lie.html
Women falsely claims rape to justify lover's attack on ex boyfriend.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444298&in_page_id=1770
17 year old boy released after false rape accusation.
http://www.cathnews.com/news/704/6.php
Innocent man falsely accused of rape to win back lover.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444298&in_page_id=1770
Victim Now Accused of False Report," The News Herald, 11/22/06.
http://www.morganton.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=MNH%2FMGArticle%2FMNH_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191836434&path=!news
Orange County woman jailed for false rape claim.
http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_313163134.html
U.K. judge jails "skillful actress" who falsely accused man of rape.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1939368,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11
Woman charged with filing false claim of sexual attack to police after road rage incident.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_falserape_0911sep11,0,7666977,comment-display-all.story
The claim that only 2% of rape accusations are false is totally unfounded and is purportedly based on FBI crime data though we have yet to see this confirmed by anyone and crime data is never a reliable source to project upon the population as a whole, as compared to empirical research. But no matter what the numbers are, there is no excuse for the lack of attention to the problem or the hostile and emotional reactions that come when anyone discusses false rape accusations.
Falsely accused persons are victims too, and to deny or downplay the experiences of those victims is a hypocritical form of victim-blaming. False accusations of rape are a form of psychological rape that can damage a person for life regardless of whether there is a conviction.
Much more attention and research is needed in this area. False accusers should be prosecuted (they rarely are) and face same punishment their accused could receive. And the names of the accused should be protected as much as the names of the accusers.
For a good site on false accusations of rape visit
http://falserapesociety.blogspot.com/
MILITARY CONSCRIPTION
No gender oppression is comparable in magnitude to the deaths of males in war, which includes forced conscription. Over 20 million male soldiers died in WWII alone, about 500,000 of them U.S. soldiers. http://www.hitler.org/ww2-deaths.html
Historically, a large percentage of men were drafted before they were old enough to even vote. The Vietnam Memorial has 58,000 male names and 8 female names. Males throughout the world are still forced to fight wars, even at ages as young as 6 in some countries. In the U.S. males must still register for the draft by age 18, including “only sons” and even disabled men if they can move about.
People who say “men make war” are the same ones who find it sexist to say men make science, medicine, etc., as women were restricted from participating and still did contribute in many ways. The same is true of war. Women leaders supported and declared wars, and women in the general population have supported wars at almost the same rate men have. E.g., 76% of women and 86% of men supported the U.S. military attack in Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War.
In his report, “War and Gender,” University of Massachusetts political scientist Joshua Goldstein documents how women have actively encouraged military adventurism, both in modern and indigenous societies, and that in the face of imminent conflict, women goad their men into combat. For example:
- During the American Revolutionary War, women were known to withhold sexual favors from reluctant fighters.
- During the American Civil War, Southern belles refused to accept suitors who did not take up arms.
- In World War I, British women organized the White Feather campaign in which they gave a white feather to men who refused to fight, as a sign of their unmanliness.
- Among the Bedouin, frenzied Rwala women bare their breasts and urge their men to war.
- Before the 1973 coup in Chile, women threw corn at soldiers to taunt them as “chickens.”
- During the era of the Soviet Gulag, female interrogators were just as ruthless as their male counterparts in extracting confessions.
- In the Rwanda genocide, Hutu women played a major role in killing Tutsi men:
“Women of every social category took part in the killings. … Some women killed with their own hands. … Women and girls in their teens joined the crowds that surrounded churches, hospitals and other places of refuge. Wielding machetes and nail-studded clubs, they excelled as “cheerleaders” of the genocide, ululating the killers into action.” African Rights report, Rwanda – Not So Innocent: When Women Become Killers, August 1995.) http://www.gendercide.org/case_rwanda.html
THE “PAY GAP”
The “pay gap” is probably the most widely-cited example of supposed disadvantages faced by women today. It is also totally misleading, as it is only a snapshot of average yearly full-time incomes that does not account for overtime (about 90% male), type of work, or other non-discriminatory, voluntary factors. The Department of Labor recently funded a study that proved this and found the pay gap is caused by choices, not discrimination.
http://www.consad.com/content/reports/Gender%20Wage%20Gap%20Final%20Report.pdf
See also, Prof. June O’Neill, Ph.D. (former director of Congressional Budget Office), “The Gender Gap in Wages, circa 2000,” American Economic Review, 5/03.)
This was further supported in the book “Why Men Earn More" by Warren Farrell, Ph.D., which examined 25 career/life choices men and women make (hours, commute times, etc.) that lead to men earning more and women having more balanced lives, and that showed how men in surveys prioritize money while women prioritize flexibility, shorter hours, shorter commutes, less physical risk and other factors conducive to their choice to be primary parents, an option men still largely don’t have. That is why never-married childless women outearn their male counterparts, and female corporate directors now outearn their male counterparts.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0752118220071107?feedType=R
Farrell also lists dozens of careers, including fields of science, where women outearn men.
Women simply have more options than men to be primary parents, and many of them exercise that option rather than work long, stressful hours. That is why 57% of female graduates of Stanford and Harvard left the workforce within 15 years of entry into the workforce. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/03/15/optout.revolution/
This is an option few men have (try being a single male and telling women on the first date that you want to stay home).
Blaming men for women's choices is unfair. In fact research shows most men have no problem with their wives outearning them. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23413243
Research also shows most working dads would quit or take a pay cut to spend more time with kids if their spouses could support the family.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/06/13/dads.work/index.html
Research also shows that parents share workloads more when mothers allow men to be primary parents.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-04-equal-parenting_N.htm
For more, see:
ABC News: “Is the Wage Gap Women’s Choice? Research Suggests Career Decisions, Not Sex Bias, Are at Root of Pay Disparity”
- http://abcnews.go.com/2020/GiveMeABreak/story?id=797045&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
- http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/04/magazines/fortune/muphy_payact.fortune/index.htm
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23413243
GENITAL INTEGRITY
Role of the Foreskin
The male foreskin is a highly-functional sexual organ that has been present in all mammals for over 60 million years, but is most highly developed and erogenous in the human male. In addition to protecting the glans and producing chemicals such as pheromones and anti- viral substances it contains a profusion of nerves that are highly sensitive to fine touch and are also found primarily in our lips, eyelids and fingertips.
The president-elect of the International Society for Sexual Medicine, Dr John Dean, has commented on his netdoctor entry on circumcision that a reduction in penile sensation is an “almost universal’’ result of the surgery.
A recent study used fine-touch medical instruments for the first time ever to study the fine-touch sensation on 19 points of the penis and found circumcision removes the most sensitive part of the penis and that an intact penis is much more sensitive than a circumcised penis. Sorrells, Snyder, et al., “Fine-touch pressure thresholds in the adult penis,” British Journal of Urology International, v. 99, issue 4, p. 864, April 2007. http://www.livescience.com/health/070615_penis_sensitivity.html
The full study is posted at
http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf
A subsequent study in China confirmed the same thing. Yang DM, Lin H, Zhang B, Guo W. [Circumcision affects glans penis vibration perception threshold]. Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue 2008; 14: 328-30, Dept. of Urology, the First Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou,Guangdong 510120, China.
Prior studies on this issue – which had mixed results – were unreliable because they were based upon self-reports of men who were either circumcised as adults for medical purposes or were circumcised as children and could not compare the difference. One of the study’s authors, Dr. Robert Van Howe, explains that the male foreskin is concentrated with high-sensory nerve endings that are only found in our eyelids, lips and fingertips. The foreskin has many other roles as well, such as acting as a buffer and lubricant.
Non-religious circumcision has been traced to the prevention of masturbation. And historically circumcision has been a cure looking for a disease, constantly being claimed to prevent one disease after another and repeatedly disproven afterwards. For more, see http://www.circumstitions.com/
HIV Prevention
There has been a flurry of media coverage over three studies in Africa that found male circumcision reduces the risk of contracting HIV. The conclusions of the studies have been criticized by a number of experts. See http://www.circumstitions.com/
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians reviewed the studies and concluded there is "no evidence to support routine circumcision of newborn and infant males." They also suggested parents wait until their child is old enough to give informed consent, and added: "There is evidence that circumcision does result in memory of painful experience."
http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/no-evidence-to-support-routine-circumcision-20090911-fkna.html
This confirms what the American Academy of Pediatrics found long ago. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/990302063210.htm
Dr. Dean Edell called the African/HIV conclusions "silly" and warned, "it will backfire." He recognized the gender double standards, the loss of sensation in the penis, how condoms and education are the solution, and how the U.S. has the highest rate of circumcision in the West and also the highest rate of HIV while European men don't circumcise and have lower HIV rates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlsUg0sdAtE
In fact, there is research showing female circumcision also reduces the changes of contracting HIV. Stallings, R. Y., and E. Karugendo. “Female Circumcision and HIV
Infection in Tanzania: For Better or for Worse?” Abstract of paper given at Third International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment. Rio de Janeiro, July 25–27, 2005. But even the least intrusive form of female circumcision is illegal to perform on an infant girl. But the male foreskin is gynecologically equivalent to the removal of the clitoral hood, one of three forms of female circumcision all of which are forbidden by law. See Darby, R. and Svoboda, J. S., ‘A rose by any other name?; rethinking the similarities and differences between male and female genital cutting,’ Medical Anthropology Quarterly (2007), Vol. 21, Issue 3, pp. 301-323.
For much more, see:
http://www.circumstitions.com/
http://www.circumcision.org/
http://www.nocirc.org/
http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org/
http://www.catholicsagainstcircumcision.org/
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/
http://www.stopinfantcircumcision.org/
http://www.arclaw.org/
THE “HOUSEWORK” MYTH
The media has repeatedly publicized studies that purportedly found men do not do their share of housework. These studies, including one by the United Nations, were seriously flawed as they did not account for work outside the home and/or failed to factor many traditionally male forms of housework. The mass media also virtually ignored subsequent studies that disproved the housework myth. For instance:
A recent 25-nation study by economists from Berlin, Brussels and Texas, which included rich and poor nations, found men do as much work as women when all types of work are combined.
http://www.slate.com/id/2164268/
A University of Maryland study found the total workloads of married mothers and fathers is roughly equal when paid work is added to child care and housework, at 65 hours a week for mothers and 64 hours for fathers.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007204060320
A University of Michigan study found women work an average of 11 hours more housework per week more than men while men an average of 14 hours per week more than women outside the home.
MEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD
INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chandigarh/Harassed-men-kin-to-hit-streets/articleshow/5079028.cms
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090817/jsp/nation/story_11368453.jsp
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/harassed-husbands-plan... struggle-against-biased-laws_100232981.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4859757.cms
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20071203&fname=Husband+(F)&sid=1
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Mens_groups_rise_against_DVA_... http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1190494
http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20080625/812/tnl-as-renuka-fights-for-women-men-alleg.html
MEXICO (men’s rights march in Mexico City)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZcIL93nTOY
KENYA
http://ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=20858
http://www.africanews.com/site/Kenya_15m_men_suffer_domestic_abuse/list_messages/25041
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/602726/-/item/0/-/6313roz/-/index.html
SOUTH AFRICA
http://www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=10548
ENGLAND
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/14/opinion/edtaylor.php
IRELAND
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1222/1229728440856.html
SCOTLAND
http://www.dunfermlinepress.com/
JAPAN
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,562400,00.html?test=latestnews
HAWAII
http://www.akamaiuniversity.us/MensStudies.html
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-u-of-c-mens-groupmay19,0,4707353.story
AUSTRALIA
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24289828-953,00.html
NORWAY
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1924493.ece
SINGAPORE
http://tomorrow.sg/archives/2009/05/01/singapore_mens_rights_watch.html
MOROCCO
http://en.afrik.com/article16241.html
ALPHA PHI ALPHA (Black fraternity wamts White House Council on Men and Boys)
http://apa1906.net/PressNewsDetails.php?newsID=90&newsCat=Press%20Release
Marc A.
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Thank you Dr. Synott for speaking out. Your views are also expressed in many books especially Warren Farrell's "The Myth of Male Power."
For sources I recommend people look at
http://www.ncfm.org/?page_id=482
Marc A.
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Dr. Anthony Synnott may have not discussed some of the other hidden areas of gender differences that tend to obscure that women (mostly single mothers) are 2.5 times more likely to kill or injure their children, that children raised by single mothers are far more likely to have negative social outcomes compared to two biological parent families or single father homes, yet judges award physical custody in a 9-1 ratio favouring mums, women initiate DV (upwards of 70% in some studies) more then males, that women initiate 75% of divorces in Canada and the list goes on. Over the past 35 plus years men have been demonized in the mass media and made sport of as buffoons on sitcoms. Its an interesting juxtaposition for the gender that invented almost everything we use to ease the labour burdens, discovered most of the world and beyond and saved the world on more than one occasion from totalitarian regimes.
Times are changing and there are many men stepping up to the plate to change the gender paradigm dynamic that we are evil abusers rather than loving fathers. I commend Dr. Synnott for his bravery. It isn't easy overcoming everything taught in women's studies programs often by misinformed ideologues.
Mike Murphy
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