Women in Engineering scholarship query

On Saturday 22 October 2022 I sent two emails to an Australian tertiary educational institution regarding financial assistance and support programs that they provided to female students. Here is the first one that I sent:

“Good morning

I have just come across your scholarship at https://www.qut.edu.au/study/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships/women-in-engineering-scholarship

Would you please confirm that there is no corresponding Men in Engineering scholarship. Assuming that there is not, would you kindly advise why a scholarship is maintained for women as it would seem to be inconsistent with current consensus regarding gender equality. I look forward to hearing back from you in due course.”

On 24 October 2022 they duly replied:

“Dear Mr. X,

QUT strives to create an equal, equitable and diverse teaching and research environment that is fully inclusive for all people. We are not a complete community until all individuals are included and afforded opportunity, regardless of their backgrounds, characteristics, beliefs and circumstances.

The Gender Equity and Diversity in STEMM Action Plan reflects QUT’s long-term commitment to addressing the under-representation of women, trans and gender-diverse people in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) disciplines.

Based on this action plan, women in engineering scholarship are committed to support people who identify as a woman, and increase the number of graduating female engineers, which at the moment is only 15% of all of the engineering students. This scholarship will help build a cohort of female future leaders in engineering professions.

However, there are other ongoing scholarships, that students who are not identifying as women are able to apply:

QUT – Find a scholarship

Kind regards

Engineering engagement team”

The second email I sent was similar, but was sent to the university’s ‘Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion Manager’ and focused on one particular page in their website.

(Postscript: 6 January 2023, and thankfully a further response has come to hand … )

“QUT does offer a number of scholarship that are not gender specific including academic, equity and industry-funded (currently being updated for 2023) and they can be found here.  QUT – Scholarships

Engineering has a long history of being a male-dominated profession. In several disciplines and areas of practice such as biomedical engineering, much progress has been made on this front. However, in other disciplines such as mechanical engineering the number hasn’t moved much in 30 or more years. I graduated in mechanical engineering in 1993 with only a few other females in my cohort of around 120. And the numbers haven’t improved significantly since then and neither has the aggregate proportion of qualified professional engineers who are female, which is still low at 13% (and the proportion of female engineers who are working in an engineering role is at 11%). (cited Jane MacMaster, FIEAust EngExec CPEng MRAeS Chief Engineer, Engineers Australia Women in engineering | Engineers Australia pp4)

With women severely unrepresented in the engineering work force QUT sets out to increase and support the number of females studying engineering by building a strong support program for students including engineering scholarships. 

The scholarship program includes mentoring, flagship Engineers Australia events such as the Women in Engineering Annual Dinner, Young Engineers Australia Executive Breakfasts, GEMS student club events, National Association of Women in Construction events and Alumni panel and industry workshops. 

The ongoing women in engineering program connects and showcases the opportunities for women in the engineering industry to help solve local and global challenges. It also encourages young people to consider an engineering career, join and invest in engineering and become the future of engineering.  

We offer many funding and engagement opportunities to all of our Engineering students at QUT however to address the gender imbalance in the engineering industry we seek to provide a program that not only supports women but also encourages new entrants into the field of engineering.

I hope this responds to your query and if you are seeking additional research on Women in Engineering please let me know and I will send it through.

Kind regards”

Other posts in this blog that are relevant to this subject:

Regarding the granting of gender-specific scholarships in Australia

We’ve all heard of the gender ‘income gap’, but what about the ‘expense gap’? (Scroll down to ‘education’)

Apparently there’s not enough “educated” men nowadays

Sex education … the fanciful one-sided woke mirage that’s now presented as wisdom & truth

I came across an article this week in an Australian pro-feminist media source known as ‘The Conversation’. It was entitled ‘Netflix’s Sex Education is doing sex education better than most schools‘ (11 November 2021).

Whilst that paper was the final trigger that led to me writing this post, the primary motivation was the seemingly endless stream of articles about sex and relationships by (invariably female) media columnists that preceded it.

At the outset let me state that I am not any kind of expert on the subject. Not at all. My only qualifications are being a male who’s had a reasonable amount of life experience, and being the father of a teenage boy about whose future welfare I’m deeply concerned.

Hands up who has read those articles about sex-related matters like consent, relationships, pornography and men’s (alleged) ignorance and many (alleged) psychological and physical failings in the bedroom. Just to provide an Australian example, think Nadia Bokody. And there is another one, but I can’t think of her name. [Several hours later: Oh, I remember, it’s Jana Hocking]. Both of whom, as an aside, have blocked me on Twitter – although that’s par for the course.

The annoying thing about these columns is their multitude of false statements and false assumptions, and their persistently negative views on men and masculinity.

That, and the fact that:

  • there is never a corresponding male perspective – other than a ‘white knight’ or male feminist perspective – presented to readers, and
  • the many real and potential negatives for males – of partaking in anything along the hook-up – courtship – marriage continuum are conveniently overlooked. Things like the threat of false accusations, revenge porn, paternity fraud and financial exploitation, bullying/abuse, rape, and so on and so forth.

In my experience at least, the current crop of female columnists tend to be extremely one-sided … to the point of either being deliberately misleading and/or being woefully ignorant of real-world relationship matters outside their own particular clique. They also rarely – and I think I’d almost go as far as to say, never – identify corresponding failings on the part of women. Well, other than in getting physical with all those wretched, exploitative and ungrateful men.

The fact that most of their social media posts now (deliberately) do not permit readers to post comments, suggests that many others are also fed up with their offerings.

Just a few points or examples … such columnists invariably state, assume and/or infer that:

  • All women/girls like or dislike or expect the same things as per other women/girls (and that individuals are consistent with respect to the nature of their own likes/expectations)
  • When men cheat (allegedly that’s relatively often) they are pigs whereas women rarely cheat, and when they do it’s usually their partners fault
  • Women/girls are knowledgeable about not just their own bodies, but also about men’s bodies and their sexuality
  • Women/girls express their views clearly and often, but they are deliberately ignored or disregarded by their male partners
  • Women clearly and truthfully express their views with regards to providing consent for sexual activity, and don’t often change their minds during the ensuing hours (if not minutes)
  • Women don’t just expect, but like, men to ask them for their consent at each stage of engaging in sexual activity

All of which I would place in the ‘Easter Bunny is real’ category … aka, nonsense.

Further, these online messengers of the matriarchy send a clear message that men are *lucky* to be chosen as sexual partners. And that if only they were better at doing whatever they are meant to be doing, then heaven awaits. And their ‘proof’ that women have their ‘act together’ in the bedroom? That’s because significantly more men orgasm than do women. Wow. I always thought that was simply reflective of men’s greater ability to close their eyes and imagine that they were with someone desirable.

Oh please! Hands up guys, putting aside the brief and very temporary relief of sexual hunger, how lucky do you feel when *it* occurs? Is sex that great for you? How many times, at the end of the day, do your sexual encounters – all factors considered – rate as even a net positive experience? And if you could travel back in time, how many encounters would you readily opt to excise … and simply skip to good coffee and hot shower?

One of the things that the matriarchal mouth-pieces conveniently neglect to mention is (for example) the proportion of women who won’t not have sex unless they are drunk. And it’s not unusual for women to readily admit this to their suitor. This might be their response to a buffet of hang-ups, and/or them being so awash with guilt/shame about just the thought of it.

I suspect that a primary reason for drinking is that, if/when their post-coital mood changes, they feel not merely justified – but comforted – in thinking (or even telling others) that they only did ‘it’ because they were drunk. Or more often, because ‘the guy got me drunk’. Or they can up-size their night out and call it drink-spiking. And then not only is shame/blame hoovered away, but sympathy is almost certain to be on-tap.

And those fellows who happily oblige the ladies, get to share a bed with a drunk – with all that that often entails (think: up-ended klutzy turtle that’s prone to vomit). But more importantly, those *lucky* men are then wading into quicksand with regards to the possibility of facing false accusations of abuse and/or rape – as well as their own feelings of concern and/or regret.

Am I alone in this regard, with views such as these? Feel free to let me know what you think. I could delve into considerable further detail in this post but currently at least, find myself shyly reluctant to do so.

Some other related internet articles/papers:

Escort reveals why most Aussie men are bad at sex (13 July 2024) And Aussie women are knowledgeable, communicative and competent at sex. What a sexist farce

‘Shameful’ yet common secret of women revealed (27 June 2024) Well, they say even a broken clock is correct once every 24 hours. Jana admits that women cheat as much as men

But on the other hand … men need to try to stop giving women dating advice (14 June 2024) Video. 

Husband’s ‘evil’ act exposes why women are leaving marriages (10 January 2024) And as usual, exactly 0% of responsibility for the ‘problem’ is attributed by the MSM to the actions & attitudes of women. Do you think this might be part of the problem?

Why Men don’t write about Sex and Dating (31 March 2023)

‘My partner keeps asking me what I like in bed – I don’t know what to tell him’ (3 March 2023) Finally, a sex article that’s honest in admitting that women don’t/can’t communicate their preferences even when asked to do so.

Nadia Bokody reveals weird sex lies men tell themselves (18 June 2022) Enough of this sexist nonsense

Nadia Bokody: Sex question you should never ask your girlfriend (22 May 2022)

Nadia Bokody: Lie men tell about ‘kinky’ sex (24 April 2022) Because women with a penchant for violence don’t exist, right? Any apparent exceptions to be explained with ‘the men made them do it’ or ‘they only did it to please a man’ lines.

Jana Hocking on why sober dating is the best way to find the one (24 February 2022) “Simple trick that won’t lead to bad sex” reads the online link to this item. How it might well read is ‘Female dating strategy that leads to false accusations of drink-spiking and/or sexual assault’

Nadia Bokody: ‘If this makes you awkward, you’re bad at sex’ (18 February 2022)

“And because I know someone is going to protest, “Why are you demonising men?! Women can be creeps, too!” it should be noted I’m not suggesting otherwise. However, it would be folly to treat these as comparable issues”.

Damn right it’s not comparable. Police/friends/whoever are not going to believe the male if he (or she) claims sexual assault!

Nadia Bokody: Sex act women don’t like men doing (18 December 2021) So women don’t say what they want (or don’t want) in bed but it’s men fault because …

‘Hardballing’ is the new dating trend that both scary and great (16 December 2021) From #BelieveWomen to #MeToo in one easy step

Nadia Bokody: Hilarious sex post angering men (11 December 2021) Hands up how many men found this piece hilarious? And don’t even think about the response you would get from female readers were you able to publish something poking fun at women.

The brutal truth about women and cheating (12 July 2019) Women suggesting ways to change & spice up the sex? Sure that occurs occasionally, but I’d suggest that usually it’s a matter of silence & negative/defensive reaction when such a suggestion is made by the guy.

Some related posts in this blog:

No place for feminist propaganda in our schools or universities

On boys and education

How men are portrayed … Haw Haw Haw! The jokes on us

On false accusations by women/girls against men/boys

On sexual assault and unwanted sex

Bin chickens

Well dear readers, my family was eating lunch at a cafe today. At a nearby table was a large group of teen girls with a couple of totem male friends (unsurprisingly, placed on the end of the table). As is now so often the case, they were inclined towards the noisy, vulgar and skimpily-dressed end of the spectrum.

My wife said to our son something along the lines of ‘don’t even think about bringing one of them home … we’re not sharing our stuff with the likes of them. If you want to be exploited, don’t get us involved.’ She’s only a small ‘f’ feminist, you see.

We briefly spoke about the need for him to exercise careful judgement in this regard, drawing on a couple of personal examples we know of.

Oh, and there was also a bird doing the rounds at the cafe too. An ibis. A waitress stopped and asked me if it was bothering me. ‘No’, I said. ‘I’m used to them by now’. My son mentioned that the popular name for these birds was ‘bin chickens’. They seem to be a bit like feathered rats, poking around much of the the time to get a free feed.

Which brings me to the point of this post. It’s a worrying time to have a teenage son. If you’re in the same situation, what are you doing to get him ready for the coming onslaught? And sex is only part of it.

Are you putting a book or books on his pillow? If so, which ones? One possibility might be Jordan B Peterson, for example.

What are you telling your son/s, and what are you leaving for him/them to discover for themselves?

I’m personally curious. Not asking for a friend.

See also:

The rise of the ibis: How the ‘bin chicken’ became a totem for modern Australia (7 September 2018) Possibly one of the most informative & entertaining articles ever to grace ‘The Conversation‘ website.

Elsewhere in this blog:

On boys and education

Who pays on dates?

Len & The Lamprey: The other side to the issue of financial abuse

Feminism and Buddhism – Another shared cafe experience but with female attendees drawn from the next higher age group. And I don’t remember there being any birds present.

Scavenging ibis

Regarding the granting of gender-specific scholarships in Australia

The other day I noted the following tweet issued by UN Women Australia:

Applications for our MBA scholarship with @Sydney_Business close this Monday 11 May. Don’t miss your chance. Apply today” (linked information)

Each of these scholarships is worth over $60,000 and is “to recognise outstanding leadership, with a commitment to enhancing women’s rights and opportunities”.

I then wrote to ‘Anti-Discrimination NSW‘ using the survey facility on this page of their web site. Their response, dated 12 May 2020, is provided below. Curiously this communication was marked ‘Private and Confidential’, the significance of which which I am now seeking clarification. I also sent a query to the Uni of Sydney Business School and others earlier via Twitter, to which I am yet to receive a response.

“I refer to you enquiry received via the community response survey on our website on the 11 May 2020 concerning the University of Sydney offering a scholarship to women only.

Exemptions under the Anti-Discrimination Act NSW 1977 (ADA)

Under the ADA there is no general special measures provision, which applies to all grounds under the Act. Rather, under the sex provisions of the ADA it provides:

  • Exception—genuine occupational qualification (in employment only) s.31and,
  • the Attorney General may grant exemptions (s.126 and s.126A).

Exemptions are granted where the purpose of a particular program or service is to achieve equality between a disadvantaged group and those who are not disadvantaged by addressing past or present disadvantage experienced by particular groups in our community.

In this sense such measures are non-discriminatory, in that they aim to redress disadvantage. That is, the purpose of such measures is achieving substantive equality, as opposed to formal equality, and these measures are critical to preventing and eliminating discrimination.

In July 2019 the University of Sydney was granted an exemption to offer, advertise, and facilitate scholarships for women only in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and finance for a period of ten (10) years. Please refer to our website (under the tab ‘exemptions’) for more information.

Since an exemption has been granted, the program the University of Sydney is providing is exempt from all the provisions of the ADA, so that they cannot be the subject of a complaint because they are providing services or programs designed to achieve equality and redress disadvantage experienced by particular groups in our community.”

Their second last paragraph refers me to this section of the agency’s web site, where you can note that Sydney University has been granted exemptions to provide female-only scholarships in relation to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, finance, and agriculture/environment. Looking through both this page (Section 126 exemptions) and the page for Section 126a exemptions, the most striking thing is that the overwhelming majority of exemptions granted have been in relation to female-only programs or services.

I wrote back to ‘Anti-Discrimination NSW’ to query aspects of their response:

“Thank you for your agency’s prompt and helpful response to my query to which I would now appreciate some further clarification.

1. Would you kindly advise, in relation to the exemptions granted to Sydney University, what factors you consider to confirm or verify proof of disadvantage for female students, relative to their male counterparts. 

2. I have noted the pages in your web site in relation to Section 126 and Section 126a exemptions. My immediate reaction is concern regarding the overwhelming number of exemptions granted in relation to programs or services that cater only for women.

In drafting your response to these queries you may wish to consider the information presented in the following sources:

Women-only scholarships website produced by the South Australian Government Office for Women (December 2021) And another similar site produced by ‘Australian Graduate Women’

James Cook University, Queensland, Australia (JCU have nil male-only scholarships)

http://www.saveservices.org/2020/05/growing-debate-whether-title-ix-should-help-male-students-excluded-by-female-only-programs/

http://www.saveservices.org/2019/05/pr-widespread-sex-discrimination-found-in-college-scholarship-programs/

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11853

https://quillette.com/2019/03/02/lies-damned-lies-and-stem-statistics/

https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/02/anti-male-discrimination-complaint-gets-umn-to-change-scholarship-rules/

Thank you in anticipation of your further assistance with this matter.”

Image

With credit to them ‘Anti-discrimination NSW’ again responded promptly, and on 15 May 2020 they advised:

“In considering whether to grant an exemption under section 126, the President is required to consider the factors set out in the Anti-Discrimination Regulation 2014.

Section 126A certification is granted by the Attorney General. Section 126A of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 provides that the Minister may certify a program or activity to be a special needs program or activity if satisfied that its purpose or primary purpose is the promotion of access, for members of a group of persons affected by any form of unlawful discrimination to which this Act applies in an area of discrimination to which this Act applies, to facilities, services or opportunities to meet their special needs or the promotion of equal or improved access for them to facilities, services and opportunities.

Under section 124A of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 it is an offence for the President or staff of Anti-Discrimination NSW to disclose information obtained during the exercise of functions under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977.”

Image

Further links to background information relevant to this issue can be found in this earlier blog post (scroll down to ‘Cost of Education’), one example of which is this recent paper by John Murawski.

Finally, Mark J. Perry comments (25 February 2021) “The national obsession trying to coerce more girls to go into Computer Science isn’t working. Can we stop the failed social engineering costing hundreds of millions of dollars funding girls’ STEM camps, Girls Who Code, female STEM scholarships, etc.?

See also:

Women on top, by Bettina Arndt (26 June 2024) Recommended reading

Queensland Women in STEM prize, by the Queensland Museum (June 2024)

Actuaries Institute Women Leaders in Data Science/AI Scholarship (8 May 2024)

Australia for ASEAN scholarships (January 2024) “Applications are strongly encouraged from women, people with disability and marginalised groups

Women leaders in sport program (21 August 2023) Australia. Post Matilda’s campaign kerfuffle, with feminist virtue-signaling galore 

Audrey Fagan Enrichment Grant (July 2023) Australia

Chemistry Australia CEW, Woman leader in STEM Scholarship (6 April 2023)

CEW & Roberta Sykes Indigenous Education Foundation Scholarships (December 2022)

Queensland University of Technology Women in Engineering Scholarship (October 2022) plus further support programs for female students at QUT is described here. I have written to QUT seeking their justification for running these programs.

Enhance your career with a leadership development scholarship (August 2022)

A scholarship for women working in Indonesian International Trade (2022)

@MediaDiverseAU is calling for expressions of interest from mid-career, women journalists of First Nations/CALD backgrounds to undertake a 12-month program to help pave a pathway for them into leadership roles (May 2022)

Resistance is rising to woke colleges’ race and sex discrimination (24 March 2022) And look what’s happening in America now. Bring it on.

Chief Executive Women scholarships for 2022

Women in STEM tackle barriers to senior management roles (theage.com.au) (13 August 2021)

CQC²T Women in STEM PhD and Honours Scholarships (2021)

Countering sex discrimination at UCF (8 February 2021) Meanwhile over in the USA

According this female MRA posting on Twitter, 92% of all sex-specific scholarships are reserved for women (December 2020) USA

Single-sex scholarships singled out (6 December 2020) USA

Australian government scholarships for women/girls available in November 2020 included: Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship Round 3 (GO4391), scholarships for women in finance & economics (GO4496), and Girls academies for indigenous secondary students. No grants were restricted to male applicants.

Eindhoven University loses sex discrimination case over women-only job ads (3 July 2020) Not scholarships here, but a related issue of university employment

145 universities under federal investigation for sex discrimination against male students (27 May 2020) USA

Women-only STEM college programs under attack for male discrimination (20 August 2019) USA

92 percent of sex-specific scholarships are reserved for women, study finds (21 May 2019) USA

Trigger warning! Female CEO deviates from the IT & Women script (2 April 2018) Video

“6 out of 10 college freshman are women, so there are more and more scholarship programs and grants available that cater exclusively to women needing funding for college.” Um, aren’t demographic based scholarships/grants supposed to help the underrepresented demographic group? (Tweet dated 4 February 2022)

Image

Apparently there’s not enough “educated” men nowadays

Until recently articles about women having trouble finding/securing dating or marriage partners were often quoted as querying “Where have all the good men gone?“. I talk about this in another post called ‘MGTOW and the Marriage Strike‘.

The rationale is that men are deficient in that they are failing in their responsibilities (to women) through their immaturity and/or by simply not trying hard enough to please. There is never a suggestion of any shortcomings on the part of women.

I’ve noticed we seem to be transitioning to a new meme, similar yet different to the last. In this one men are still deficient – they are now said to be playing video games instead of doing the work or study necessary to improve their educational/financial position.

We are told that educated women are complaining because, apparently, there are not enough “educated” men to partner with. Here’s an example of an article on this theme (with a response from an MRA here). As a consequence, these privileged women say, they must freeze their eggs and/or become solo parents by way of artificial insemination, etc.

Of course it would make sense to delve deeper into why men are staying home playing video games and/or are becoming increasingly under-represented in universities, but the debate stalls at the shaming stage. Because … still no suggestion of any shortcomings or blame on the part of women. (This blog entry illustrates what might otherwise be said and discussed)

I saw this program about solo parenthood on TV the other night. Interesting, though very much gynocentric in terms of the issues explored/presented. I saw women who had quite negative attitudes towards men and/or who freely admitted that they were not prepared to compromise in terms of any aspect of potential traditional pairings. On the other hand they were most willing to compromise their independent/empowered woman status when it came to having others around them support and/or subsidise their lifestyle choice.

The perspective of straight men and their attitudes and experiences was not addressed. Sperm donors who chose not to establish/maintain contact with their offspring were presented as insensitive cads. No hint was provided as to what other factors that might have contributed to their behaviour, for e.g. the possibility of being lumbered with eighteen years of child support payments.

Then I read firstly this article, then another, and another, these being just a few examples of a spate of pieces on this theme. As is often the case, there were some quite illuminating reader’s comments following each, including this offering:

“Feminism is already a dead woman walking. All feminism has is shaming language and the State (ironically, ultimately other men) to keep men to the feminist line.

But now, increasingly, the shaming doesn’t work. And men are disengaging from society in general to avoid entanglements with the state; if you don’t get married, you can’t be divorced, if you don’t co-habit you can’t have half your stuff appropriated, if you don’t have children, you can’t be on the hook for child support, if you don’t enter the corporate world you can’t be be accused of ‘harassment’ and if you don’t date you drastically reduce your chance of a false rape accusation.

These are genuine threat points for men in the modern world that didn’t exist before feminism. It speaks to the feeble minds of feminists that they would think that men will simply carry on as they did when these threats did not exist. For the last 50 years men (mostly) still did. But that’s over now.

So men are doing what they have always done: survey their environment, understand it, and behave rationally according to it. Which means, increasingly, living their lives without regard to what women want. This does not mean living without sex, relationships or female company. Just that the investment men make in all these areas is being dramatically reduced.

As feminism reduces the value of women (in men’s eyes), so men are reducing the amount of time, effort, attention and money they are willing to spend for the declining benefits modern women now bring to their lives.

But the real news is that the true cost of feminism, first born by men, and then children, is now being passed on to women. Record numbers of women are living alone, record numbers of women are childless, record numbers are on psychiatric medication, record numbers are facing a life-time of wage slavery in grinding jobs that they can never leave. And still feminism spins these outcomes as the conscious choices of these women and as ’empowering’.

And yet, women’s self-reported happiness, across all classes, all races, all demographics is lower than ever since records began 50 years ago. Tellingly, for the first time ever, their happiness is also now lower than men’s.

But you do not need to read ‘The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness’ to know this. Just talk to the increasing number of 30 and 40 year old childless spinsters one on one – not in a group – to get the REAL story. The REAL effect of feminism in the REAL world. These women don’t give two hoots about feminism, they are just wondering where all the good husbands, hell, ANY decent man, went.

Mostly, disgusted with what feminism has done to women, he walked away.

For the truth is that men don’t want to fight women, it goes against the core of what it means to be a man. But feminism thrust men into a fight that they neither started nor wanted. To the point that feminists are reduced to crowing about ‘winning’ battles that men never turned up for.

And even now, as feminism pushes and pushes and pushes to ever more absurd levels, as ever more restrictions are placed on normal masculine behavior, ever more insane definitions of ‘rape’, ‘assault’, and ‘aggression’ are drafted into law in increasingly desperate attempts to somehow, anyhow, cast women as perpetual victims – even now – men are still refusing to be drawn into a real battle.

That’s how deeply men do not want to fight women.

The sound of the final battle between the sexes will not be heard in the streets or legislatures. It will not be televised or reported. There will be no flags hoisted or victory parades. Because it is already in progress. It is happening all around us in plain sight, for those with the eyes to see it.

And men are deploying the most devastating weapon of all – indifference. In this final battle who cares least wins.

The time has come to reap the harvest of feminism, and for women the fruit will be bitterest of all.”

And here is further evidence of the feminist hive-mind in action with another series of almost identical articles on a related theme – young men allegedly addicted to video games:

Dating, relationships and the lies told young women (6 July 2022)

On Tinder, only women have a preference for highly-educated partners (24 July 2019)

Unemployed and don’t care: why young men aren’t working (1 April 2017) A sexist hit-piece in a professional journal of all places. The author wilfully confuses cause & effect when discussing unemployment amongst young men. See reader’s comments including:

“placing the blame of men not working on video games seems like such a stretch of the imagination as to be unbelievable”

The curious political effect of men losing their breadwinner role, by Jena McGregor (24 April 2017)

Why Some Men Don’t Work: Video Games Have Gotten Really Good‘ (3 July 2017)

Will Darwinism kill Feminism? (7 July 2017) A great offering on the issue from Martin Daubney

We’re losing a whole generation of young men to video games‘ (8 July 2017)

Link between young men spending more time gaming and less working (13 July 2017)

It’s not just young men — everyone’s playing a lot more video games (11 July 2017) Oh gee, someone finally provided corresponding stats for women

No eligible men (10 July 2017) This video kind of sums it all up

See also:

‘Too few college-educated men’: A look at why many women undergo egg freezing, and the costs associated with it (30 March 2024)

The College dating divide (20 February 2023)

Critics Tell Young Men that Their Penises are NOT Golden (But They Are) (15 September 2022) by Janice Fiamengo. Recommended reading

Meet the women who believe they’re ‘too hot’ to land a date (6 April 2022) What a joke – so if the fault isn’t some lack on the part of the guys, then it must be that the women are (drumroll) too wonderful … or both of the above!

The game of marriage chicken, by Bettina Arndt (3 March 2022)

How ‘Golden Penis Syndrome’ is ruining dating for university women (2 November 2021) Sickening response from the feminist set to a man shortage that they facilitated

What is hybristophilia: Why women are attracted to killers like Chris Watts | news.com.au (7 September 2021) On a contrasting note, apparently some women prefer traits other than high education.

High income men have high value as long-term mates in the U.S.: personal income and the probability of marriage, divorce, and childbearing in the U.S. – ScienceDirect (September 2021)

‘Sales funnels’ and high-value men: the rise of strategic dating | Dating | The Guardian (8 August 2021)

Covid-19: ‘Entitled’ millennial’s fertility whinge angers Australia (news.com.au) (2 August 2021) Yes, let’s drag in the Covid19 theme, heck why not?

Why women are experiencing a ‘man drought’ in QLD dating scene | The Courier Mail (22 May 2021)

Women admit that marriage is prostitution, and they like it that way (10 September 2019) Another worthwhile video in the ‘Regarding Men‘ series

Women freeze their eggs to allow men to get ahead in their careers (3 July 2018) UK

D’oh! Women ‘marrying down’ as men become less educated (9 November 2017) with related Reddit discussion thread here

The second half of this Sargon of Akkad video deals with the ‘lack of educated men’ issue (October 2017)

‘Marrying up’ is now easier for men, improves their economic well-being, study finds (28 August 2017) I think they really mean ‘marrying up should now be easier for men’. And again, if the genders were reversed, there would certainly not be the same meek acceptance of the women being failed by the education system.

College-Educated Women Can’t Find Good Men – What’s to blame? (3 February 2016)

The Mating Crisis Among Educated Women, by David M Buss (January 2016) USA. An article written by a male academic, but from a wholly gynocentric perspective.

These women can’t find enough marriageable men (24 September 2015) and related reddit discussion thread here

Rich educated women cannot find husbands and it’s all your fault,  by Sargon of Akkad (10 May 2015) Video

Where are all the smart men? (3 May 2015) New Zealand with related reddit mensrights discussion threads here and here. A separate, and even more ignorant editorial here concludes with “The failure of men to foot it with them educationally in equal numbers is no reason to change the education system or promote men undeservedly. The shortage of partners for highly educated women is a problem only men can solve. Get your credentials, boys.”

Image

(Source of the above block of text)

Some other related posts within this blog:

On boys and education
Men & women and their attitudes to marriage and parenthood
How men are portrayed … Haw Haw Haw! The jokes on us
We’ve all heard of the gender ‘income gap’, but what about the ‘expense gap’?

That porn-sharing web site: Time for a reality-check

Today I wanted to offer some comments in relation to an article entitled The police response I never expected, by Nina Funnell (18 August 2016). This article was prompted by the now highly-publicised discovery of a web site that is alleged to contain many nude photos of Australian high school girls.

The web site that was the focus of recent Australian media attention went off-line for a time only to re-emerge ten days later. The author of this article claimed that “police managed to have it taken down“, although I have found no evidence of that being the case.

Nina bemoans the ‘fact’ that Australian authorites are not taking the problem seriously, and that the action they did take included warning girls not to take compromising photos of themselves. The latter action is apparently not seen as constituting ‘education’ but rather ‘victim-blaming’.

This is the default feminist response to the issue of taking responsibility for one’s own actions, and doing what one can to minimise risks to oneself. This aspect, in the context of online porn, was addressed in an article by Corrine Barraclough. Articles detailing the feminist perspective on this issue can be reviewed here and here.

By way of background, articles *very* similar to those that recently appeared in the Australian media have regularly appeared in other western countries in recent years without generating much in the way of a fair and meaningful response. A cynic might suggest, given the salacious appeal/guaranteed outrage of the subject, they appear on a cycle as per gender wage gap, etc.

It is dubious whether Australian police can wield any power in relation to the ongoing operation of the web site. And even if they could – presumably via cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies – they would still need to identify those photographed and prove they were underage at the time they were photographed. No small task, especially when it appears that very few of those whose photos featured in the web site have lodged police reports. Perhaps, realistically, all Australian police could do was to warn young people of the danger of allowing themselves to be photographed whilst naked.

It’s ironic that various articles use the term ‘victims’ to describe the girls whose pictures are featured in the web site, whilst running photos of the girls within their articles (see for example).

The article contains a quote from Sharna Bremner, from ‘End Rape on Campus Australia‘:

“I agree we must be talking to young people about these issues, but we should start by talking to potential perpetrators about the consequences of their choices, rather than always putting it on girls to manage [and prevent] their own exploitation and victimisation”

Wait a minute – time for a reality check, for we know that:

As a consequence, Ms Bremner’s implication that “potential perpetrators” = men/boys is incorrect, as is the implication that girls have a monopoly on “exploitation and victimisation“. I might note here also whilst implied, it has not been verified that the web site in question only contained photos of nude women/girls.

Ms Bremner was also quoted as saying that:

“To direct parents to warn their daughters, without also directing them to talk to their sons is inappropriate. This stems from the same logic that tells girls not to get drunk or wear short skirts, while failing to spend even one second talking to boys about consent”

I agree that parents and other authority figures should talk to both boys and girls, but they should give the same message to both, in the knowledge perpetrators/victims aren’t split along gender lines.

This reminds me of ‘respectful relationships’ programs in schools, such as those run by the White Ribbon Campaign, that lecture boys about respecting girls but not necessarily the reverse. This despite that fact that Blind Freddy can see that girls can, and often do, disrepect and abuse boys.

Nina then proceeds to hold up the highly contentious Canadian public ‘awareness’ campaign known as ‘Don’t be that guy‘ as a good example of how authorities should take a more active role by educating (=shaming) people (=men/boys) into not posting online photos of people (=nude girls).

This despite the fact that the value of public awareness campaigns in changing errant behaviour is generally considered to be dubious, as is discussed in this post.

Nina claims that the Canadian campaign led to a 10% drop in the number of rapes in Vancouver BC. This article may be the source of her claim, but the evidence is hardly conclusive.

I do agree with her though that, in general terms, education campaigns targetted at specific groups in the community are more likely to be effective than broad-brush public campaigns. You just have to make sure you target the right groups based on objective evidence rather than ideological persuasion.

And yet curiously feminists lobby for/support broad-brush public awareness campaigns in the case of domestic violence, sexual violence, sexual harassment/discrimination, etc. And although these are directed at the community generally, they still routinely imply that perpetrators/potential perpetrators are male, whereas in fact they are invariably either male or female.

And to close off this discussion, just one example of the double-standard that invariably goes hand-in-hand with any feminist position on gender:

Wilderness School girls under fire for ‘hook-up wall’ of boys, who claim a double standard of sexual objectification (11 November 2016) with related Reddit discussion thread here.

Female students afraid to return to Pembroke School over misogynistic list (29 August 2024)

Sydney schoolgirls’ ‘disgusting’ act after Liam Payne’s shock death (18 October 2024)

Advocating for men/boys online: Is there benefit to be had in one-on-one interaction with feminists online?

TLDR: I provide the following post for the interest of those sympathetic and/or active in promoting MRA, rather than to provide some kind of a ‘slap in the face’ to those opposed to it. So, based on my experiences to date, do I think that there is a net benefit in interacting with feminists and/or White Knights on social media? My answer to that is an unequivocal ‘no’.

I have noticed some MRA’s spend a great deal of time providing information and/or trading barbs with feminists online. My own online interactions with feminists and their allies have been singularly unproductive. They very rarely provide interesting alternative perspectives or leads to useful sources of information. Instead they offer a narrow and predictable range of ad hominem barbs and child-like taunts, often immediately followed by blocking you.

After these exchanges I get the feeling that I have achieved nothing more than diverting time and energy away from those other things that might have been tackled in the limited time available – for example, targeted lobbying, preparing submissions, etc. Occasionally I’ve also had to expend further time afterwards dealing with subsequent unfounded/exaggerated complaints to moderators, Facebook, etc.

It’s for this reason I prefer to contribute in public forums (e.g. online discussions of articles in MSM) where I try to raise awareness amongst the general public of specific men’s issues, and of related sources of information. Here you find many ‘fence sitters’, who are somewhat curious about gender issues and open to new ideas.

But perhaps if we look at a couple of case-studies:

In this first example what began with a little banter in relation to one of my blog posts, ended with a door slam. mangina3

Followed soon thereafter by:

mangina

This second example demonstrated pretty much the same pattern as you can see in these few screen grabs:


Anyway I thought I’d take this opportunity to put the question to far more seasoned campaigners than I … once you add up all the time and energy spent dealing with individual feminists, is there a net benefit to be had? Were they interested in your facts? Have you won over any hearts and minds?

blocking

Or have you just found yourself, time and time again, switching off your laptop late for dinner … tired and frustrated and thinking that there must be a better way?

If only feminists could play a banjo like this

 

On masculinity and ‘real men’

Hyper-masculinity? Toxic-masculinity? What is this masculinity thing that is painted as such a blight on society?

Why is there is never any mention of toxic femininity when (to varying extents) many of the same issues apply? Just look at my posts on for example, female violence, lack of empathy, sexual abuse by women, and damseling and the shameless exploitation of male chivalry.

The articles below all address the concept of masculinity, alternately either from a feminist, egalitarian, MHRA or another alternate position:

‘A fatal miscalculation’: masculinity researcher Richard Reeves on why Democrats lost young men (9 November 2024) USA

Did sexism propel Donald Trump to power? (9 November 2024) USA

Kamala’s Anti-Male Sexism Drove Men from the Democratic Fold (7 November 2024) USA

The sad truth is that anti-feminist backlash helped propel Trump to victory (6 November 2024) and another related item ‘No sex, no babies: 4B Movement goes viral after Donald Trump US election win‘ (8 November 2024)

Regarding the #NotAllMen assertion (October 2024)

‘Toxic masculinity’ is toxic terminology (3 July 2024)

Masculinity isn’t toxic, it’s the tonic society needs. An interview with therapist, Professor Miles Groth (27 October 2023)

Fears for Australian women as more die allegedly at the hands of young men and experts speak out (16 April 2024) Hey, let’s ignore the men and boys killed, the growing perpetration of abuse committed by women, and in fact any thought of holding women accountable … for anything

Helping young men to have healthy, respectful relationships (25 October 2023) Australian Federal Government media release. Another $3.5 million down the feminist toilet

Landmark research study finds clear evidence of pro-women/anti-men bias (28 September 2023)

In praise of heroic masculinity (30 August 2023)

The Best Way to Find Out If Someone Is a Trump Voter? Ask Them What They Think About Manhood (14 July 2023) Written by Katelyn Fossett

Andrew Tate’s Career as the Baddest Boy on the Internet Might Be Over (16 January 2023)

This man really knows how to deal with kids playing on the driveway (3 July 2022) Video

The words Will Smith didn’t need to say in his latest apology (2 April 2022) The female journalist implores readers to go easy on Will (for many reasons as listed).  The journalist uses the term ‘toxic masculinity’ but then states that “In no way, shape or form did Smith’s actions harm the people attending the Oscars, or anyone watching at home.” Whilst it’s rare to see people being asked to show empathy for men, what’s the bet that it’s only happening here because Will is perceived to have ‘done it for a woman’? #WhiteKnight

Will Smith, we don’t need men to protect us’ (28 March 2022) Meanwhile, in real life and starting immediately after Will Smith hit Chris Rock, the media began exposing women stating things like “Gee, I wish I had a man to protect me like that!” #EyeFlutter

The tragedy of modern love (25 July 2022)

Men love women more than women love men (22 July 2022)

Gender Self-Confidence as a Protective Factor for Suicide Risk: Analysis of the Sample of Lithuanian Men (23 May 2022)

Buy a real shaver – Jeremy’s razors (22 March 2022) Video satire, though meaningful

Oh but men commit 95% of all violence, blah blah blah (18 March 2022) Some real stats about the prevalence of male violence

‘Just part of everyday cowboy life!’ Hero dad, 40, who saved his son, 18, from raging bull at Texas rodeo says he was just ‘glad he was there to protect him’ (2 March 2022)

How much do you know about male psychology? (2022) Video

A Philosopher ponders ‘What Do Men Want?’ Insights and quotations from Nina Power’s book (14 February 2022) Book review

‘Dehumanizing the male’. Another book review (2 December 2021)

Testosterone Administration Induces A Red Shift in Democrats (2021)

When did traditional masculinity become toxic? (25 November 2021)

Is toxic masculinity the reason there are so many climate-hesitant men? (13 November 2021)

Stop calling people ‘toxic’. Here’s why | Hannah Baer | The Guardian (26 July 2021)

Tweet regarding men expressing emotion (9 July 2021)

Man expresses enthusiasm = creep. Man expresses frustration = incel. Man expresses anger = toxic. Man expresses sadness = weak. Man shares emotions other than happiness = emotional labor. Man shares no emotions at all = emotionally distant

How Has Feminism Been for Young Men, with Tristan Glosby // Men are Talking Podcast – Episode 1 – YouTube (7 July 2021)

Stop Emasculating Men, Then Wondering Where All The Good Men Went (thefederalist.com) (14 June 2021)

Gender Equality and Where Feminism Gets It Wrong – Woke Father (24 May 2021)

The push to “Raise Boys Right” implies that men need to be fixed (20 April 2021)

The pandemic of male loneliness (24 February 2021)

China’s gender roles: War on ‘feminisation’ aims to build boys’ ‘masculinity’ (5 February 2021)

The Atlantic obviously doesn’t have any idea ‘What it means to be a man’ (19 February 2020)

Can we talk about ‘Toxic Femininity’ yet? (22 July 2020)

Watch: Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh on modern culture destroying masculinity (20 November 2019)

Well, America, Gillette’s idiotic ad may have finally turned the tide on ‘toxic masculinity’ (22 January 2019) USA

Masculinity isn’t a sickness (16 January 2019)

Traditional masculinity has been dubbed ‘harmful’ by a major health body (16 January 2019) with related tweet her

Psychology as indoctrination: Girls rule, Boys drool? (15 January 2019)

Barbara Kay: American Psychological Association declares masculinity an “ideology” (12 January 2019)

You can’t help men by attacking masculinity, by Dr John Barry (27 November 2018)

Male authority – Be a “Man”, by Rollo Tomassi (13 November 2018)

Brown University Offering Programs for ‘Unlearning Toxic Masculinity’ (25 October 2018) See related tweet from James Woods

The fact that we’re considering making misandry a hate crime should concern everyone who believes in equality (17 October 2018)

The mysterious invisibility of men’s good deeds, by Mark Dent (14 July 2018)

Feminism: Toxic Masculinity (26 June 2018)

Why men are refusing to help women and children (6 June 2018) Video (and also take a look at this Jim Muldoon article on the same theme)

How feminists developed ‘Toxic Masculinity’ (14 June 2018)

Rethinking Gender, Sexuality and Violence (25 October 2017)

Charts – Where You Fall on the Alpha / Beta Scale (9 October 2017)

Does the NRL have a culture problem? (13 September 2017) Video

Duke recruits men for program to fight ‘toxic’ masculinity (13 September 2017)

Houston Rescuers Prove the Lie of ‘Toxic Masculinity’ (1 September 2017)

Andrew Cadman: We are paying a high price for the feminisation of Britain (3 August 2017)

Delingpole: Too Much ‘Maleness,’ Complains Feminist Reviewer of ‘Dunkirk’ (2 August 2017)

We’re doomed and only women can save the day (20 July 2017) How men think of, and treat other men, is part of the problem.

SJW DYLAN MARRON GETS OWNED l Response to Unboxing Trump’s America and Masculinity l SJW Cringe (6 July 2017) Video

First police officer at London Bridge attack “was rugby player who took on all terrorists until forced to ground” (4 June 2017) UK

Study: Most Women Like ‘Manly’ Men, Don’t Worry About ‘Toxic Masculinity’ (13 May 2017)

The epidemic of sexless marriage is symptomatic of the modern emasculated husband (undated/2017)

The ‘Toxic Masculinity’ Trend Blames Boys For Being Born Male (12 April 2017)

Missed a spot, by Dalrock (1 March 2017)

E.B. White’s Touching Letter to Man Who Lost Hope in Humanity (27 February 2017)

Feminists wage war against romance on Valentine’s Day (14 February 2017)

Gender wars: Is masculinity toxic for boys? (9 February 2017) Reddit discussion thread and linked video

Toxic masculinity: Will the ‘war on men’ only backfire? (28 January 2017) Australia. Related Reddit discussion thread here.

‘Toxic masculinity’ is ruining men’s lives, by Corrine Barraclough (26 January 2017)

Dear Feminists, male vulnerability isn’t a virtue (3 January 2017)

Today (30 December 2016) I noticed two articles that took a now common approach of using/portraying generally positive attributes associated with masculinity (protectiveness towards women & risk-taking behaviour) in order to mock or criticize men:

Men are weirdly concerned about trans women’s use of female bathrooms according to new study and Drownings blamed on men’s risky behaviour

Male college students to undergo ‘critical self-reflection’ of masculinity (3 January 2017)

Feminist Prof: Cats are the solution to ‘Toxic Masculinity’ (15 December 2016)

To what should males aspire? (15 December 2016)

No Gender December: When did ‘gender’ become such a dirty word? (13 December 2016) Australia

The miseducation of young men, part 3 (9 December 2016)

Why women can’t complain about men (4 December 2016) Video

Masculine white men more likely to be mentally ill, says new ‘study’ (22 November 2016)

Why Colleges Should Stop Teaching “Toxic Masculinity” (16 November 2016)

The False Dichotomy of Feminist Ethics (11 October 2016)

‘Toxic White Masculinity’: What is it all about? (10 October 2016) USA

If gender is a social construct, why aren’t women ever accused of exhibiting toxic masculinity? (9 October 2016) Reddit discussion thread

What will feminists accomplish by defining masculinity as toxic and pathological? (8 October 2016)

This Woman Never Looked At Her Fiancé The Same Way After He Abandoned Her During A Violent Mugging: Toxic lack of masculinity? Reddit discussion thread and linked article.

‘Effeminism’ and the War on Boys (23 September 2016)

It’s not Muslims or people with mental health problems who are most likely to kill you in a terrorist attack – it’s men, by Janey Stephenson (28 July 2016)

Oddly, there has recently been other articles very similar to this one published in different countries, but with ostensibly different authors. See ‘What mass killers really have in common’, by Rebecca Traister (17 July 2016) and ‘One group is responsible for America’s culture of violence, and it isn’t cops, black Americans, Muslims or rednecks. It’s men‘, by Melissa Batchelor Warnke

And here is an MRA response to the type of article listed above: ‘The bizarre feminist response to Islamic terror in Orlando‘ (27 July 2016)

I Am A Transwoman. I Am In The Closet. I Am Not Coming Out (11 March 2016)

Joy of Masculinity (9 June 2016)

YouGov Poll: Only 2% of men aged 18-24 feel masculine (20 May 2016) UK

The Myth of the Masculinity Crisis (9 May 2016)

As a female college student, what can I do to empower my male friends who are (seemingly) very emasculated and don’t stand up for themselves? (9 May 2016) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

‘Masculinity isn’t toxic — our attitudes to it are’ (8 May 2016) UK

Violence in Men vs Women. Things aren’t how they seem (6 May 2016) Reddit discussion thread

Miranda Devine: Stop telling boys to act like girls (24 April 2016) Australia

39 Things Women Will Just NEVER Understand About Being A Man (14 April 2016)

Shaming Men Doesn’t Build Healthy Sexuality (9 April 2016)

New York Times: ‘Teaching Men to be Emotionally Honest’ (4 April 2016) with related Reddit discussion thread here

Toxic Femininity and Heroism (14 March 2016) Australia

Female counselor says men are increasingly ashamed of their masculinity (28 January 2016) UK

European Queens Waged More Wars Than Kings (27 January 2016)

How the European male was turned by the feminist into a “WIMP, PUSSY, AND MANGINA”, is it on it’s way here? (25 January 2016)

European men now being criticized for their lack of masculinity (25 January 2016) Video

Although the vast majority of people who risk their own lives to save others are men, this BBC article doesn’t mention that this is mostly a male behaviour. Every time there’s a mass shooting or a terrorist attack, feminists blame “toxic masculinity”. Why they don’t talk about ALTRUISTIC MASCULINITY? (5 December 2015)

Audio: Karen Straughan’s brilliant lecture on “toxic masculinity and toxic femininity” at SFU (21 November 2015)

Question to feminists regarding “toxic masculinity” (29 July 2015) Reddit discussion thread

Male Definition of Masculinity Is a Surprise – Toxic Masculinity Debunked (2008) with reddit discussion thread here

Feminism’s Real Target is Masculinity (December 2014)

It’s time to do away with the concept of ‘manhood’ altogether (29 October 2015) Nauseating pieces penned by mangina journo for The Guardian, but which attracted plenty of reader’s comments

“Toxic Masculinity” is hate speech. Full stop. It pathologies maleness and attempts to link violence to men’s culture. Feminists discussing “toxic masculinity” is little different than white supremacists attacking “ni**** culture” and “black violence” Reddit mensrights discussion thread (15 October 2015)

‘Real men don’t hit women’: The big problem with Malcolm Turnbull’s anti domestic violence message (10 October 2015) Australia. I agree with the prolem with the ‘real men’ message, but much about this article is wrong, not least the assertion by Michael Salter that female violence only occurs in the context of self-defence, and that the fact that most people in jail are male is proof that men are responsible for most crime.

Salon blames Oregon shooting on ‘traditional masculinity’ (9 October 2015)

Are today’s standards for being a ‘real man’ leading to violence against women? (8 October 2015) Australia. But what of violence BY women?

How to stop mass shootings (2 October 2015) and related https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/3n8xmn/new_from_milo_yiannopoulos_on_the_root_cause_of/

Vanderbilt Women’s Center to Lecture Men on ‘Healthy Masculinities’ (31 August 2015)

Masculinity and Violent Behavior: A Complex, Combustible Relationship (25 August 2015) and related reddit discussion thread

Masculinity is more than a mask, by Christina Hoff Sommers (13 January 2014)

What would happen if no men showed up for work today? (17 September 2013)

The End of Men, by Hanna Rosin (July/August 2010 edition of The Atlantic)

Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity (15 October 1991) with more here

masculinity

Image

Image

Image

Further sources yet to be reviewed:

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=dx2xLaLHZocC&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=sociopathy+and+hypermasculinity&source=bl&ots=QVAdycmNbP&sig=mvQqp40-RZyqI1E3bF9Px4oAPEY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BXd7VK7ZAsfh8AWm9YK4CA&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=sociopathy%20and%20hypermasculinity&f=false

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=6760256&fileId=S0140525X00039686

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=sluqacUK9mQC&pg=PA300&lpg=PA300&dq=sociopathy+and+hypermasculinity&source=bl&ots=OayNvsrL8h&sig=c9B_araQjFku6qB7DU7IZlefCqU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BXd7VK7ZAsfh8AWm9YK4CA&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=sociopathy%20and%20hypermasculinity&f=false

built_by_men

Further posts within this blog that may be of interest:

On being male or female (incl. innate differences, stereotyping and so on)

The Elliot Rodger tragedy co-opted as a feminist bandwagon

No place for Woke/Feminist propaganda in our schools or universities

I was reading an article the other day about the ongoing push to have feminist propaganda introduced into our schools under the guise of ‘respectful relationships’ programs.

The article in question, entitled ‘Bid to teach anti-violence to schoolkids‘ (Jessica Marszalek, Courier-Mail, 30 July 2015) included the following statements:

“She (QLD Minister Shannon Fentiman) said both teenage boys and girls would benefit from positive messages as they began in the dating world.

“We know that there are attitudes with particularly young men who think it is appropriate to pressure a woman for sex,” she said.

So as part of challenging those attitudes, those respectful relationship-type programs really help combat those views held by teenage boys. And for young girls, what they should and shouldn’t put up with.”

“We need to be running programs around respectful relationships but also we need to be running programs about how we view women, so tackling those attitudes is going to be central,” she said.

Queensland is not alone in this regard, with other states considering similar moves. This article concerns such a proposal in New South Wales.

In September 2015 Prime Minister Turnbull announced that “$5 million will also be provided as a longer-term measure to change the attitudes of young people to violence, through expanding the Safer Schools website to include resources for teachers, parents and students on respectful relationships.  This will build on the $30 million national campaign (jointly funded by the Commonwealth, states and territories) to change young people’s attitudes to violence, which will commence in early 2016.” (Source)

I don’t have a problem with the concept of ‘respectful relationships’ programs in schools, but I am concerned when the focus is wholly on the need for boys/men to respect girls/women. Yet this is the very type of school program that has been provided and/or vigorously lobbied for by many pro-feminist groups such as the White Ribbon Campaign.

I believe that children should not be put in a position of being alternately shamed or absolved of responsibility due to their gender.

A gender-neutral approach, on the other hand, sends the correct message that people need to respect one another regardless of gender, and that harm can be caused by both males and females alike. (Article on this perspective)

Postscript February 2016: And now, ladies and gentlemen, please put your jazz hands together to welcome the ironically-labelled ‘Safe Schools‘ program. A program which the feminist lobby formulated and then rushed to defend when mainstream Australia voiced their disquiet. This is a progressive social engineering project masquerading as an anti-bullying program.

I won’t raise a ‘dusty’ son – but that’s for me, not your daughter (11 September 2024) No, not one-sided at all #sarcasm

“Taking my daughters on dates so when your dusty son comes around, they already know their worth and what it is to be treated like a queen”

‘Make me a sandwich’: our survey’s disturbing picture of how some boys treat their teachers (1 May 2024) The latest gender-bigoted wisdom to emerge from Harpy HQ

The King’s School: Headmaster Tony George rants on ‘wokeness’, clickbait media and the ‘age of victimhood’ (20 March 2024) Australia

Helping young men to have healthy, respectful relationships (25 October 2023) Australian Federal Government media release. Another $3.5 million down the feminist toilet

Girl viciously attacking another girl in a US high school @ClarkCountySch (6 February 2022) Teacher did nothing to help. The school’s lame response can be seen here.

#IsThisOk: Greater Manchester sexual harassment video targets men and boys (18 December 2021)

How masculinity became a dirty word: The feminisation of boys in British schools (16 November 2021) Video

Sandwell awarded £119k to help tackle violence against women and girls (5 November 2021) “Specific actions that form of part of this programme include delivering a theatre production to raise awareness and challenge sexualised behaviours and culture, and creating boys group sessions tackling issues such as misogyny.”

Revealed: how the government’s ‘milkshake’ consent video came about (20 April 2021)

Janice Fiamengo mentions another male-hate campaign aimed at boys. It’s called ‘Man Up’ (9 April 2019)

Teacher takes on male-bashing Respectful Relationships propaganda (March  2019) Australia

Ward departs La Trobe following program’s scrapping (19 June 2017)

An epidemic of transgender children is Safe Schools’ legacy (16 April 2017)

Safe Schools program to be overhauled and founder Roz Ward removed (16 December 2016)

Girls who are girls but not girls — It’s time to stop the Safe Schools subterfuge (24 July 2016)

Miranda Devine: Marxist agenda a red flag for not so safe schools, by Miranda Devine (29 May 2016)

Flag slur underlines concerns: Turnbull (28 May 2016) What’s the bet that Premier Andrews eventually comes to regret getting into bed with these leftist radfem nutters?

Victorian Labor Government deceives on Safe Schools (19 March 2016) Australia

Does Imposing Queer Theory Really Lead to Safe Schools? (14 March 2016)

Bullying linked to gender and sexuality often goes unchecked in schools (3 March 2016) “Gender-based bullying”? Oh please! Desperate feminist author tries to invent nexus b/w ‘Safe Schools’ program and as many topical issues as possible to make it look like a great idea.

Trojan Horse gay claim laughable, by Wendy Tuohy (2 March 2016) Australia

The vitriol against the Safe Schools program reflects state-sanctioned homophobia, by Moo Baulch (26 February 2016) Australia

See also:

Modern Educayshun (2015) Video

Helping young men to have healthy, respectful relationships (25 October 2023) Amanda Rishworth MP spreads the hypocrisy and bias far & wide with this $3.5 million ‘initiative’

Sex education must engage boys to tackle harassment – MPs (5 July 2023) UK

Prestigious university sparks outrage after medical students were forced to sit a ‘white privilege’ assessment (30 April 2023)

Kids to be taught reading and writing, NOT gender fluidity under back-to-basics election proposal to rid NSW classrooms of creeping indoctrination (20 March 2023) NSW, Australia

The demonisation of our sons: Browbeaten by toxic masculinity crusaders invited into schools, boys are feeling cowed and worthless (20 March 2023)

Primary schools should teach boys what is unacceptable behaviour as part of whole-society approach to tackle misogyny, senior police officer says (13 March 2023)

Mum of Manhattan Pharma heiress had to hire a ‘deprogrammer’ to help her unlearn crazed ‘woke’ views (26 November 2022) Twitter discussion thread

Pupils in London to be trained to recognise sexist behaviour (19 November 2022)

Toxic masculinity – Blame men for everything (30 June 2022) Video

School hits back after complaint from parent about PSHE assembly (26 November 2021)

UK primary school asks boys to wear skirts to ‘promote equality’ (4 November 2021)

Grace Church High School: Teaching & the Voice of Conscience with Paul Rossi (thinkspot.com) (30 April 2021) USA. Video with Jordan Peterson & Paul Rossi

Melbourne youth worker orders white, Christian high school boys to stand in class, calls them ‘oppressors’ (26 April 2021) Australia

Teens to learn about consent in sex-ed shake-up (14 April 2021) But they will only learn about the dangers of violence against women (This article is/was behind a paywall for the Brisbane Courier-Mail & allied newspapers)

Boys at schools embroiled in sex abuse scandal change out of uniform to avoid being branded rapists | Daily Mail Online (4 April 2021)

Schoolboy lashes his school for making the boys stand in front of the girls during assembly and ‘apologise’ for rapes committed by their gender’ (30 March 2021) Australia

Activist Chanel Contos says school’s move to make male students apologise to females is ‘problematic’ (29 March 2021)

Brauer College, Warrnambool: School forces boys to apologise to girls for ‘sexism’

How to teach your children (especially your sons) about feminism (26 December 2020) UK

Stop indoctrinating kids (1 September 2020) Australia

Let’s make it mandatory to teach respectful relationships in every Australian school (28 May 2019) and related Twitter thread

Feminist School ‘Punishes’ Boys by Curtailing Their Recess on International Women’s Day (16 May 2019) Spain

Teacher takes on male-bashing Respectful Relationships propaganda (5 March 2019) Bettina Arndt video interview

‘Victimhood narrative’ taught in schools fuels anxiety in young women, academic claims (21 October 2017) UK

The feminization of everything fails our boys (9 May 2017)

‘Feminist Collective’ strategy in schools (26 April 2017) Australia. More feminist/SJW madness from the Victorian government

In The Name Of ‘Gender Equality’, Kindergarten Teacher Doesn’t Let Kids Play With Legos (April 2017)

The ‘Toxic Masculinity’ Trend Blames Boys For Being Born Male (12 April 2017)

Fake anti-domestic violence programs just demonise our little boys, by Miranda Devine (12 April 2017)

Sydney Girls High School prefects hit back after Sydney Boys’ viral video (13 March 2017) This oughta teach those boys to stand up for feminism

Gender theory banned in NSW classrooms (9 February 2017) Australia

Our Watch charity invited to assess its own schools gender equity program (4 February 2017) Talk about the (feminist) fox looking after the henhouse

How much can a teddy bear? (14 January 2017)

Recognising ethnic identity in the classroom: a New Zealand study (21 December 2016)

“This article argues that … rather than promote the affirmation of student identity, the enactment of this directive might, in fact, lead to ethnic division. Second, attempts to recognise and affirm identity have led to the displacement of school subject knowledge in classroom programmes. These unintended outcomes are not only unacknowledged, but they continue to disadvantage the community the identity directive was intended to address.”

B.C. teacher fired for having the wrong opinion (7 December 2016) Canada

Melbourne high school teacher says she would refuse to teach ‘lewd’ safe schools and respectful relationships program (29 October 2016) See related Reddit discussion thread here.

Kids program teaches men are ‘greatest threat to women’ (25 October 2016) Australia

Toxic identity politics polluting Victorian schools, by Rita Panahi (24 October 2016)

Masculinity is not to blame for domestic violence (24 October 2016) Australia. Related Reddit discussion thread here.

The dangers of brainwashing our children, by Jasmin Newman (22 October 2016) Australia

Globally and historically men are the greatest threat to women” (October 2016) A slide from a Powerpoint presentation shown to Australian schoolchildren

Victoria, a misandrist state of child indoctrination (17 October 2016) Alternative link here

Lessons on ‘male privilege’ in $21.8m Victorian schools program (14 October 2016)

Girls feelings are far more important than the truth, by Mark Dent (12 October 2016)

A dummies guide for teenage girls on how to respect boys (20 September 2016) Not the sort of relationships message that feminists would stand for.

ReNew program for sons aims to stop family violence (15 September 2016) Australia with related Reddit discussion thread here.

VCAT green light will let Ivanhoe Grammar School offer more places to girls (11 August 2016)

Reducing ‘mean girl’ behaviors in classrooms benefits boys and teachers too (2 August 2016) USA. The sort of program that should be in schools, but unlikely to get the feminist tick of approval.

Sonia Kruger objects to scholarships for gay, lesbian and transgender students as ‘reverse discrimination’ (1 August 2016)

It is not enough for schools to address sexism after the scandal, by Dana Affleck (29 July 2016) Ordinary men are the enemy, not (just) bad men. Meanwhile no mention of female teachers having sex with students, or girls bullying, harassing or objectifying boys.

Clementine Ford teaching your children (18 July 2016)

Feminist/PC brain-washing of boys in US school system (12 July 2016)

Teach Him Early (29 June 2016) USA feminist video campaign, with discussion thread here

Why our 7-year-olds desperately need to learn about feminism (23 June 2016)

Truthful debate is slurred into silence by the Left, by Mark Latham (7 June 2016)

The Left doctrine that no one can criticise (18 May 2016)

Kids of 7 learn ‘gender diversity’ from Safe Schools Coalition (14 May 2016)

Transgenderism: Has anybody seen my girl? by Miranda Devine (29 April 2016) Australia

We all wear the White Ribbon (April 2016) Video. Australia. Completely and utterly one-sided … men hurt women/men must respect women

University defends research used as basis for Same Sex program (5 April 2016) I find the readers comments more persuasive that the entreaties of the Deputy Vice Chancellor. Only good research gets through the rigourous vetting process? Yup, how about the research project mentioned in this post? Or the ones mentioned here? This post is worth a read too

Controversial sex-ed program will teach Aussie toddlers about cross-dressing (6 March 2016) Australia

Domestic violence cycle continues as children as young as 10 offend (20 February 2016)

Principal Corrine McMillan said she was proud of her students, who will this year mark White Ribbon Day. “Students will present a declaration to make a stand against domestic violence,” she said. “I’m proud to see the students – particularly the male population – live up to the challenge.”

These uni students are holding feminist workshops in Sydney high schools (5 January 2016)

Inspiring STEM literacy package will aim to get more girls interested in maths and science (21 December 2015) Australia

Domestic Violence Awareness Video Claims Abuse is ‘Just Something Boys Do’ (18 December 2015)

Stop encouraging boys to ‘say no to feminism’ (15 December 2015) Radfem journalist Clementine Ford presents the case for ramping-up indoctrination

Why We Need To Stop Telling Boys Not To Hit Girls Because ‘She Is A Girl’ (4 December 2015) India

Men are not monsters (19 November 2015) Note the tone of the readers comments

Boys should have the right to say no to feminism. The evangelical drive to teach boys to be feminists reached a new high last week with the news that every 16-year-old in Sweden is to be given a free copy of the book “We Should All Be Feminists” with reddit discussion thread here

Fightback: Addressing Sexism in Australian Schools (undated)

Maybe This Is Why Boys Don’t Respect Women (30 November 2015)

When Society Encourages Mean Girls to Bully Boys (26 November 2015)

Newington College has launched a powerful domestic violence campaign (27 November 2015) Australia

The make-believe world of child-abuse campaigners (26 November 2015)

Feminism campaign sparks controversy at Vic High (25 November 2015)

Feminist bullies and the pernicious myth that sexual morality is just about ‘consent’ (24 November 2015) UK

Blakely teacher restricts Lego-play to her girl students in the pursuit of gender equity (24 November 2015)

Campaigners’ fury at bid to cut feminism from politics A-Level syllabus: Call for department of education to reverse ‘insulting and misguided’ move (20 November 2015) UK

Men are not monsters (19 November 2015)

Breaking the Silence program: Schools in South East SA raise awareness about domestic violence (17 November 2015)

In Brazil, the high school national test essay theme was “Violence against women”. Any students with dissenting opinions automatically failed the test (15 November 2015) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

Feminism to Become an Official School Subject (2 November 2015)

Fighting school sexism: feminist theory hits classrooms (1 November 2015)

Keep Gender Politics out of Scouting (29 October 2015) UK

Gender-based violence prevention in the classroom is just a start (25 August 2015) Australia

Brisbane teacher wins scholarship to develop program to reduce domestic violence, coward punches (10 August 2015)

We must stop indoctrinating boys in feminist ideology (20 July 2015) More than 1,000 readers comments!

Bankstown Public School boys “all say no” to abuse against women in their own hip hop song and video (24 March 2015) Hmm, no sign of a girl’s choir singing nice things about boys … funny that.

We mustn’t make boys feel bad about being male (3 December 2014) with 193 reader’s comments

The thought police telling kids heterosexuality’s not the norm, by Miranda Devine (17 October 2012)

Do these girls represent the next generation of Australian women? Products of PC/feminist-corrupted education system … amoral narcissists with an abundance of entitlement and little respect for themselves, let alone men/boys? Image

Elsewhere in this blog you might also be interested in:

The trouble with boys and learning

Two awareness campaigns. Only one can be criticised. Cowed by feminism?

Privilege, respect and entitlement

Differing public response to partner violence depending on gender of victim

On violence carried out by women and girls

On recognising and supporting male victims of domestic violence

Fudging the figures to support the feminist narrative

Two awareness campaigns. Only one can be criticised. Cowed by feminism?

Many among the media, and the political and bureaucratic elite seem to get quite a hard-on about awareness campaigns. Indeed, some have suggested that such campaigns are a favoured device of the prevailing leftist/feminist hegemony. This despite the fact that the effectiveness of such campaigns is often difficult to assess. Or perhaps it’s because of that.

The American political philosopher Thomas Sowell observed “We should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.” (Source)

Ah, but not all awareness campaigns are the same. Campaigns concerning issues that are pivotal to the feminist cause are beyond reproach. Mild criticism is however tolerated in the case of campaigns on less ideologically revered topics.

A very different reaction to two public awareness campaigns

It’s May 2015 and the Australian federal government has released its annual budget. It proposes substantial allocations to two separate public awareness campaigns. One relates to drug use, specifically crystal methamphetamine – or ‘ice’ ($9 million). The other relates to domestic violence ($7 million).

Plenty of people have lined up to criticise the first campaign on the basis, for example, that it’s unoriginal, focuses too much on scare mongering, is unlikely to be cost-effective, and might even be counter-productive.

On that last point, one article included the statement that “When an ad is on television for a particular illicit drug, we know afterwards young people think it must be really, really common and so therefore it can increase their perception of how normal it is.”

In contrast the only public criticism that the domestic violence campaign has been subject to, is that not enough money has been provided. It is probably no coincidence that the feminist lobby is heavily invested in the DV campaign, but not the other.

So just how many parallels, if any, are there between the two campaigns?

The drug campaign was also discussed in an article entitled ‘Awareness campaigns need to target the real victims of ice” (13 May 2015), which noted that:

“International evidence suggests such “awareness” campaigns are not the most appropriate way to address harmful methamphetamine use. In fact, fear-based approaches can increase stigma which possibly drives people away from, rather than towards, treatment.”

The article proceeds:

“Australian media outlets and politicians claim we’re facing a nationwide “ice epidemic” …  the most up-to-date research estimates that the proportion of Australians who have used any type of methamphetamine (ice, “speed” powder) in the previous year has remained relatively stable for at least the last decade.

Nevertheless, the government and media’s continued use of hyperbolic language – in addition to a tendency to ignore and sometimes dismiss public health experts’ advice on ice – has the potential to incite unnecessary fear and misinform the public about this supposed “menace”.”

So there’s our first parallels, for neither campaign will be targeted and in both cases Australian media outlets and politicians are making exaggerated claims about an emerging epidemic.

The article then goes on to question whether the personal and public threat posed by drug use (as compared to the extent of drug use) has also been exaggerated.

The article states: “We need to accurately define the issue, including the nature and extent of methamphetamine use and related harms in rural and regional areas, to allow the development and implementation of cost-effective, evidence-based and timely responses.”

A further parallel is that the debate about domestic violence likewise does not accurately define the issue, focussing as it does wholly on uni-directional violence by men against women. I would also argue that the policy response is not evidence-based but rather driven by the ideology of those most heavily invested in the issue.

The article then goes on to talk about the success of health-related public awareness campaigns, noting that some “are costly, ineffective and possibly even counterproductive”.

In one example cited “The findings of one study suggest that the Montana Meth Project might actually increase acceptability and decrease perceptions of risk relating to using methamphetamine.” Elsewhere it noted that “fear-based approaches can lead to stigma and poor health outcomes, such as from reduced treatment-seeking.”

The article concludes with a discussion of the value of an alternative or supplementary strategy, that of “harm minimisation”. It notes:

“Because people will choose to engage in drug use (both licit and illicit) regardless of the policies and programs in place, we need to encourage them to do so as safely as possible. We also must continue to inform the public about options for managing drug-related consequences and appropriate and available means for professional support, such as telephone and internet counselling”.

The concept of ‘harm minimisation’ also applies to domestic violence when we consider the prevalence of bi-directional violence, as shown in the diagram below, and the fact that domestic violence may persist from one generation to the next. Perhaps we need to resign ourselves, that in some situations it may be more effective to focus more on the provision of short-term shelter accommodation, the removal of children into care, etc.

IPV-Truthwgray

Assuming there are parallels between awareness campaigns for drug use and domestic violence, then why have the same criticisms not been raised in relation to the latter?

Indeed, why has no criticism at all been directed at those spending large amounts of taxpayer funds on domestic violence awareness campaigns? Doubly so, given that there have been many previous awareness campaigns undertaken, and that these all appear to have achieved little in terms of effecting a remedy for the problem.

Is this lack of criticism because those in positions of influence truly believe in the value of such campaigns, or is it simply a reflection of wishful thinking and/or the very real fear of feminist backlash against dissenting voices?

Do public awareness campaigns even work?

Many public organisations love awareness campaigns because for minimal work they provide maximum profile (i.e. ‘hey, look at us doing something about the problem!’). Just engage a marketing consultant, agree on a logo, and begin advertising.

The jury is out, however, on their effectiveness – in part because many public awareness campaigns are not subject to proper evaluation. This is probably, in part, because of the factor noted above – they are often created at short notice for reasons of political expediency.

It is known however that some types of awareness campaigns are more likely to be successful than others:

“Some police agencies participate in domestic violence awareness campaigns and school programming, such as classroom instruction to teens about dating violence and ways to handle conflict. Domestic violence prevention messages may target the general population or specific populations. For example, campaigns may be designed to encourage victim reporting, deter potential offenders, or raise the consciousness of potential witnesses of abuse (neighbours, friends, relatives). However, the effect of these prevention strategies is unknown.

For instance, few of the programs developed to reduce teen dating violence have been evaluated, and of those that have, there have been mixed results. Although some report an increase in knowledge in the targeted population and greater familiarity with available resources to help victims, this does not necessarily translate into a reduction in the incidence level of dating violence.

† The Lancashire (United Kingdom) Police Constabulary placed messages about domestic violence on police vehicles, beer glass coasters in bars, utility bills, and lampposts, and used radio advertising to increase awareness of domestic violence.

As a rule, prevention is more likely to work if highly targeted. General campaigns are not typically effective. Highly targeted campaigns that focus on a specific target group or geographic area can have some impact. Offender-oriented campaigns, which are designed to raise potential offenders’ perceptions that there will be meaningful consequences to battering, are more likely to be effective than campaigns that appeal to potential offenders’ morals.” (Source)

See also:

What’s the point of sexual harassment training? Often, to protect employers (17 November 2017) This research found that sexual harassment training could actually produce the opposite result to what was intended.

Marriage vote: how advocacy ads exploit our emotions in divisive debates (13 September 2017) Now transpose the views expressed here across to domestic violence awareness campaigns, with the ‘yes’ lobby being those challenging the status quo by seeking a non-gendered approach to the issue. Again, “the ‘no’ campaign has many unfair advantages”. Though I suspect, most likely, not in the eyes of the typical reader of ‘The Conversation‘.

Feminist academics take issue with a women’s fitness awareness campaign (13 August 2017) Don’t exercise as men will look at you. A Mark Latham video

How Australia’s discrimination laws and public health campaigns perpetuate fat stigma (11 July 2017) “Fat-shaming” awareness campaigns don’t work and are reprehensible (… but male-shaming campaigns do/aren’t?) Of course this has nothing to do with where the issue of focus falls on the leftist/PC acceptability spectrum. #sarcasm

What if Mandatory “Sexual Respect” Classes are Counterproductive? (21 September 2016)

What good is ‘Raising Awareness’? (21 April 2015) USA

Are social marketing campaigns effective in preventing child abuse and neglect? (October 2010) Australia

And what if the campaign message is inaccurate and/or biased?

Another reason why a campaign might be counter-productive is when the information it disseminates is inaccurate and/or biased. This is a real danger with a topic like domestic violence, the debate concerning which is tightly-controlled by one group who maintain a very particular and inflexible ideological stance on the  matter.

It is highly likely that the campaign that eventually emerges will focus solely, or almost solely, on men’s violence towards women. Issues like bi-directional violence, domestic violence in same-sex couples (especially women), and female on male violence will be ignored or minimised. The focus on gender and control will mean that other factors like social disadvantage and substance abuse will be played down. Political correctness will also rule out consideration of race, ethnicity or religion as potentially relevant factors.

What messages will this send? What biases and stereotyping will this reinforce?

Three examples:

Feminism, Domestic Violence & Spiderman Screenings (12 July 2017)

Video and discussion thread concerning a gender-biased awareness campaign in Victoria, Australia (17 January 2017)

The UK Home Office ‘Disrespect Nobody’ campaign included this TV advert which failed to acknowledge female perpetration of abusive behaviours.

Other sources that may be of interest:

‘Ice Wars’ message is overblown and unhelpful (14 February 2017)

Our Watch charity invited to assess its own schools gender equity program (4 February 2017) Just have one feminist organisation (a recipient of substantial public funds) evaluate the effectiveness of a program of similar allied organisation. What could go wrong with that?

Miranda Devine: Stop telling boys to act like girls, by Miranda Devine (24 April 2016) Australia

Some early reaction, on mensrights reddit, to the new Australian DV ‘awareness’ campaign (24 April 2016)

Get ready for some good old male-bashing (22 April 2016)

What about the mean girls? by Jasmin Newman (21 April 2016) Australia

Australia’s costly new national ‘violence against women’ awareness campaign and some articles that followed its launch:

Prevention of violence against women – finally, an idea whose time has come, by Mary Barry (20 April 2016)
Domestic violence ad campaign to focus on ‘influencers’ in bid to change attitudes (20 April 2016)
Where the new $30 million domestic violence campaign is missing the mark‘. This campaign ignores male victims and female perpetrators, and is based on the flawed assumption that the main cause of DV is attitudes towards women.

Branded for life? Sending the wrong message to young perpetrators of family violence (24 February 2016) Australia. Campaign devised by feminist group ‘Our Watch’ and article published in pro-feminist site The Conversation. Campaign only features male perpetrators, this issue ignored in article.

Fear-based health information makes new mothers anxious (23 July 2015) Australia. Now consider DV campaigns that demonise all men despite them having no control over the small minority of men who abuse. The community seemingly sees no problem with making men feel “anxious” in that situation, even despite the fact that four times as many men commit suicide as do women.

Not just a slick TV ad: what makes a good domestic violence awareness campaign? (23 July 2015)

National $30 million campaign to tackle domestic violence (5 March 2015)

Mark Latham on why Labor can’t get it right on domestic violence (16 May 2015)

$16m for dom violence but $1.2b for terrorism (14 May 2015)

Social Marketing for Preventing Violence Against Women: Making every action matter (June 2013) This paper is written from a pro-feminist pro-awareness campaign perspective, but provides a useful list of many previous awareness campaigns. It fails to provide serious/objective evaluations of individual campaigns or of awareness campaigns generally. Indeed, it’s telling that the only campaign against which it directs criticism is the ‘One in Three‘ campaign that draws attention to male victims of domestic violence. One in Three‘ is an ongoing target for feminist criticism.