The nature of criticism put forward in relation to the men’s rights movement says a lot about both the MRM and it’s critics – but mostly not in the way the authors intended.
At the outset let me note that while writers may claim to be directing their criticism towards the men’s rights movement, they are frequently either unknowingly or deliberately inaccurate.
As I’ve said elsewhere in this blog, one of the great things about those people who are supportive of the men’s rights movement is their extraordinary diversity. They may not agree with every aspect of MRA beliefs, nor us them, but they have taken the time energy to research and to present their views.
A selection of related papers:
Radical anti-feminism the most prevalent form of violent extremism in Australia, report finds (18 July 2024) This article in news.com.au provided further information including a link to the actual report produced (26 July 2024).
Bi-Annual Report From ‘Diverting Hate’ (March 2024) This project is funded by the US Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships
FBI documents associate internet slang like ‘based’ and ‘red pill’ with ‘extremism’ (11 April 2023)
Schiff, Durbin demand Google and YouTube crack down on dangerous Incel content (25 October 2022)
Yes, I Am Afraid to Write About Men’s Rights (12 July 2022)
This is why I’m teaching my nine-year-old son about incels (12 September 2021)
Men who hate women and their online refuge of scoundrels (28 November 2020) Australia. Staggeringly one-eyed and biased coverage of the issue from the feminist perspective.
Goodbye Spectator (21 November 2020) UK
The “manosphere” is getting more toxic as angry men join the incels (7 February 2020)
Are men’s movements a new form of terrorism? (25 November 2018) Australia
Did you forget International Men’s Day? Don’t worry – the men’s rights activists did too (22 November 2017) Australia. Another offering from the poison pen of Jane Gilmore, who produces many such cookie-cutter hatchet-jobs on the men’s movement.
One Nation has reached an inexcusable new low (26 October 2017)
‘Men’s rights’ movement rooted in ignorance (27 September 2017)
Discussion thread regarding an MRA meet-up that was promoted in the Reddit Los Angeles forum (August 2017) Many of the comment illustrate the negative knee-jerk reaction that any mention of men’s rights commonly elicits
The Privilege Discussions We Need To Have (21 June 2017) If I get time I would love to write a rebuttal of this post. A classic example of someone who clearly thinks they know a great deal about the men’s rights movement but whose understanding is in fact deeply flawed.
How the ‘pissing pug’ became a perfect metaphor for the men who hate feminism (3 June 2017)
I am so sick of people acting like “misandry” is equivalent to misogyny (1 June 2017)
“Stop referring to them as Men’s rights activists” (undated)
New Hampshire State Rep Who Created Reddit’s ‘Red Pill’ Resigns (17 May 2017) Feminists can be as hateful and biased as they like but has one ever been forced to resign from public office? This selective and media-endorsed persecution of anti-feminists and MRA’s is why so many opt for anonymity in the first place.
‘You can’t tell me women don’t lie, of course they do’: why Men’s Rights Activists hate AVOs (12 May 2017) Except pointing out that the AVO process is sometimes abused is not the same thing as hating AVOs.
The conservative young men who need a trigger warning when women are around (1 May 2017) Australia
Professor says she felt raped by white male student’s paper touting men’s rights (25 April 2017)
The Anger Bias (29 March 2017)
Holden and Kia pull ads from YouTube as Google boycott widens (26 March 2017)
Well met, Professor Sullivan (13 March 2017) Video with Karen Straughan
Men’s rights movement infiltrates political parties, Calgary prof cautions (8 March 2017
On International Women’s Day, don’t forget men, by Ben Pobjie (8 March 2017) Australia. The secret to witty caricaturization is knowing your subject, and this guy is clearly clueless about MRA’s and the men’s rights movement. Then again, if he understood the movement, he’d be less inclined to mock it.
Don’t call it men’s rights (6 January 2017) Canada
Philip Davies MP interviewed by radfem Jane Garvey, BBC Woman’s Hour (20 December 2016) Reddit discussion thread with linked video
Hannah Wallen comments on feminists accusing men’s rights advocates of being “angry” (15 November 2016) Video
Can feminist men open up a useful dialogue with men’s rights activists? (1 November 2016) Australia. See related Reddit discussion thread here.
Men have problems – but men’s rights activists aren’t solving them (24 October 2016) with related Reddit discussion thread here.
David Futrelle is a high-profile critic of the Men’s Rights movement. “Futrelle is considered the go-to expert on the Men’s Rights Movement by many mainstream journalists”. This web site discusses his work.
Karen Straughan (Female MRA) dissects a negative review of the film ‘The Red Pill’ (13 October 2016) Video
The MGTOW group really, really don’t like women (8 October 2016) You’d think feminists would be delighted to have more men disengaging from women, but no it’s just too good an opportunity to mock and misrepresent. This article is a knock-off of another article in The Independent (UK) a week earlier.
Comment: Hanson’s policies on family law equally dangerous, by Jane Gilmore (15 September 2016)
“Hanson’s audience is, as it always has been, bitterly angry white men, furious that their place at the front of every queue is no longer guaranteed by the power of their tiny, white penises”
Men’s rights activism and the mad rush to victimhood, by Caitlin Johnstone (14 September 2016)
Why I’ll never date a feminist (9 September 2016) Check out the readers comments, many of which attack the author regarding his physical appearance, etc etc. Further discussed here and here
Backlash: Angry men’s movements, by Michael Flood
Why don’t mens rights activists fight for men’s rights? by Jane Gilmore (25 August 2016) Australia. It being extremely hypocritical for this feminist writer to level this criticism – see this post
Suspend the rightwing Tory MP Philip Davies? No way, he’d love it, by Michael White (15 August 2016) UK. Then see the video of his presentation
The burning question I didn’t get to ask Pauline Hanson on Q&A (21 July 2016)
“In response to Sonia Kruger’s comments, radio personality Meshel Laurie stated the bare facts: “The most dangerous people in Australia are Australian men who kill Australian women at a rate of one a week.”
“That’s more than any terrorist has ever done,’ pointed out her co-host, Matt Tilley. Following One Nation’s logic, is the solution to domestic violence to ban all men from entering Australia?”
Dylan Jones: men have never had it so good (9 August 2016)
Cracked’s 5 Lies and Strawmen Attacks on the MRM (5 July 2016)
Deluded men’s rights activists are conspiracy nutjobs – don’t believe a word they say (23 May 2016)
Swallowing the Red Pill: a journey to the heart of modern misogyny (14 April 2016)
Being blocked is not the same as being censored, by Clementine Ford (8 April 2016)
Do you think the ‘Disrespect Nobody’ ad campaign is horribly sexist? (28 February 2016) Note the many stereotypical negative comments against any suggestion that men’s victimisation should be acknowledged. Here is the ad itself with comments an MRA. Strangely, the Disrespect Nobody website itself is gender-neutral.
How creating outgroups manufactures outrage (27 February 2016)
Laurie Penny (for it is she) says all you do is “hang out on forums talking about raping and beating up women” in an open letter to Who Don’t Need Feminism (21 February 2016) Reddit mensrights discussion thread
The men hijacking family law reforms (Februrary 2016) by Nijole Cork. Revelations regarding trolling activities allegedly undertaken by this author here.
The fact is, I like men. Just not these men (8 February 2016) by Wendy Tuohy. Australia
Here’s what we think of you and your ‘rape van’ (18 January 2016) Australia
Why the MRA ‘Manosphere’ Isn’t Actually Helping Men Cope with Rejection (4 January 2016)
Men’s Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Hate (1 January 2016)
What The Media Fails To Tell Us About The Men’s Rights Movement (28 December 2015)
Men’s Rights Activists are cave dwelling idiots (21 December 2015)
“Red Pill”: Feminist hit-piece gets decimated in the reader’s comments section (13 November 2015) UK
Barbara Kay: Anti-male ignorance on parade at the CBC (13 November 2015) USA
Equality, Feminism, and the Zero-Sum Game (18 October 2015) Reddit mens rights discussion thread
Miranda Devine and Men’s Rights Activism, by Naomi Fryers (3 October 2015)
Malcolm Turnbull on domestic violence: Some people will hate what the PM had to say (24 September 2015)
” … there will be voters out there who really object to the Prime Minister calling out their attitudes towards women …”
So if you disagree with the Prime Minister’s ill-informed comments and/or the nature of his package of funding, then it’s because you hold negative attitudes towards women.
How MRAs and the MHRM help men (16 September 2015) YouTube video that rebuts some of those feminist criticisms
Men’s Rights Agency – Feminism (undated) Australia. Includes reference to comments by Judge Alistair Nicholson, who “publicly accused those who disagreed with the practices of the Family Court (mostly men), as being “discontented litigants, sometimes obviously dysfunctional“. Nicholson, the Chief Justice of the Family Court further abused his advantaged position, (i.e. protected from rebuttal under the secrecy provisions within the Family Law Act), by claiming “most persistent critics behaved in a way which cannot stand up to public scrutiny, particularly in relation to issues of violence against women and children“.”
Feminist collective supports violence against men’s rights advocates (14 September 2015) Australian video
Why does speaking out about the issues men face always trigger a furious reaction? (8 September 2015)
Hilarious ‘men’s rights’ campaign urges people to stop ‘Mancrimination’ (29 June 2015)
The Men’s Rights Movement: Feminism’s Mirror Image (25 June 2015)
The propaganda of toxic feminism Part 31 (21 June 2015) Video
‘There’s a group of men who believe you are trying to ruin their lives. And I met them’ (17 June 2015)
Possibly a Guiness record for unashamed feminist hypocrisy: sticky post, “Tell Pride to ban CAFE”. Two post further down: “Why are MRAs blaming feminists for Pride CAFE backlash” (10 June 2015)
What if we awarded men danger pay for getting married? by Janet Bloomfield (8 June 2015)
The propaganda of toxic feminism part 28 (4 June 2015) Youtube video
No, I will not take the Men’s Rights Movement seriously (28 February 2014) with related reddit mensrights discussion thread
#BlameOneNotAll reveals feminist hatred for men, by Jack Barnes (28 May 2015)
Ten of the worst anti-feminism arguments: DEBUNKED (20 May 2015) In this article the author subsequently rebuts criticism of the men’s rights movement provided in an original article
Five Feminist TV Hosts Vs MGTOW – Peter Lloyd, author of ‘Stand Up For Your Manhood’ (7 May 2015) Youtube video of Australian TV show
New ‘bro-bible’ claims feminists have turned men into 2nd class citizens (23 April 2015)
Why we should probably stop paying attention to men’s opinions (20 April 2015)
4 ways men’s rights activists actually hurt men, by Amanda Marcotte (17 April 2015)
Pickup artist: Women with short hair are committing self-harm, should be monitored by authorities (17 April 2015)
The AgainstMensRights forum on reddit.com
6 Cheap Ways People Dismiss Feminism – And How To Hold Your Ground When They Do (30 March 2015) with related reddit mensrights discussion thread
David Futrelle redefines the words “sick motherfucker” (27 March 2015) Notorious mangina seeks to blame Germanwings tragedy on MRA
Milo Yiannopoulos vs. Feminism: A response to The Big Question (20 March 2015)
“There is much fudging of stats by the Father’s Rights movement and IMO many (not all) of the men in those groups are [domestic violence] perpetrators posing as victims.” Reader’s comment by Barbara Roberts, Author of “Not Under Bondage: Biblical Divorce for Abuse, Adultery & Desertion.” Co-leader of A Cry For Justice (Source) 21 March 2015
Inside men’s rights groups (21 March 2015) and related reddit mensrights discussion thread
Are you man enough for the men’s rights movement? (March 2015)
Responding to GQ’s “Are You Man Enough for the Men’s Rights Movement” (20 March 2015)
I’m an MRA-bashing Feminist—But Because I’m Male, Trolls Leave Me Alone (11 March 2015) Please tell me this guy isn’t serious
MRA Group Attacks Ontario’s Anti-Sexual Violence Campaign with an Idiotic Billboard (10 March 2015)
Leah McLaren: How men’s rights groups are distorting the debate about equality (13 March 2015)
Men’s rights campaigners should work with feminists instead of fighting them (9 March 2015)
To the Male Supporters of the Men’s Rights Movement (19 February 2015) Rubbish article but do take time to peruse the reader’s comments
How To Be A Man, According To A Woman (29 December 2014)
Why It’s Time For Male Allies To Fight Men’s Rights Activists (24 December 2014)
Men’s rights groups resorting to macabre blackmailing stunt (24 September 2014)
In Which a Grumpy Lesbian Offers Her Feminist Understanding of Men (3 February 2015)
8 Things Some A$$#ole Says in Every Debate About Sexism (19 February 2015)
The ‘Men’s Rights’ Movement Is Hilariously Self-Defeating (27 February 2015)
Understanding the misogyny and bigotry of the illiberal, anti-MRA progressives at Cracked.com (28 February 2015)
Puerile trash avoid facts on domestic violence, by David Penberthy (20 September 2014)
“Men’s rights” group’s sad reality: Behind the doors of a depressing confab (11 July 2014)
The Anatomy of a Men’s Rights Activist (25 June 2014)
Feminism didn’t kill men’s rights advocate Earl Silverman (30 April 2013)
Anti-Feminist Backlash and Violence against Women Worldwide, by Katherine van Wormer (2008)
Elsewhere in this blog you might also be interested in:
Australian feminist attacks integrity of advocacy group for male victims of domestic violence
Feminist efforts to shut down, disrupt and/or denigrate the 2014 Conference on Mens Issues