New Direction of This Blog - Men's Rights

I've taken the decision to start writing again, but not about Buddhism (although I may write about that from time to time). Over the past few months I've become more involved with Men's Rights issues, and I thought instead of starting some new blog, that I wanted to just change the direction of this one. So, just as a bit of warning, if you still link to this blog as strictly a Buddhist blog, please feel free to unlink. For the record, I consider what I write about from an MRA perspective, than from a "masculinist" one. There is a very important distinction, which I'll talk about at a later time.

Men's Rights is becoming a rapidly growing but also a divisive topic of late, due to many many factors which fall outside of the scope of what I am writing about today. However, a few of the reasons as to why this is I do want to address here. The first is the sobering fact that many feel men don't have actually problems on a gender level worth addressing. Secondly is that the Men's Rights movement is a fringe movement filled with mostly conservative or radical voices. Lastly, that MRA's are seen as in complete opposition to feminism. All of these points are not true, though the last point is much more complicated than at face value.

As for the first issue, here is just a small list of issues that truly do affect the lives of men on a daily basis.

• Men have a life expectancy of 5-7 years lower than women in most Western countries.
• Men account for about 50% of the work force, but between 90-92% of deaths due to work related accidents.
• Men are 3-6 times more likely to commit suicide than women. In some countries that number is almost 10x.
• Men account for over 85% of the homeless population.
• Fathers only get custody of children in only about 10% of divorce cases. In many states, the mother is by de facto the person given custody in court cases, and it is up to the father to prove that the mother is an unfit parent. (This subject is of great personal interest to me)
• Cases of domestic violence (intimate partner or spousal) are almost 50% initiated by women, yet society looks at DV as almost purely a crime perpetrated by men. Men are many times more likely to be arrested for DV than women, even when there is convincing proof otherwise.
• Why is there a "Office for Violence Against Women" in the United States when men are more likely to be the victims of violence?
• Of those surveyed, 5% of male prisoners have stated they have been the victims of rape or sexual assault. Given the low number of men willing to admit to being raped or sexually assaulted, this number is by many estimates much higher. (No Escape: Male rape in US prisons)
• Females are 5-8 times more likely than men to be acquitted, or not even brought to trial, for murdering their male spouse.
• On average, female serve 48 months less jail time for the exact same crimes as men.
• Women now out pace men in higher education by 10-20%, depending on the level of post-secondary education.
• In the US,UK and Canada the male unemployment rate is 3% higher than women.
• Even though women make up 40% of the teacher - student sexual assaults, 90% of the prosecutions are brought against male teachers.

And many more troubling questions remain unanswered:

• Why is it that a studio full of women can laugh so callously at the mutilation of a man like what happened on the Talk, yet hardly a peep from anyone condemning that? I find it is becoming more common that it is socially acceptable for both men and women to talk about the mutilation/murder of men out in public. Seriously, go to openbook, and type in "I hate men" then type in "I hate women" and you'll find in general an 20-1 disparity against men. If you dig deeper, you will find thousands of references to 'cutting off a man's penis' or even murdering men. This kind of hate towards men, violent rhetoric to be exact, has spilled beyond the radical feminist walls, and I'd say it seems to be much more accepted in the public realm. This behavior is bordering on the institutionalized hatred for men, and is something that has become almost invisible.
• Why is there still alimony in the US?
• Why do men face jail time when they are unable to pay due to lack of work?
• Why aren't women, who are already serving in great numbers, also subject to the mandatory selective service enrollment that men are?
• Why is it so hard for a man found innocent of rape or child molestation, especially when those that reported it later admit making the story up, have such a horrible time putting the pieces of their life back together?

As for the second part, that Men's Rights folks are all right wing or conservative people, this is most definitely not the case. Yes, just like some feminist groups have their share of radical lefties and misandrics, MRA's have their fare share of radical conservatives and women haters. This is the exception and not the rule. One of the reasons I started this site back up is to be an example of this fact. It is very inspiring to see all spectrums of the political scale come together, men and women alike, who are beginning to speak out about seriously problems facing men.

For the last point, that Men's Rights stands in direct opposition to feminism, is a bit more difficult to work through. In what some are calling the "third wave" of feminism, has had many radical elements emerge from within it, which indeed have driven the public discourse about sexism away from practical social egalitarianism, into that which seeks the demonization of men. A heavy fog of misandry has settled into much of the work that feminists in the past have done, and in my opinion, is one of the reasons that it has become so acceptable to view men as disposable, untrustworthy and worthy of only contempt. That isn't to say that this is all of feminism, as their have been quite a few feminists that have become outspoken in the issues regarding men. This issue is something I am still learning much about as it is rather complex.

I'll be changing around the blog roll, adding some Men's Rights sites, leaving up a few Buddhist sites and linking to a lot of resources to the issues regarding men. For any of my old readers, I hope to keep you entertained with some of the antics of the past.