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There is a stigma that some Feminists treat those who identify as men as being the enemy; and another stigma that Men’s Rights activist only think about the needs of those identifying as men and some have been criticized being labeled “anti-feminist”. Men’s Rights organizations aim to achieve equality and address deep rooted issues that may negatively impact and discriminate against those who identify as male such as ‘routinely hav(ing) children taken away from them in custody trials’, ‘serv(ing) prison sentences twice as long as women do for the same crime and constitut(ing) 85 percent of the homeless’ (p73, Menzies, 2007). A feminist is a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. Some Feminists are still criticized and despite the fact a lot of progress has been made regarding equality there is still a continued lack of ‘women in positions of power’ as well as a lack of ‘equal access to opportunity’ which still needs to be changed (Politico Magazine, 2008). According to Tom de Castella in westernised culture ‘discrimination against women is rigorously challenged’ and Men’s Rights activists ‘say no such protection is afforded to men’ (2012) suggesting that a patriarchy works in favour in of no one. Arguably it does works in favour of those who identify as male, however it is patriarchal systems that still pressurizes these men to “man up”, and not express their emotions or ask for help, which fuels “toxic masculinity”, therefore it needs to be dismantled due to the disparities it constructs.

 

Does feminism absolve the need for a separate men’s rights movement? Has feminism gone too far? Can one person be both a Feminists and a Men’s Rights activist? I would say that feminism has not gone far enough because there are still injustices that need to be addressed, discussed and ultimately changed. Evidentially, gender equality has so many benefits not just for those who identify as women and for society which have been established such as equal opportunity for all, less sexism and less Queerophopia but there are benefits for men as they are ‘half as likely to be depressed, less likely to commit suicide, have around a 40% smaller risk of dying a violent death’ (Karpf, 2020). This is why I believe Men’s Rights activists and Feminist should collectively unite. Natasha Devon supports this argument stating that both parties should ‘work’ together instead of ‘fighting’ each other because both are just as essential, with the epicentre of their objectives being gender equality (2015). This is an integral and complex discussion surrounding in my practice, specifically Ce Rappel (2021) (Figure 1) exposing heteronormativity's and different perspectives on the matter. 

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References​

1. De Castella, T. 2022. Just who are men's rights activists?. BBC. [Online]. 02 May. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17907534 [Accessed 22 January 2021].

2. Devon, N. 2015. Men's rights campaigners should work with feminists instead of fighting them. The Telegraph. [Online]. 09 March. Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/relationships/11457901/Mens-rights-campaigners-should-work-with-feminists-instead-of-fighting-them.html [Accessed 22 January 2021]. 

3. Karpf, A.2020. We all benefit from a more gender-equal society. Even men. The Guardian. [Online]. 08 March. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/08/gender-equal-international-womens-day-men [Accessed 22 January 2021]. 

4. Menzies, R. 2007. Virtual Backlash: Representations of Men’s “Rights” and Feminist “Wrongs” in Cyberspace. In: Chunn, D. E., Boyd, S and Lessard, H. eds. Reaction and Resistance: Feminism, Law, and Social Change. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, p73. 

5. Politico Magazine. 2008. What Are the Biggest Problems Women Face Today?. Politico Magazine. [Online]. 08 March. Available from: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/08/women-biggest-problems-international-womens-day-225698 [Accessed 22 January 2021].

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