What do feminists think about MRA (Men's Rights Activists)?
To all the WOMEN out there:You have a dark complexion, there is foundation.You are skinny, implants are there.Your eyebrows are shapeless, you can shape them.You are fat, liposuction is the way.You don’t want to study anymore, you can get married to a rich guy.You want to call off a marriage, you can demand alimony.You need not worry about supporting your family, you have a husband to do that.You don’t have to wait hours in a queue, there is always a special ladies line.You have mood swings, blame it on the hormones.To all the MEN out there:You want to take a night stroll, you can do it without any fear.You want to drink, you can have one with no one judging you.You can walk down the street with no fear of boys wooing you.You can focus on your career, no pressure of getting married at a young age.You can choose your career path, your gender does not define your career.You do not get to hear, “You are a girl, you cannot do it.”Your strength is your main weapon.Feminist say women deserve more rights. Activists fighting for men believe feminism is incorrect. But have we ever wondered what equality says. Why are men fighting against women when they are the strongest together? Let’s believe equality is the way to all problems. We should fight for equality rather than one gender being superior to other.P.S. Every sentence is bound to have an exception. It is not to stereotype any gender.
Why are Men's Rights Activists (MRAs) viewed by some as being violent, sexist, and full of hate?
White men (which compromise the vast majority of MRA groups) are the most privileged group in the world. This point is fundamental. The backlash these white men give is a result of feeling they are losing their privilege. When they see "others" being given more rights, advocacy, welfare, and respect, they feel it is a zero-sum game (especially in the case of welfare because of "I don't want my tax dollars..."). This is why you only see these reactions from those with privilege.When people of color, especially women, react strongly to their life situations, you don't see a level of vitriol or hatred, especially on a personal level (e.g. hatred is displayed towards their situation and the institutions that enforce their life's constraints).Why are these reactions to perceived aggression different? Because people of color are not privileged, and they know it. They know, through personal experience, and a shared cultural history, about how to attempt to make progress.While white-men/MRA-types have always had every advantage possible. They haven't had to make progress, especially as a cultural group. They don't know how to react, and end up taking the hatred route.Why this route? Because the elitism from patriarchy (as well as white supremacy, as well as capitalism) all operate on the same basic logic: ownership. Men own women. Whites own blacks. Capital owns labor. Might (whether its legal might, or do-what-i-say-while-the-men-with-guns-stand-behind-me) makes right. This reaction is an attempt to re-assert their ownership rights.
What do conservatives think of men's rights activists and their ideals?
EDITED because some of my comments about PUAs were disrespectful now that I think about it. My apologies.First of all, Roosh V is not an MRA, he’s a PUA (Pick Up Artist) - essentially a dating coach, who uses some Red Pill viewpoints in his material.The Red Pill is the view that gender roles are built primarily for women’s benefit rather than men. The distinction between MRAs & PUAs is, generally speaking:MRAs want to change that system.PUAs want to exploit that system to gain sex.MGTOW want to leave that system.MRA & MGTOW overlap a lot, but MRAs who are also PUAs are rare in my experience. It’s just that PUAs get called MRAs to poison the well.As for conservative views on the subject, it’s mixed. It’s easier to get a conservative to accept that men get a raw deal in many areas, be it child custody, inequality when married, working more hours to produce money that someone else spends, and so on. However, it’s still difficult for them to accept the idea of men doing anything about it or refusing to accept traditional gender roles and responsibilities.Take this example from Tucker Carlson “That’s all true. I mean I agree with that completely.” (to Dr. Helen Smith’s point about marriage having high costs and low rewards for men) “But that still doesn’t absolve men of the responsibility to stop complaining, about how the cards are against them, and man up and become men, because you don’t become a man until you assume responsibility.”So conservatives, even if they are more willing to admit that men have a raw deal, still expect men to assume obligations that they know are harmful to men. It’s more acceptable to discuss men’s issues in conservative circles, but there’s still a lot of resistance to the idea of men controlling their own futures.As for Pick Up Artistry, I would expect conservatives to be fairly negative towards men who actively seek out casual flings rather than assuming the protector/provider role.
How can we defeat activists for men's rights?
Thanks for the A2AQuestion: How can we defeat activists for men's rights?Answer: I think I am going to take a slightly different tact on this then all the answers I have read. I do this because I had to battle for my rights as a man and a Father to get custody of my kids.Short History to bring context to the answer. After 18 years of marriage my ex-wife had an affair and became pregnant as a result. I filed for divorce and had to fight for custody. I wanted my children not because their mother had an affair but because I was always the more active participant in their lives, provided more emotional support to them and because they were asked who they wanted to live with and they said me. Okay end of brief history.I had a battle on my hands, not so much with my ex-wife as with the court system. The Family Court Judge was of the opinion that unless I could prove that my ex was an unfit mother that she would retain full custody. This was not a matter of her being UNFIT just not the BEST FIT. I had no desire to attack her as a Mother. Yes, she had issues (she is Bi-Polar and rarely takes her Meds) but for me it was not about her, it was about the kids. The assumption that the Mother is the obvious choice is counterproductive to the welfare of children. This violates men's rights in the worse way and yet is a common assumption. How do you defeat activists for men's rights? The same way you defeat activists for women's rights! You eliminate the biases and assumptions and stereotypical characterizations. You make decisions based on the Individual not the gender. Will we ever eliminate the Activists? I doubt it as someone will always feel they are being discriminated against because of their gender. Activism has its place and can solve real issues. The problem is Activist tend towards EXTREMES. Example: Activist fought against Sexual Harassment. A great issue that needed to be addressed and resolved. However, when a 1st grade boy is suspended from school for sexually harassing a 1st grade girl by kissing her on the cheek (true story) because Activist cried foul we have gone too far, to EXTREME.Every situation is different, every person(s) involved in the situation is different. Activist of all issues want to make every situation about the cause and not about the people involved. The people become secondary to the cause. That is the real problem.
What is it like to be a men's rights activist?
At times you can feel proud because sometimes you finally open the eyes of people to the issues placed on men by society and even women.Other times, it is a lot of harassment for not standing with feminism and thinking that men are the ones oppressed.I do not think anyone is oppressed, I just think that both genders have issues, but I fight for men's rights because I believe it is the lesser known issue. Feminism and women's rights issues are more well known and accepted, while if you say men have problems with rights and you identify as an MRA, you will most likely be ridiculed.
Feminists, do you think Mens Rights Activists are sexist?
Not all, most of them on this site. But, I have talked to some very nice ones! I think most people, when they have an issue they care deeply about, like say mens custody rights... They will just focus on just that. I mean, i've met a lot of 'dads rights activists' and 99% of them were nice, good people fighting for just causes. Mens right activists annoy men in the way they constantly bash feminism. I think they are complete hypocrites that they complain about feminism only pushing women's issues. They are also major hypocrites when it come to this so called 'victim complex' they like to talk so much about. The things is, I only see it with feminists on here a little bit of the time. On this website, people come in from time to time and say things about women being underprivileged or what have you, and of course they are not taken very seriously, but you never see the regular feminists say things like that. Were as with the MRA's (the regulars) You see it about 90% of the time. No they are not all sexist, that would be as bad as saying the **** they say about feminism, because, I don't know EVERY feminist and EVERY anti feminist in the world, but I have had a mixed experience with anti feminists and most of it wasn't that great. But I haven't even encountered a lot. So i'll say no. 'feminism' or 'anti feminism' aren't even things. They are just words. Obviously, the people who subscribe to those ideologies create an image, however to judge a whole group of people based on a few is ridiculous.
Question to Men's Rights Activists?
I don't totally disagree with you, but there are men (and a few women) out there really doing something, and I've seen most of them that I've ever heard of get blasted on here at one time or another by feminists, so I have my doubts that we'd be treated any differently by many feminists if we men did do that, contrary to what many of you say. Not that I care, I just wish people (not necessarily you Zindzi, just certain people) would quit lying. Now granted, I have criticized many MRAs myself because I don't agree with a lot of their tactics, which for many of them basically amounts to fighting with feminists for whatever reason, but some of them do seem to be trying to make some changes. I don't have a problem with criticizing MRAs, but I do have a problem with immediately judging them by the label, particularly since so many feminists have bitched and moaned about this being done to them for so long (not without reason I might add). It seems more than a little hypocritical. Also, you can't deny that without men feminism never would have accomplished much. As feminists love to point out, all the major politicians back when feminism was really starting out were men. If none of them cared about the issues nothing wuold have ever changed. Don't forget that. I don't really think feminists should necessarily actively fight for men's issues. We all have different callings in life and we can't all help everyone out. My problem isn't that feminists don't help men, it's that many of them deny there are problems and call men "whiners" (or worse) when they do complain and try to get things changed. Some people really need to make up their minds. Since you brought it up though, and other feminists are saying it, exactly what men's issues are feminists fighting for? I don't ever recall a single feminist doing anything to help men out as a whole, other than maybe gay men, because there is some connection between gay men and women I have never seen myself, but that's another discussion. Even that is pretty minimal though. I could say that there have been some minimal positive side effects from feminism but those were just that, side effects.
What's an MRA? Men Rights Activist. What do they believe? and Why?
There are positive groups and negative groups. The negative groups attack women's services, lobby to change laws, defend male priveleges, blame feminists for everything and argue that men are the real victims - among other things... T Dr. Michael Flood also discusses it on xy online. Other males are critical as well because they harm legitimate groups trying to help men - in constructive, positive steps. Yes, they often discuss divorce, custody battles, child payment. Typically they say the family court has been hijacked by feminists They advocate joint custody - currently it's custody based on the best interest of the child. Most research says that these men want to lower their child payments rather than spend more time with the child because statistically their time with the child wanes - and child payment remains low. Also, based on a blanket joint custody policy, some batterers have been getting custody of their children.
Why are MRAs/Father's rights activists misogynists but feminists are for equality?
I'm not even sure how a woman doing the same job as a man and doing just as good or better at it, gets paid less, unless she is not getting the same hours as men, if working in hourly wages. Unless men are just simply asking for more when they start to work at a company. Maybe that's why. Woman don't ask for as much. If so, then they did it to themselves. Yeah, we got problems with each other, because each and everyday, we have to deal with each others crap. One guy would just like a home cooked meal on the table when he gets home from work. But wifey was too busy getting railed by the guy at her office to plan anything for dinner. Or one woman would like her husband to take the kids out to the park on a Saturday or sunday, but he's so self absorbed into a football game that isnt even his team or into some porno mag of a woman hes been fantasizing about that he gets angry and decides he wants to fight instead of just taking the time to play around with his kids. Of course there are more problems. Like Pride. Maybe a guy is the better choice for a certain job, but a woman has so much pride that she jsut can't let a man beat her at the game. Its all pride. and conceit. And you are so right!! Woman aren't treated equal in the military. They are usually treated better. They make the same pay, but if they ever go up for a promotion board with a bunch of guys, they usually get it, and guess what, most of them are a bunch of whiners that don't even know how to do their military job. and why do men have such low opinion of them? because those military women love to have sex with every guy that pays interest in them. They degrade themselves. everybody wonders why they aren't allowed in combat. because they would get us killed!! Others countries dont seem to have a problem with women in spec ops and such. but so many american women are so spoiled rotten that they taint everything they touch, thus ruining a good thing for everybody else.
Why do feminists protest MRA (Men's Rights Activist) events?
There are a lot of different types of feminists, but all of them with very few exceptions believe that being a woman is politically, socially, and economically harder than it is to be a man. 3rd wave feminism is an ideology that's rooted in Marxism. Women are the underclass being oppressed by the overclass of men (the patriarchy). They don't see that advocating for men's rights as just trying to solve some injustices that exist in the world. They see a group trying to give more "power" to their oppressors. I can imagine that would be scary for them. So these feminists protest against it, often without really knowing what they advocate for. The thing is that men do have serious human rights violations. You can't advocate for gender equality without advocating for the rights of women AND men. Lots of feminists I know actually agree with tons of what MRAs fight for but still consider the MRM to be a hate movement and I think that this is because of this fear. I talk to feminists offline frequently and recently, I was listening to one call the MRM a terrorist organization. I asked her if she had ever spoken to an MRA and she looked shocked that I would even propose that idea. She basically said she didn't want to associate with abusive misogynists or hear what they have to say... without knowing that I'm technically an MRA. But the thing about feminism is that a lot of them believe that their opposition is immoral and disgusting. They don't reach out to people on the other side because like the feminist I talked to, they don't want to associate with immoral people. How can they learn about what MRAs want if they won't engage with them at all? So I think it's mostly because of fear and misinformation. I should say that I'm not talking about quota feminists. You guys seem to be less into identity politics and willing to coexist with opposing points of view. I'm mostly talking about feminists on tumblr, Twitter, and college campuses.