Men's Liberation
Anti-Sexism | Feminist Movement | UN Fourth World Conference on Women - Bejing, China | GLBTQ | INCITE | Men's Liberation | Conclusion| Anti-Sexism Sources
"Sexism is discounting the female experience of powerlessness; the new sexism is discounting the male experience of powerlessness" - Warren Farrel, Why Men Are the Way They Are
Overview of Men's Liberation
Goal of the Movement: To disprove the view, as Goldberg states, "He is the oppressor, victimizer, abuser, user, exploiter, chauvinist, sexist pig. She is the oppressed, victimized, abused, used, exploited, maligned, passive, blameless, helpless victim"
"The men's rights political movement encompasses both men and women, some of whom were once associated with various profeminits groups but became disenchanted with the feminist movement. These men and women believe that the women's movement wrongly blames men for the oppression of women and that such blame is counterproductive to ending sexism. They also deny that men live privileged lives...They also argue that feminism seriously misconstrues male and female reality and has instituted an agenda that only makes things worse for men" ( Clatterbaugh, 62).
Began in the early 1970's with father's rights movement- This movement specifically focused on the discrimination against men in the areas of divorce and child custody and formed The Coalition of American Divorce Reform Elements (founded in 1971) transferred to the Men's Rights Association in 1973.
3 Main Groups Form
- One - A group that identifies itself as anti-sexist and rejects both liberal and radical feminism as possible starting points for an analysis of men's social reality. Free Men groups formed and launched the "Coalition of Free Men" advised by Herb Goldberg.
-Two- Group was lead by Fred Hayward who established Men's Rights Incorporated. They aimed to challenge legal and policy discriminations against men.
-Third- Group, lead by Richard Doyle beleives, "that greater male power is in some sense natural, but that women have usurped that power" ( Clatterbaugh,82).
1980- Sides came together and formed the National Congress for Men (NCM) whose motto is "Preserving the Promise of Fatherhood" ( Clatterbaugh,71). These groups also all agree that "feminists and their profeminist male allies have increased the difficulty of achieving change. All are concerned that society undervalues men" ( Clatterbaugh82)
