Men's Rights

[jessica r]

(without any idea of how I got there) I recently read about Men's Rights and some of the issues for which men fight. I will be honest, as a woman I was shocked and then somewhat amused and slightly annoyed that some men felt the need to define their rights, when "rights"-particularly in the US, were written for men and then women and other minorities had to step up and define and claim those rights. But after I opened my mind to these issues I found that some are very interesting and relevant. So I wanted to post to see what other people think. Here are some of the issues, in no particular order. Men, feel free to correct me if I state something the wrong way or to add something to the list:

1) Men have responsibility to children they father without a choice in the matter of abortion
2) Men make the same amount of money for physical labor as a woman who cannot perform the same physical tasks
3) Men are still expected to "court" women and pay for items on dates, etc
4)Men are required to register for the draft while women are not
5)Men often lose custody of children in divorce and rarely receive child support when they do win custody
6)Violence against men committed by women isnt taken seriously (rape, spousal abuse)
7) Men dont have the creative freedom in their dress codes that women do
8)Men often do not get paid paternity leave
9) The preference of women and children over men in emergency situations
10) Men receive harsher punishments for crime

All of these issues are based on trending data. There are also some issues about men dying sooner than women, girls performing better than boys in school, more money and attention being given to breast cancer research than prostate cancer research.......

[Mia Howes]

When I was little my dad and my step-mother used to fight a lot. My dad really didn't do anything wrong, and being the sneaky child I was, I would go upstairs and watch and listen to what they where fighting about this time. Every single time they fought, my step-mother would hit my dad. He would just stand there and take it, because even though he's one of the biggest guys I know, (muscle-wise, he's a carpenter) he would never, EVER even think about hitting a woman. When they got divorced, she charged him for hitting her, even though it was the other way around. Because my dad's a really strong looking guy, and assult charges are taken more seriously if its a man attacking a woman, the court found him guilty and now he has nothing. I know that its most commen with a man hitting a woman but I still think that courts are really biassed when it comes to that...

[Emma Nordmeyer]

that's unfair. wow, i'm a girl and that's... GIRLS RULE!!!!! but still,weird.

[Ruby Siouxsie]

1. Obviously they have no choice. They don't have to carry the baby.
2. Men are weak.
3. It's the cool thing to do.
4. No one wants men around.
5. They have pen0rs.
6. That's because women are easier to get along with.
7. Yes they do.
8. They don't have to squish a baby out their vaginas-- they don't even have them.
9. Like I said. No one wants them around.
10. They do it more often. They're stupid and need to be taught.



OH WOW.
Terribly sorry gentlemen.
I'm partial to you, so don't worry...
Just trying to justify it in a way non-sexist towards women.
-shrugs-

[Matt]

"1. Obviously they have no choice. They don't have to carry the baby"

You obviously missed the point. We don't have a choice over whether or not to abort the baby, but we are forced to care for the baby even if we would rather the fetus had been aborted. We have to take responsibility for the mother's choice. While we have no choice, we have responsibility... Kind of like taxation without representation...

I would comment further on your arguments, but I don't think you're actually being serious and if you are... well, I don't need to comment further on your arguments.

[jessica r]

I totally agree. To me it sounds like the mother is the only one who gets to have her own beliefs about the baby and what constitutes life. I mean, isnt that what being pro-choice is about? (I'm not pro-choice but I assume being pro-choice means that no one else can tell you what to think/believe or what decision to make). Men dont get to be pro choice or pro life; the are only bystanders. I mean, the woman can give the baby up for adoption if she cant care for it or isnt willing to. The guy just has to stand there at the mercy of whatever decision the woman makes.

Now, I'm a woman but I dont feel sorry for a woman because she has to carry the baby for 9 months and go through labor; this doesnt justify the woman having the right to make all the decisions. We all know where babies come from and how they are made. I mean, just thinking about this is enough to really push contraception/safe sex/abstinence because otherwise you are setting up a situation that is inherently unfair and unjust for all parties involved.

[Fair Phantom]

Of course men have a choice. Men make their decision usually about 9 months before a child is born.

It's not like women go around stealing sperm from uncooperative men.

[dozzzier]

Men make the decision to have sex the women, not to have a baby. Really, if sperm donors don't have to pay child support, neither should men who never wanted to have children in the first place.

[Fair Phantom]

If you're going to be sticking your pen in ink, be prepared for a few drops and be willing to clean up the mess.

[Matt]

You're missing the point entirely. I mean, you're not even making arguments about the question at hand.

[jessica r]

Well it sounds like the women dont have to deal with a mess. They can throw the whole piece of paper away (interesting metaphor). In this case a woman's choice invalidates a man's choice.

[Matt]

Women also decide to have sex, yet they have the choice of abortion. We're not talking about whether or not abortion should be legal. We're talking about how abortion is legal, the male has no say in the matter of abortion yet they do carry responsibility even if they didn't want the baby. On the flip side, if the male does want the baby and the female doesn't the female can get an abortion and there is nothing taken away from the female. The male has no rights when it comes to decision over abortion and therefore if they do not want the child should hold no responsibility for the child if the female does.

[XOX]

While the women have the right to have an abortion, when men were not involved, they also have the right to stay pregnant. That is where the right of the sperms owner comes in. If she decided to stay pregnant, she could either not inform the guy and let him off the hook (is there a violation of right?) or she could ask if he want to be a part of this (if he say yes, then it is okay, if he say no, could he give up his parental right and give the woman the chance to get an abortion knowing that he would be a deadbeat dad.)

That is the mess. I do think if the woman know early enough, and she would factor in the sperms owner participation, he should have the right to opt out in the first 3 months so that she could then decide if she would stay pregnant or not.