Australian men are under attack, according to The Modern [Aussie] Man white paper, launched on Tuesday. Written by advertising agency M&C Saatchi, the white paper aspires to free men from the “feminist minefield” and reveal what “every man is thinking”. Based on interviews with 140 men, the report found that nagging feminists and humourless women have caused men to develop “gender issue laryngitis”.

With all the insight of a Facebook “What McDonald’s hamburger are you?” quiz, the white paper groups all Australian men into seven categories, ranging from “sensitive cockatoo” to “action man”. The report extols Aussie men to just “be you”, which according to one of their interviewees, means to “swear, fart and tell her how I feel. That’s where you learn”.

Will learning through farting be the education breakthrough that closes the school achievement gap between boys and girls? Only time will tell. The report quickly degenerates into a discussion of men as “undiscovered consumers” before inviting readers to book a presentation by an M&C Saatchi representative, who can show your company how to reach the elusive male consumer just in time for Christmas.

While little more than a marketing gimmick for M&C Saatchi’s advertising services, the report was the centrepiece of the Men and Fathers’ Strategic Roundtable organised by Warwick Marsh at Parliament House. Marsh is the founder of the men’s rights group known as the Fatherhood Foundation. Since the Fatherhood Foundation was formed in 2002, Marsh’s rhetoric about the social importance of masculinity and fatherhood has garnered him political support from both parties.

The Fatherhood Foundation is just one of a number of men’s rights groups in Australia whose vocal concern about male wellbeing is used as a cover for their campaigns against feminism and gay rights. The various challenges facing men and masculinity – such as mental and physical illness, suicide, violence and relationship breakdown – are blamed on over-empowered women and minority groups who are seen to have undermined "real" masculinity. For these groups, verballing feminism and gay rights as "emasculating" and trying to place men back atop the "natural order" is the solution to all male problems and anxieties.

After lobbying from men’s rights groups, the former Liberal government under John Howard instituted changes to Australian family law intended to ensure that men were more likely to be given contact or shared custody of children during custody disputes. These changes meant that courts favoured shared parenting even in cases of physical and sexual violence against the mother.

Marsh’s political fortunes changed under the Labor government. Family law reform has since placed greater emphasis on protecting women and children from violence and abuse. Marsh was dumped as a men’s health ambassador in 2008 after writing a document that described homosexuality as a “gender disorientation pathology” caused by abuse, neglect and mental illness. He has since gone on to shed “tears” for the child of senator Penny Wong and her lesbian partner, describing such children as future criminals, substance abusers and suicide risks.

There are real problems facing men and masculinity. Globalisation and changes to the workforce have led to a long-term decline in the proportion of full-time and blue-collar jobs. Transitions from childhood to adulthood, and from school to work, are less clear. These changes have been difficult for both men and women. Boys and men struggling with these transitions can find their understandings of masculinity at risk, and some turn to alternative methods to prove themselves, including risk-taking, alcohol and violence. These are leading causes of injury and death for males as well as females.

Blaming feminism and sexual minorities will not solve these problems. To the contrary, the men’s rights movement makes these issues worse by lobbying for policies and legislative changes that complicate the lives of men and women. However their simplistic logic appeals to politicians whose neoliberal policies are responsible for many of the issues that the men’s rights groups movement blames on women and gay poeple.

The so-called white paper might be a tone-deaf and opportunistic attention grab by a marketing agency but for Warwick Marsh it is as a "positive celebration of true masculinity". Marsh now plans to use the M&C Saatchi report to relaunch his lobbying efforts about men’s wellbeing, which he links to traditional Christian family values.

The report might read like a bad joke, but what happened the last time Marsh had the ear of the federal government wasn’t funny.

• An earlier version of the article stated the paper was launched by Kevin Andrews MP. This is not the case and the piece was been amended to reflect that