Informal poll: When I posted Anne Theriault’s blog titled “Why The Men’s Rights Movement is Garbage” – How many of you felt uncomfortable and did not read it? And then did you carry on feeling disconcerted by the notion that I/the author may be suggesting that men not be afforded human rights? If this is you, then please read on. First of all, it’s okay, I forgive you. We don’t all have time to read everything. Second of all – in posting an article that argues why the Men’s Rights Movement is garbage, I’m not suggesting that men not be afforded human rights. I’m not arguing that men should not have support for serious issues they face.

Of course we need supports for male survivors of violence, for new fathers who have few popular examples of male caregivers, for men with mental health issues, for boys who are teased for wearing nail polish to school, for men facing poverty and food insecurity, for queer teenage boys who are subjected daily to harassment and violence, for migratory men whose labour is exploited in global systems of food production, for trans men who struggle to find health care practitioners who treat them with respect instead of like an anomalous body, for men of colour whose bodies are exploited in countless industries (prison, entertainment, sports) only to profit a few white men, for men who resent the stereotype that to be a man is to be violent and unfeeling – and for the many men whose identities surely crosscut several of these examples. Trust me – many of us in feminist circles are working on it. The spaces for dialogue and support for men who want to break free from binary gender norms and support other men in doing so – these spaces, where they do exist, have been borne out years of feminist politics and activism. They have not been made and are not made by the Men’s Rights Movement or Men’s Rights Activists. And if you thought that I or any other feminist would seriously argue that we should just ignore men and their issues flat out, then I fear you are drinking the Men’s Rights Movement kool-aid, so check yourself. Because the “Men’s Rights Movement” is not the same as men engaged in political movements about gender, masculinity, and issues that men face. Honestly, such a reading would be too generous.

When I say Men’s Rights Movement in capital letters, think of it like a proper pronoun. Same goes with Men’s Rights Activists. They are names for fairly specific entities, rather than standing for any and all things related to men’s rights and activism, or men engaged in activism pertaining to issues involving/affecting/related to men/masculinity/gender. I am referring to a very specific faction of men (and women) affiliated with the vitriolic and scientifically unfounded musings on the website “A Voice for Men” and its affiliates such as the “Canadian Federation for Equality” (CAFE). If you are going to google them, be warned – massive trigger warning for just about every hateful thing out there. But anyways, aVfM is exclusively about spreading lies and myths about feminism, and blaming feminism for problems that are very obviously created and sustained by patriarchy. True, some men may wander onto the site hoping for tangible supports, and instead they will find writing and discussion that encourages them to direct the blame for all their trouble onto feminists specifically. The single-minded commitment of aVfM to crushing feminist politics is terrifying. MRA don’t do anything to actually “help men” with any of the aforementioned problems. They pour resources into smear campaigns of outspoken feminist scholars and even condone violence and cyber-stalking. They fundraise for public campaigns that characterize women as liars and feminists as evil. They consistently refuse to collaborate with or even acknowledge the presence of male feminist allies / organizations – of which there are a growing number (http://www.whiteribbon.ca/; http://therepresentationproject.org/films/the-mask-you-live-in/). Apparently this is all in the name of helping men.

Simultaneously, MRA attack the intellectual integrity and credibility of feminist scholars, whilst refusing to engage in any meaningful way with any people or evidence that deftly refutes their claims. MRA claim to make “rational” scientific arguments by citing statistics out of context and/or flat our misrepresenting them to bolster their argument. They call feminists irrational and too passionate. When we engage “rationally” and provide evidence, they call us unfeeling and claim we are orchestrating the genocide of men (I kid you not).

Moreover, MRA rely exclusively on the gender binary – the very thing that perpetuates rape culture and violent masculinity. MRA equate feminism with misandry. MRA outright deny that men are afforded privilege due to their masculinity, both throughout history and in contemporary society. MRA deny that this patriarchal dividend is intimately tied to the oppression of women and heterosexist discrimination. MRA classify feminism as a singular totalitarian movement of man-hating, irrational women. When we resist the man-hating stereotype, explaining that feminism is basically about ending sexist oppression, and point to the rich history of evolving feminisms, they respond defiantly, claiming that feminism is fragmented, hyphenated, and thus useless. In so doing, they conveniently ignore the many feminisms that articulate with diverse social justice movements, and they further popularize harmful stereotypes of feminism that work against the cause of creating a more just world for all.

Many feminists today are intersectional in their politics and activism. Patriarchy articulates with classism, ableism, racism, colonialism, and heterosexism – we must grapple with these ‘isms’ together. We simply cannot ignore that privilege and oppression work in tangent and in complex ways that resist simple binaries. Not all women are equal to other women and not all men are equal to other men – so it makes little sense to speak of “men” and “women” as homogenous groups. To speak of issues solely along gendered lines is to ignore the complex ways that identity and privilege and discrimination function. And that’s the issue here – if we really want to have a conversation and develop solutions for the issues I listed at the beginning, we have to grapple with the operation of privilege and power. We simply must acknowledge that the vast majority of sexual violence in this province, country, and worldwide involves men’s violence against women. We have to acknowledge that not all men benefit equally in patriarchy, nor do they have to actively claim a piece of the pie to be afforded its benefits. We have to acknowledge that you don’t have to be a man to participate in cultural narratives that sustain patriarchy (i.e., women-to-woman slut-shaming, rape jokes). The Men’s Rights Movement has zero interest in acknowledging these realities. Instead, the Men’s Rights Movement has invested itself in undermining the types of feminist movements that are taking on that difficult work. So yeah, the Men’s Rights Movement is Bullshit, capital B.