what, exactly, ARE the goals of the MRAs?

primarily I would like to see:

(1) equal reproductive rights -- if women have the right to waive responsibility for an unwanted child post conception, men should have it too, otherwise men can be held hostage by a hormone-crazed newly pregnant woman they barely know (women have no worries about this kind of fate)

(2) harsh punishments for women who commit paternity fraud

(3) harsh punishments for women who falsely accuse men of rape

(4) only women should have to register for the draft, until as many women die as men have already died fighting in wars throughout US history

(5) no more easier job requirements for women in jobs like firefighter, policewoman, military

(6) no more free health care for women unless equivalent free health care is made available to men

(7) significant research into why men have shorter life expectancy than women, and significant funds devoted to eliminating the "age gap"

(8) equal punishments for DV, no more VAWA

(9) women's studies programs that receive public funding should be abolished unless these schools can also support a comparable men's studies program -- just like how Title 9 disbands male sports teams when there is no women's equivalent

This is all I can think of in 3min, but there is more. I have no idea where anyone could get the idea that I "hate women" by proposing any of the above. I just want things to be fair for men, rather than having all these unfair advantages for women codified into official public policy. I cannot think of a single law on the books today that officially discriminates against women -- yet most/all of the above represents systematic discrimination against men, which almost everyone (even/especially feminists) takes for granted as somehow "necessary".

I must weigh in here to give my lost friend's mind some rest from its torment:-

Firstly - we MEN also provide primary caregiving, and we also provide, in far greater measure, secondary and tertiary caregiving - up to and including physical protection.

Secondary caregiving is the provision of a safe environment immediately around the Madonna and child, with cut lawns, cars that go, kitchen appliances that are repaired or replaced, providing a close-in perimeter of protection, and so forth...

Tertiary is going out into the real world and dragging home that beast for dinner, and providing an extended perimeter or sphere of protection in many, many ways, including going off to war - and many women now engage in these activities as well now.

This last point is also important from the point of view that, while providing some portion of that secondary and tertiary caregiving, women remove themselves from the position of primary caregiving superiority, and all the gaps - in a healthy situation - are filled by both WOMAN and MAN - and thus - IN THE REAL WORLD - the actual provision of caregiving in toto is truly equal in all ways - with the entire system being, in a healthy relationship - one of balance.

How anyone can say that men should give more caregiving when they already give 100% is beyond me... and just pure self-interest for women who dump their families in the dirt.

As for men's shelters.. at the time of my breakup.. after I'd been previously attacked with knives and such and had suffered daily abuse after suffering a heart attack only a few months before (and might I thank my esteemed friend for the further abuse I was subjected to unnecessarily over some loser she had)... the police wanted to put ME in a shelter, but they said they had none for men... OBVIOUSLY

Those are the realities.. and the overall reality is that NOTHING is provided for men... not even a proper avenue to have DV issues resolved that affect them.. let alone any number of other issues surrounding divorce and so forth....

Quite frankly.. I cannot see that any man with any mind at all could agree with the way you see things, DE.. unless his interest is very, very narrow..... and I am pretty damned sure about that and exactly what this latest jerk's interest is... and it ain't YOU the person, let me tell you!

Please.. get help! You have lost it big time..... and this is NOT you!

once I first heard approximately MRAs, i presumed they had some rather solid factors. It wasn't long before i found out that at the same time as there are some solid MRAs, a lot of them have in simple terms sunk to attacking feminists, and little greater. MRAs be bothered by the distinctive comparable issues feminists do. There are valid human beings of the two communities who rather do want equality, yet they are very much overshadowed via the individuals of the stream who in simple terms want to gripe and ***** and attack human beings. it rather is incorrect to generalize all MRAs like this nonetheless. you would be throwing a greater wholesome if this got here approximately to feminists (which it does, and it rather is incorrect too).

First off, I don't speak for all MRAs.

I feel there are numerous legitimate complaints from MRAs. Some deal with societal views, some with legal issues, and some with state sponsored discrimination against men.

You should notice how some opponents of men's rights feel by reading some answers here. You've got the standard shaming language feminists are well-known for.

As I've said before, with forums like this, it's difficult to get a good understanding of the MRM because of so many troll posts peppered throughout the answers.

Some people on this site judge the entire movement off of a few people. Someone says something hateful about women, and they go "See! I told you they were all woman haters!"

There is a lot of generalizing here. Apparently MRAs who post stuff online just sit and whine on the Internet all day....no proof of this is ever produced of course. It's just a sad attempt to discredit and shame MRAs.

Anyway, here's a small list of issues that many MRAs would like to see addressed.

-Abuse: There are two main issues to abuse that affect men’s rights: the myth that men are not the victims of domestic violence and the malicious use of false allegations of abuse. Despite overwhelming evidence, the notion that men are victims of domestic violence is largely overlooked due to society’s stereotypes of what a man should be. False allegations of physical and sexual abuse have become more common the last few years as more mothers are using these allegations to enhance their chances of receiving custody and thus, child support payments.

-Fatherhood: Being a single, non-custodial parent often feels like you are less important in your child’s eyes and that you are seen primarily as simply a source of income. But fathers need to realize their importance and that no one can replace you as your child’s dad. Being a divorced dad is challenging due to biased child custody decisions and prevalence of parental alienation, but that means you just have to try even harder to grow your relationship with your children and be the best father possible.

-Financial: The antiquated notion of the wife staying at home with the kids while the husband worked as the family’s sole breadwinner is quickly becoming a thing of the past. However, men are continually viewed as nothing more than a money pit when it comes to the determination of alimony and child support payments.

-Laws: Despite the laws in every state that specifically forbid discrimination based on gender and the fact that the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of all citizens to due process and equal protection of the law, men and fathers are routinely at an inherent disadvantage in the family courtroom setting. The Men's Rights site will report on the laws and proposed family law changes that directly impact father’s and men’s rights.

-Paternity: Paternity is one of the areas of family law where men are routinely discriminated against. Whether it is the denial of paternity rights or being the unlawful victim of paternity fraud, fathers must be careful, as paternity law is complex. As more children are born out of wedlock, paternity problems will only become more common.

I am gay as you no doubt know and I am not sure *inequalities* is the right word

I used to be a feminist man until I read of dreadful inequities visited upon hetero men regarding reproductive rights, denial of visitation re their children, courts favoring women generally in Domestic Violence cases when the woman was the perpetrator, men being taken to jail after a domestic dispute even though the woman was the perpetrator of violence, women nearly always winning possession of the family home in a divorce, - there are a million things that heterosexual men deserve correcting in the law and generally in society's outlook.

Unfortunately hetero men tend not to *ask* for help or admit they need it nor do they galvanise into a political group (as gays and women have done and very successfully so) so heterosexual men are being beaten down.

I haven't been a huge fan of hetero men growing up because they tended to be the perpetrators of hatred and crime against their fellow men who happen to be gay. Nevertheless many hetero men are accepting of diversity in orientation now and I have softened my attitude.

Even if they are anti-gay I still think the inequities in our culture regarding men and women need to be balanced out.

There are many areas whereby women have an unfair advantage over their male counterparts and it needs to be addressed

Most people you would classify as MRA's on here don't fight for anything, they just like to whine. Fighting means doing something about.

But just a few issues that men do stand up for are

Equal reproductive rights

Equal custody enforcement (we have the laws, they are just enforced with much bias)

Equal criminal punishment

These are just a few and the list could go on but I imagine it wouldn't make much difference.

Feminists need to take into consideration how they are hurting and not helping. They need to stop giving women the advantage in custody cases, they need to stop giving girls the advantage in schools, etc. I would love to see feminism be extinguished altogether. What they do to people, to fathers, to young boys, is unacceptable. In western culture, men and women are already equal, and it can be argued with accuracy that women have it better than men. what about in other parts of the world? You hear a lot about young girls not being allowed to attend school, but how often do you hear feminists complain about young boys being forced to carrry an AK into battle?

i get the impression that they only reason they exist and the only reason there is a need for a MRM is to correct the discriminatory laws that feminism is responsible for. if feminists had not lobbied successfully for laws which advantage and favor women so heavily to the point that they literally discriminate against and harm men, there would be no need for a MRM. but thats not the case and thats why theyre necessary.

to name a few that need to corrected - child custody, divorce laws, and eliminating things like affirmative action.

Most MRAs I've talked to are concerned about practices which favor women, having a strong bias against men. The bias in child custody is one often mentioned. (in short, they are a direct result of feminist won advantages for women, in much the same way, women's suffrage was born out of men having a right women did not.)

I think right now they are focused more on raising awareness of such issues than they are lobbying to change them. Compared to feminism MRAs are newer, have less support, have not gained the some political correctness and have done little lobbying for change, but I expect we'll see them become more active in the future.

Add: I disagree that MRAs are now a mirror image of feminism. Feminists for decades have been lobbying for women to have special advantages. MRAs are for the present not doing that, but as mentioned above are more akin to what feminism was like 100 years ago.

~

Irrelevant to this question, but...

I, personally, want some of the women on GS who had been left by their husbands for better looking, younger women to stop hating all men because of that.

Now THAT would be some Christmas miracle.