Backlash: Angry Men's Movements (2004) (original) (raw)

Resistance and backlash to gender equality

Resistance to efforts to advance gender equality is a common feature of social life, whether in workplaces and other organisations or elsewhere. In this article, we review the typical character, dynamics of and contexts for resistance to gender equality measures. Resistance is an inevitable, although undesirable, response to efforts at progressive social change. Backlash and resistance to gender equality take common forms including: denial of the problem, dis-avowal of responsibility, inaction, appeasement, co-option and repression. Resistance may be individual or collective, formal or informal. Pushback against gender equality measures comes more often from members of the privileged group (men) than the disadvantaged group (women). Resistance is a predictable expression of the defence of institu-tionalised privilege, but it is also shaped by widespread discourses on "sex roles" and "post-feminism," the methods adopted to advance gender equality and the contexts in which they take place. Understanding the character and dynamics of resistance and backlash is vital for preventing and reducing them. K E Y W O R D S backlash, feminism, gender, masculinity, privilege 1 | INTRODUCTION Efforts to make progress toward gender inequality and end men's violence against women typically meet resistance, both individual and collective, formal and informal. Backlash-resistance against progressive social change-is a common feature of the social world. When patterns of inequality and injustice shift, individuals and groups, particularly those advantaged by the status quo, resist. In this article, we explore the character and origins of resistance and backlash to

Private men, public anger: The men's rights movement in Australia

Journal of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, 1999

The men's rights movement has an increasing presence in Australia's cultural and political landscape. This paper provides a feminist analysis of the processes of men's rights collective identity, focussing on constructions of masculinity and fatherhood, and the ways in which these constructions circulate between the public and private spheres.

IS CONTEMPORARY FEMINIST MOVEMENT A HATE ON MEN

My research focuses on feminist activism, by which I mean the practices that feminists engage in individually and collectively to try to change society to reduce gender inequality. The topic of men and gender equality is seen as somewhat ambiguous within the gender equality discourse. On the one hand, for a long period gender equality policies have been contextualized mainly as a ‘women’s issue’ as women have been the driving force behind gender equality strategies and have been seen as the only ones who benefit from a more equal society (European Commission:2013). This research responds to ongoing debates amongst feminists about whether and how men should be involved in the feminist movement. However, in the last decade there has been more debate on how to engage more men in gender equality initiatives and how gender inequality affects different groups of men.

Backlash Goes Global: Men's Groups, Patriarchal Family Policy, and the False Promise of Gender-Neutral Laws

Dans tous les pays et toutes les cultures, le niveau d'e ´galité au sein de la famille a un effet direct sur l'ensemble des aspects de la participation des femmes a ` la vie e ´conomique, sociale, culturelle et politique, ainsi que sur leurs contacts avec la violence. Dans toutes les régions du monde, l'importance de l'atteinte de l'e ´galité au sein de la famille comme question des droits de la personne explique le niveau de résistance passive et active a ` cette atteinte. Cet article examine les différentes expressions régionales et mondiales de la résistance patriarcale a ` l'e ´galité dans la famille, qui est généralement antipathique aux droits fondamentaux des femmes : les mouvements de défense des droits des hommes, phénomène de ressac (backlash) généralement observé dans les pays e ´conomiquement avancés; la lutte pour main-tenir les avancées quant aux politiques internationales, avec la résistance observée dans les organismes de l'ONU, où la vie des femmes est instrumentalisée a ` des fins politiques et où l'on invoque souvent des discours prônant le respect de la culture et de la tradition; et l'adoption ou la conservation dans de nombreux E ´ tats du Nord comme du Sud de lois aveugles au genre, faisant ainsi stagner ou même reculer les acquis des normes d'e ´galité. L'article porte sur l'importance de la Convention de l'ONU sur l'e ´limination de toutes les formes de discrimination a ` l'e ´gard des femmes et sur le rôle crucial du Comité de l'ONU pour l'e ´limination de la discrimination a ` l'e ´gard des femmes, dans l'identification des foyers de résistance et le maintien de la responsabilité des E ´ tats dans la promotion de l'e ´galité. In every country and every culture, the level of equality in the family has a direct impact on all aspects of women's participation in economic, social, cultural, and political life as well as in their exposure to violence. Its significance as a human rights issue is underscored by the level of overt and covert resistance to the pursuit of equality in families in all regions of the world. This article explores the major local and global expressions of patriarchal resistance to equality in the family, all of which share an antipathy to women's human rights: men's rights movements, a backlash phenomenon sited largely in economically advanced countries; the battle

‘Respect for each gender’: Gender, equity and backlash in Australia’s male health policy

Australian Journal of Social Issues, 2018

Australia is one of the few countries which has specific health policies for boys/men and girls/women as distinct groups. In this article I present an analysis of the discourses of gender, equity and disadvantage drawn upon in Australia’s men’s health policy. Through comparison with the women’s health policy, I show that a dual focus on the essential differences between men and women and the ways in which the health system has failed men contributes to an adversarial gender politics, positioning men and women as rivals with competing needs. Reflecting broader debates concerning the negative impact of societal change on boys/men, I argue that, in its current form, Australia’s health policy both taps into and, crucially, legitimises backlash politics, enabling it to ‘pass’ as sound public policy.

Should Men Call Themselves Feminists? The Case for Radical Pro-Feminism

This short piece argues that men should support feminism, but not call themselves feminists. In a nutshell: men publicly identifying as feminists risks eroding one of the few areas of social discourse where women’s voices are emphasised and valued in their own right. It also risks masking the diversity of feminist perspectives, including the complex and fraught intersections of race, class, sexuality, disability, religion and gender. I call this view ‘radical pro-feminism’, because it preserves the radical potential of feminism to pose a genuine challenge to male-dominated power structures. It also challenges traditional gender roles, because it requires men to play a supporting and enabling role, rather than taking the lead and setting the agenda. Men can do many things to support feminism. One of the most important is to help create spaces for women to speak on their own behalf and have their voices heard.

Masculinism and the Antifeminist Countermovement

Social Movement Studies, 2012

Little research has been done on antifeminism, whether from the perspective of the sociology of social movements or even of women's studies. Yet, a particular form of antifeminism has been at work for a number of years, more specifically, masculinism. Its discourse claims that men are in crisis because of the feminization of society and it mobilizes primarily around issues pertaining to the interests of fathers and spouses (divorce laws, alimony, child custody, violence). This article examines two alternative explanations of the masculinist phenomenon: (1) men have real problems, and masculinists scapegoat women and feminists instead of targeting the true causes of their problems, such as the transformation of the labor market; (2) masculinism is openly opposed to feminism and is thus the result of countermovement dynamics. While referring to other contexts (UK, the USA, etc.), our paper takes the situation in Québec (Canada) as a case study. The feminist movement and masculinism are dynamic there and stand in sharp opposition to each other. The essay applies the theory of countermovements in order to better understand the oppositional relationship between these two political forces and demonstrates ultimately that masculinism's effects on feminists are at times paradoxical.