Meet the community that’s fighting for men’s rights without bashing feminism

I wish that there could be more reasoned dialog about the relationship between men's rights and feminism. Sometimes there is tension between the two, and sometimes they are complementary. In either case it is an interesting topic.

Having a productive dialog between men's rights advocates and feminists would be something that interests me. It would be a complex dialog with lines that cross, not all feminists or men's rights advocates think alike and there may be common ground with some that is not shared. Actually, this discussion does happen in some places in society (the recent discussion of safe spaces in college led to some very interesting public discussions).

The greatest threat to respectful dialog is the tendency to devolve from respectful sharing of ideas to ad hominem arguments. You don't just see this here, you also see this in the general public discourse. I think it is sad how often a chance at dialog is upset by personal attacks.

My question is whether this type of productive, respectful dialog is possible. People come with different ideas, different beliefs and different goals. This means that there will almost certainly be ideas that can not be reconciled. You can disagree with people on certain areas and still respect them as people.

The possibility of finding common ground is exciting. That is why this type of group, and this discussion in general, interests me. That is, if we can get around the ad hominems.

What do they call men's rights, masculinism?

I think the terms "men's rights" is a fine term. It is in common use and people seem to know what it means. I don't think anyone uses the term "masculinism" seriously.

Christina Hoff Sommers uses the term "Equity Feminism". Equity feminism refers to the believe that women and men should be treated as equals, particularly in terms of laws, opportunity and social policy. She contrasts that with gender feminism which pits women against men with a narrative of patriarchy.

I like the idea of "equity feminism", but I don't think the term is in common use.

I sure don't

Back to the OP. There are still glass ceilings for women. Just look at the CEOs of companies and board members; the majority are over represented by men.
When there's a closer balance between the sexes, we'll know that gender discrimination has been broken.
There's still the question of equality for minorities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States

Exactly my point Cicerone. You can support both woman's rights and men's rights (a point I have been making on A2K for a long time).

I strongly support getting more women and minorities into positions of executive power. This has nothing to do with my positions on other issues. I have already listed some of the issues where I think that prominent feminists get it wrong. Representation on corporate boards is not one of the issues where I disagree with most feminists.

Slapping a label, such as "feminism" on people as a whole is sometimes problematic. The reality is that the word "feminism" in 2016 is a stand-in for a whole range of issues. Some of these issues I agree with, and some I question.

I would like to be able to have a respectful, rational, discussion on each issue separately. Certainly my disagreement with anyone on one issue doesn't mean that I don't agree with other issues (something that Izzy and friends are implying).

Judging from the pathetic whiny who flock to the men's rights banner, a better term would be emasculinism.

I love you Izzy. You actually just made a misogynistic joke! (For anyone who doesn't get the joke, Izzy is saying that someone who doesn't have masculinity is "whiny and pathetic".)

That is very funny.

If you have to explain a joke it's no longer a joke, although it is whiny and pathetic. Do us all a favour and ask the lady very nicely to give you your nuts back, I can't be the only one who's sick of your constant whinging.

Everyone in your little clique is probably sick of me, Izzy. It is not surprising.. you all think alike.

You are confusing whinging with laughter. You amuse me, and I appreciate that (although I am not going to join you in your gender-based jokes.)

You are my favorite person here.

The current Men's Lib issue in France, hit by a heat wave, is equality with women in terms of work attire. In many companies and administrations, women are allowed to wear shorts/skirts and sandals, while men are supposed to wear long trousers and closed shoes at all time. This is unfair, especially during heat waves. E.g. male bus drivers in Nantes have decided to wear skirts over the summer, because skirts are allowed in their company's dress code while short pants aren't...

Good for them. I wore a kind of skirt during a trip in super hot Somalia once (a local thing men wear there) and it was great. When it's real hot, nothing keeps you fresh better than the wind going through your balls.