Glossary items: (these are not ads.)
End of list.
Hot topics
Men ignored in Election 2007. Do you want to know which parties and candidates care about men's health, boys' education, family law reform, and ending discriminatory social and employment policies? Pity, because politicians, and the media, want to ignore men's issues in the current election debate. ... read more.
Australian Values lie about men's equality. Australian Values were recently released in a draft document. The Values state that men and women are equal, and treated equally under the law. However, this isn't true in a lot of Australian public policy. The Sex Discrimination Act actually excludes men. ... read more.
Property Settlement is the elephant swept under the carpet. The last Inquiry into Family Law investigated child access and child support, and found discrimination against men. Property settlements were excluded from the Inquiry. Unfair property settlements continue to stop many men from moving forward in their lives. It's time for the Parliamentary Inquiry into property settlements. ... read more.
The Journey for men and fathers
The process of achieving change for men and fathers will have to pass through several stages:
Stage 1: Denial – "No problem". Society, media, politicians, judiciary and government agencies refuse to acknowledge that prejudicial treatment of men and fathers is a problem.
Stage 2: "The problem is Men / Fathers". Men’s differences are seen as the problem and society, media, politicians, judiciary and government agencies are encouraged to believe that the solution lies in men changing.
Stage 3: Incremental Adjustment. Society, media, politicians, judiciary and government agencies begin to recognise something is wrong when good men keep opting out. But community leaders and commentators go on expecting more men to keep rolling up and taking the fall. Nothing is changed in the media, community, government agencies or legal system, so the cycle continues.
Stage 4: Commitment to a New Culture. Eventually men opting out is recognised as a symptom of deeper cultural problems and true leaders step up and take responsibility for removing prejudice and encouraging change.
All through this process we can expect self-appointed gate-keepers in media, politics, academia and government agencies to continue to oppose change, by pushing discussion back to stages 1 and 2. At the same time these people will pursue a self-interested scramble for whatever spoils they can get before change is enacted.
Mahatma Gandhi described the type of response fathers can expect. "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win."
Or as Arthur Schopenhauer said - "All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
