FREE ESSAY ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN CANADA

WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN CANADA

Mobilizing Men
With the emergence of the Women's Movement, a deep cleavage was created in gender
relations, seemingly pitting women against men in the struggle for equality and status.
An effect of this separation in spheres, was a collective of men feeling as if they were
being misrepresented, or left behind during a revolutionary period of changing gender
relations. A product of this was the conception of men's groups around the world. This
paper attempts to look at the development of the men's movement in Canada since its
emergence more than 10 years ago, it's origins, and the significance that it plays in
gender relations today, whether this be as a threat or a compliment to the women's
movement and the advances that have been gained by means of their work. The Men's
Movement, contrary to what many believe, is not a homogenous coalition of groups in
pursuit of the same goals. Much like the diversity seen in the Women's Movement, there
exists extensive diversity between the different men's groups and organizations that
label themselves under the Men's Movement 'umbrella'. There are men who name themselves
as anti-sexist and pro-feminist, who see the role of the movement as one working against
sexism in all its forms. There are other men who see a need to reclaim some of the
'power' that men have lost to women as a result of feminism. Some men march in the
streets and lobby governments to give a voice to issues of domestic violence, rape, and
abuse, while others rally for 'men's rights', claiming that women's rightful place is in
the home. But there is one common understanding that unites these men, and it's the
belief that traditional definitions of masculinity no longer work, that the models of
masculinity that today's men have inherited are no longer appropriate, and that they need
to be challenged and redeveloped. There are at least five separate men's movement's in
North America today, including Canada, who act independent of each other, and lack any
kind of coordination. To begin with, there is the Mythopoetic Men's Movement which traces
it routes back to Robert Bly, and Michael Mead, the so called fathers of the men's
movement. They focus primarily on men's inner work, emotional recovery, working through
grief issues, and anger management. They are most popularly known for their King and
Warrior Theme Weekends, which encourage the men to get back to nature, where it all
began. They are apolitical, although you'll find a lot of the agenda of the non-Marxist
left mixed in. (Kimmel, 89-91) They are also somewhat critical of 'traditional' male
roles, but generally open to the idea that there exists different roles for men and
women. They are tolerant towards homosexuality, but gay issues are not a central focus.
Next is the Feminist Men's Movement, which has it routes from authors such as John
Stolenberg. These groups are much more political, and can be identified with the more
militant end of feminism. Some of their political action areas include gay rights,
anti-military, and anti-rape. They see gender completely as a social construct, opposing
'traditional' societal gender-roles, or any gender roles at all. In addition they see
male violence as the result of bad training or role-conditioning by society. Generally,
they see men as oppressors, but sometimes see men as oppressed by traditional gender
conditioning. As a result of it's strong antipathy to the traditional family this
generally puts them in opposition to fathers rights groups. Finally, they maintain very
negative view of Christianity and religion in general. Next are the Fathers Rights
groups. These groups were based primarily around issues of single and divorced fathers,
their problems with court bias, and the divorce industry. Recently, a growing interest in
the social issue of fatherless families has also emerged. They also maintain a mixture of
views on gender roles, everything from conservative 'restore the man as head of the
household' ideas, to guys who want to dissolve the nuclear family and abolish all gender
roles in society. They tend towards anti-feminism, but not uniformly nor centrally so and
have no particular view of religion or homosexuality. Men's Rights groups are another
type. They tend to overlap with the Fathers Rights Groups, but with a broader spectrum of
interests including the draft, men's treatment in prisons, choice for men, and an
opposition to gender-roles. They are strongly egalitarian, and generally sympathetic to
'egalitarian' feminists but extremely critical of so-called gender feminists and most of
current feminism. They see gender mostly as a social construct, and are strictly opposed
to public policies that treat men and women differently, such as affirmative action,
all-male draft, and tender-years doctrine. Circumcision is a another hot topic, but they
maintain no unanimity of views on this. In general they tend to be suspicious of
traditional religion's gender roles, but insist that they are tolerant of homosexuality,
though it is not a central focus. Lastly we have the Christian Men's Movement, such as
the Promise Keepers. This group represents the newest and most radical of the five. They
are strictly anti-feminist, favoring traditional gender roles, for example, the 'bread
winner home-maker' model. They are also primarily evangelical and fundamentalist
Christian. Not surprising, they are disapproving of homosexuality, but, its not a central
issue. Like with the Mythopoetic Movement, their focus is mostly on inner work, but they
do flirt with political stances and have a rowing alliance with the Christian Right.1
They see male violence as innate, and that it is the job of social conditioning to
prevent it. They are similar, in certain ways, to the feminist men, in that they both see
contemporary social conditioning as leading to male misbehavior which, in turn, leads to
most family conflict. Despite that fact that the Mythopoetic Men's Movement and the
Feminists Men's Movement talk a lot about racial inclusiveness, the Christian Men's
Movement is the only one of these groups that has successfully included large numbers of
minorities in its membership and leadership. Contrary to the Women's Movement, the as
fatherhood, male role models and sexism towards women and men. These groups were followed
by father's rights groups, such as FACT ( Fathers Are Capable Too- Toronto) and the
Toronto Resource Center. Some of these groups emerged because of genuine concern for the
role of fatherhood and the lacking father figures in our children's lives. However, with
strong support from such groups in America and other countries, specific groups emerged
from the increasing frustration amongst men that divorce settlements and alimony laws
were biased in favor of the women, leaving them voiceless victims of the divorce courts
and blood sucking ex-wives. However, what has seen the largest reaction and the biggest
affect on the development of men's groups in Canada, has been the issue of violence
against women. Since 1989, we have seen emergence of two significant large men's
organizations, including Men For Change (Halifax) and the development of the White Ribbon
Campaign(WRC), (Toronto). they state that they are a pro-feminist group, they do retain
some mythopoetic elements, such as their quarterly gatherings at the farm, where the
participants work the land, share a pot luck, sleep on the floor around a wood stove,
encouraging a good chat, perhaps even a little drum banging. The purpose behind these
quarterly weekends is very similar to that of the King and Warrior Theme Weekends. These
weekends which are held several times a year, to help direct exploration to the Jungian
Archetypes and other masculine typologies.(Kimmel, pg. 95encourage men and boys to wear a
white ribbon for one or two weeks, starting on November 25, the International Day for the
Eradication of Violence Against Women. (In Canada we wear ribbons until December 6,
Canada's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.) Wearing the
white ribbon is the equivalent to making a personal pledge never to commit, condone nor
remain silent about violence against women. The WRC is also an educational organization,
which encourages reflection and discussion leading to personal and collective action
among men. Throughout the year, they encourage men to do educational work in schools,
workplaces and events on December 6, nor do they make public statements unless requested
by women's groups. Why? Because they think it should be a day for men to step back and
listen to the voices of women. The development of the Men's Movement, I feel has done
nothing but aid the Women's Movement. Pro-Feminist groups have been successful in
lobbying for women's rights and access to previously restricted areas, and though they
also lobby for human rights, or equal rights, to a certain extent men have been forgotten
in the wave of feminist awareness. With the experience and organization that the wastes a
lot of resources that could otherwise be shared. Though it is unrealistic that groups
such and the Promise Keepers, Canada division, and members of Men For Change are ever
likely to join forces, they have the opportunity to learn from each other, just as the
varying groups within the Women's movement have done. Members much also seek to bring the
movement more into the mainstream, encouraging more research and the development and
initiation of more Men's Study Programs on campuses around the world. For the one's that
already retain connections with women's organizatwhere from equal playing grounds, men
and women can join to fight for human rights and human development. 
Bibliography
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