Men's rights
The term men's rights refers to freedoms and rights of boys and men. This term is specifically related to focusing on rights which are protected for girls and women, yet inadequately protected for boys and men, and fall within the broader context of human rights. In essence, this term refers to human rights and dignity for men. Men's Rights relates to the role of men in contemporary society. Traditionally, this role has been largely influenced by the physical attributes of the man in his ability to provide protection and sustenance to his partner and offspring. This role, and the rights relating to it, has changed over time due to social, legal and religious influences. Various groups and movements have emerged in an effort to clearly define this role. The Men's Rights Movement (MRM) is concerned with the legal and societal rights of men, primarily in Western cultures. This includes disparity in conviction, sentencing, custody, matrimonial and alimony laws, as well as the alleged discrimination and degrading of males.
Media portrayal of Men
Another issue of concern to men's rights advocates is an alleged anti-male bias in the media. Men's rights activists argue that men are portrayed unfairly on television, radio, and in newspapers and magazines. Drs Katherine K. Young and Paul Nathanson have published an extensive volume of literature on the issue including Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture (McGill-Queen's Native and Northern press); the first in what has become a four book publication on discrimination against males. They argue that not only does the media not pay serious attention to men's rights issues but that men are portrayed in a negative light, particularly in advertising. The lack of concern over men's issues such as higher rates of suicide by men, decline in academic achievement among boys, and a willingness of the press to print feminist statistics distorting the size of the "wage gap" has led to the term "Lace Curtain" to describe feminist control over publishing and media representation of gender issues.
According to Arran Stibbe (2004), men's health problems and behaviors can be linked to the socialized gender role of men in our culture. In exploring magazines, he found that they promote traditional masculinity and claims that, among other things, men's magazines tend to celebrate "male" activities and behavior such as admiring guns, fast cars, sexually libertine women, and reading or viewing pornography regularly. In men's magazines, several "ideal" images of men are promoted, and that these images may even entail certain health risks.
