Sorry Robert - it's not that. If an agency just responded to mens need for support during a crisis I wouldn't write about it so.
Apologies to both of you for not spelling it out: Men's Rights Activist. I haven't yet seen any that aren't anti-feminist groups. They are all linked particularly to groups in the US.

This page gives an outline of faboured MRA topics:

http://www.mensrights.com.au/page24e.htm

Such groups are written about here:

http://www.xyonline.net/category/article-content/mens-fathers-rights

http://www.xyonline.net/content/fact-sheet-3-how-fathers%E2%80%99-rights-movement-undermines-protections-available-victims-violence-

"Men’s rights and fathers’ rights advocates do not accurately
represent the views of the majority of divorced and separated men.
While many men (and women) find the processes of divorce and
separation to be hurtful, only a minority subscribe to the aggressively conservative agendas of anti-feminist men’s groups. In addition, there are other fathers’ organisations which promote positive and collaborative visions of men’s relations with women and children, such as Dads and Daughters in the USA and FathersDirect in the United Kingdom."

http://www.xyonline.net/sites/default/files/Flood,%20Backlash%20-%20Angry%20men.pdf

On Bettina Arndt:

http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/21526

Dishonest (one example):

http://raedical.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/note-to-bettina-arndt/

Ultra conservative:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/shacking-up-is-hard-to-do-why-gillard-may-be-leery-of-the-lodge-20100628-zexr.html

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2940828.htm

http://hoydenabouttown.com/20100629.7746/oh-please-give-us-some-credit/

Pynchme,
"It's the women who end up stranded when they spend years in a succession of de facto relationships waiting for Mr Not Ready or Mr Maybe to make up his mind."

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/shacking-up-is-hard-to-do-why-gillard-may-be-leery-of-the-lodge-20100628-zexr.html

So its the man's fault yet again.

Seems to be the fashion to blame men for anything and everything.

In your furious research, you still haven't found a single academic employed by an Australian university, who has said a single positive word about the male gender.

Seems like bigotry and prejudice to me.

Hi Vanna,

It wasn't "furious research" it was Google and sites with which I am pretty familiar.

Btw the purpose of the post was to show Pelican what I was talking about with the term MRA.

I already told you that expecting feminists to sing praises of men (though as I said, some in the usual course of their academic endeavours would have done and I know plenty of feminists, including myself, who are full of love and praise for the men in their lives and some in their workplaces - depends on the man) both misunderstands what feminism is about (systemic change) and is akin to expecting American negroes to iterate the accomplishments of plantation owners or women from Afghanistan to glorify the Taliban.

You haven't said btw why it's important to you.

Pynchme I'd be more inclined to agree if I saw the same sorts's of criticism of the mothers groups (or some of the feminist groups) coming from Flood and others.

The mothers groups have run a very nasty long term campaign to try and stop shared care and get a return to maternal bias using the worst examples they can find of behavior by a small number of men yet either ignore or excuse abuse when it's the mother doing so.

After my attempt to answer Vanna's question I'm a bit to familiar with the term "validating women's subjective experience" when it comes to feminist research and the sheer volume of the nastyness about men and masculinity in a lot of feminist material, even you posted a quote "It is because we believe in your humanity, against all the evidence" holding it up as a good thing. The sheer dishonesty and blinkered thinking in the "against all the evidence" part of that is staggering.

I'd prefer the approach which Pelican suggests where we work together to better outcomes for all but I don't accept that it's valid to thrash the men's group's and especially MRA for their failings while ignoring the efforts of their counterparts.

R0bert

Pynchme,
Why is it important?

A quick review of the articles written by the author shows that they have never said a single positive word about the male gender.

Their articles are filled with qualitative research, and contain generalised, denigrating comments about men, and the latest picture that the author tries to paint of men is that they are pre-occupied with sex.

While not having anything positive to say about the male gender, the author is used as a medical ethicist by TWO universities, namely the Monash University and the University of Melbourne.

These universities have policies regards discrimination, and also policies regards research.

In terms of following these policies, the author receives 0 out of 10.

In terms of the importance that these universities must place upon their own policies, then these universities must place no importance upon them at all, and their policies are there to “look good”, while not actually being followed.

I wouldn’t place any trust or value on any article from the author, or anyone else from Monash University or the University of Melbourne.

Thanks Pynchme for the links. I had a quick read-through yesterday as well of some of the MRA stuff.

Arndt has an eccentric way of putting her views at times which makes it easy for her to be misinterpreted. The sex controversy was a good example. She wasn't telling women to lie back and think of England as some critics have written or just put up with sex, her premise was clearly if the woman was receptive to working through the sex issues.

The Green Left article derides Arndt for her stance on child custody issues. I cannot see a problem with shared parenting arrangements or taking the view that the mother is not always the best parent. I would rather Judges take an individual approach to each case rather than a strict gender line one way or the other.

Arndt may have some old fashioned ideas about some issues like child care but many women feel uncomfortable with the institutionalisation of childcare, the lack of choice for women or men to stay at home due to economic pressures and one-sided policy geared to working families. This does not mean one is anti-feminist, I kind of feel an empathy with Arndt on that issue