pynchme:"A great deal of male suicide also occurs as a result of child sexual abuse; rape and assault. Please don't discount that or sweep them out of sight."

Rubbish, a very small part of male suicide may be related to these issues. None of the data supports your claim, as usual. what sort of "professional" did you claim to be again?

Nice of you to give the little fella his pat, I was afraid he was going to start weeing himself again, what with all the men around. Sad that his hatred for his Dad has left him with such a fear of men. I wish him well in getting over his issues.

Dougthebear, the CS and Family Law Acts were written as a direct response to feminist ideology as enshrined in the UN's various instruments regarding women and "their" children. So were the various States DV protection laws and response policies.

They encourage women who may be minimally dissatisfied to seek a divorce, safe in the knowledge that they will be well compensated. If she wishes to make a clean break, with the police keeping him away from her and the kids, all she has to do is claim he shouted at her and she "feels scared".

OTOH, they also act to keep men who may be quite dissatisfied in relationships simply because they have seen what happened to friends who didn't. Those men sometimes suffer long-term on-going violence and abuse daily. If ever they retaliate, DV policies mean they'll be the one carted away and given a DVO, while she gets to stay in the house - great outcome for her and purest Feminist doctrine.

Yes, the best outcome is when the partners just get on with it and love each other and all that, but in the real world, if one partner is given disproportionate power, then there will be some who will abuse it. At present, women have disproportionate power and many are abusing it, just as men did in days gone by when the situations were reversed.

Houellebecq: It's nice that you're able to bend a bit on this. I really don't think, though, that you know much about feminism. Sorry - I don't mean to be insulting but uh - for example, "equity feminism" is in my opinion a cop out label favoured by very conservative people who don't really aim to change anything - the sort of conservative think tank groupies who seek (and profit well from) a pat on the head from those who benefit most from the exploitative status quo. It's a Claytons sort of feminism that seeks approval. If you'd like to see some other feminist writing and ideas let me know.

However, 'feminism' encompasses a very, very broad range of thought and action. I'm of a Christian-existentialist-core variety myself; make of it what you will. I accept (but don't agree with) that some women modify their bodies to exert sexual influence ie: your comment about big breasts. I think it's about as stoopid as equity feminism but whatever. On the other hand re: differences between male and female and any other classification by sex or sexual orientation - viva la diversite.

For myself I don't have a problem with inconsistencies. I think that a sign of maturity is being able to live with ambiguity. At least, I hold many opinions as provisional and adjust them as new information becomes available.

Btw - as to large penises (or should that be peni ?) - is it truth or myth that men's identity is all tied up with size? What happens when a bloke has lost his. I believe there are prosthetic specialists who assist when people have lost all their gear. What happens to their sense of self? If a bloke doesn't invest some of his sense of self in things other than sexual prowess or genital size; I think that's really sad. Is it? What do you think?

CJ - I loved your anecdote about the pinky encounter. Very funny.

pynchme:""equity feminism" is in my opinion a cop out"

LOL at least you're honest at last. "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others". You're nothing more than a would be hegemonist.

It's typical of so many of the more vocal "feminists" that the last thing they want is equality, what they're after is total dmination with any resistance ground under the heel of the nearest sensible shoe.

The pinky advert wasn't the problem. The broader pattern of television and advertising that has men as villans, fools and under control is the problem.

Houllie

I see no problem with women having criteria for partners. I do have a problem with the way that women are socialised to have a huge list of criteria. Try asking to teenaged girl about her taste in boys and you will be stuck there for ages. We need to stop over-protecting women's self-esteem and start telling them that they cannot be too fussy. Anything else is paternalistic and setting them up to fail.

Antiseptic: As usual you have your bloomers in a knot over something you know nothing about. You need to look at something like the 2005 Personal Safety Survey, to which I've referred in the past.

http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/056A404DAA576AE6CA2571D00080E985/$File/49060_2005%20%28reissue%29.pdf

There is other research that you can access; but males being sexually assaulted as children - figures range from abour 4% to 29 % (David Finkelhor, "Current Information on the Scope and Nature of Child Sexual Abuse," p. 31 in The Future of Children, Vol. 4 No. 2, The David and Lucille Packard Foundation (1994).)

Also please see:
Hindman, J., & Peters, J. (2001, December). Polygraph Testing Leads to Better Understanding Adult and Juvenile Sex Offenders. Federal Probation, 65(3), N.PAG. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection database.
"... They are at increased risk of depression and suicide... "

Also, sex offenders admitted not only that they understate the number of children they've victimized, but the proportion of victims who are male children as well. On investigation, as many boys as girls had been molested

Pynchme, if it is indeed the case that many men are suiciding as a direct response to childhood sexual abuse then perhaps you should take it up with the Beyond Blue people, who don't list it as a factor at all AFAIK...

Do let us know how you get on, won't you?