International Men’s Day: Recognition

This International Men’s Day I give tribute to those who have contributed to the men’s equality cause. Athough many exist, I will honor some of what I consider the highlights and give accurate historical credits to the most significant and notorious works.

As I have stated before, and as hidden and distorted historical documentation attests, The Manipulated Man by Esther Vilar (1971) bears testimony to the early equality effort, per awareness and consideration, originally including men and well-conveys this was a time when feminism was not yet recognized. However, Vilar’s repulse to the claim that women had to be liberated compared to men did receive tremendous ridicule by women’s libbers–the prerequisite term used to feminists. Her book was shunned, and she was threatened due to her open opposition to women’s claim of inequality. It was sadly kept hidden by the anti-male, chivalrous media. Even I, which I hate to admit, did not know about her and her book’s existence until decades later, although her book is one I now highly recommend (since revised and reprinted).

Men Freeing Men (1985) by Francis Baumli is a compilation from many MRA contributors, subtitled Exploring the Myth of the Traditional Male, which excellent reference also conveys that an awareness of men’s inequality to women existed prior to feminism’s influence. And then of course The Myth of Male Power, a great work coming out just prior to my own, Equality: A man’s Claim: The Equality Issue from the Male Perspective and an Ethical Society’s Viewpoint (1995), that addresses the misconception men have been the oppressors but instead more the oppressed and rated, basically in all aspects of society, as second-class to women.

I left out some as Why Men are the Way They Are (1986) by Farrell which comes across as somewhat apologetic and even gives credance to feminism, and The Hazards of being Male: Surviving the Myth of Masculine Privilege (1976), Herb Goldberg, which does contain valuable information but also gives undue credit to feminism, even to the point of contradiction and hypocrisy. Taken into Custody: The War Against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family (2007), by Steven Baskerville is a wonderful, more recent work that has not received the credit and publicity it deserves.

There are now many other authors and their works to tribute this International Men’s Day that warrant being in every MRA’s personal library, but I believe that on this special day we should especially honor the original significant contributions to the men’s equality effort.

Alan Lee Millard

Alan Millard continues to be a prominent men’s equality advocate since the early ’80s. He began writing his first book, Equality: A Man’s Claim, in the Spring of 1983. He has been thereafter continually affiliated with the major men’s rights organizations and has contributed many articles, radio, and some television broadcasts. His work includes research conducted through his graduate and doctoral coursework and knowledge acquired through his independent studies and colleague associations as a university professor. He heads the group Men’s Equality on Facebook. He is the author of three books addressing men’s equality concerns. His most recent book, A Flaw From Within: How Women’s Higher Status Defies Equal Justice, Violates Men, and Destroys Society, is available through Amazon.