A UK Member of Parliament recently suggested that there should be a Government minister for men which would presumably do similar things to the existsing minister for Women.
This has thrown up a series of heated discussions on social media about whether this is part of the ‘backlash’ against feminsm, or whether there is a legitimate need for wider support of men’s issues.
As a man who believes that there are legitimate issues disproportionately affecting men which should be addressed, what I really want help in understanding is the opinion that men don’t need any targetted support.
I don’t want to start a big argument, but I do want to understand this perspective, because I have struggled to understand it before and I don’t like feeling like I’m missing something.
If thar were the case, what sorts of duties would such a position entail?
I don’t know about UK. In Germany, unmarried fathers are systematically discriminated against. Custody, alimony and financial support from the state are setup all with the mindset that the mother takes care of the children and the father makes financial support. There’s no equal rights there, this is the assumed default. Deviations have to be explained again and again for taxes, child allowance, retirement subsidies and and and. In cases of doubt the money goes to the mother, and there is no arbitration other than going to the courts.
The other thing that comes to mind is the dealing of the police with domestic violence. Whenever anyone calls the police for domestic violence, the police automatically assumes the man is the offender. Even if the man was the caller, it’s he who is taken into custody. This is systematic discrimination.