Founding Principles of the Australian Men's Party
One of the primary objectives of the Australian Men's Party is to act as a voice for the vast majority of men who are NOT represented by those in poltical power. Hence, the credibility of our party as a voice for these men will critically depend on how well we listen to their real needs and concerns.
There are many people in our society who are opposed to equal rights for men. Some of these people are driven by a deep-seated hatred of men. Most, however, are just simply unaware that men have been denied basic human rights because their traditional gender role.
Many of these people either downplay or totally ignore the considerable powers and rights which are associated with women's traditional roles as primary nurturers and adorners (e.g. reproductive power and sexual power). They prefer, instead, to portray women as powerless victims who are overwhelmed by their responsibilities as primary care givers.
In like manner, these same people either downplay or totally ignore the considerable responsibilities that men must bare because of their traditional role as protectors and providers. They prefer, instead, to portray men as powerful non-victims who have unfairly been given rights that are denied to women.
Our struggle, is to convince people that, just as women have been denied rights which men have held in their traditional sphere of responsibility (i.e. as protectors and providers), men have also been denied rights which women have held in their traditional sphere of responsibility (i.e. as nurtures and adorners).
We must also point out that, just as women have had to shoulder the extra responsibilities of being society's nurtures and adorners, men have also had to shoulder the extra responsibilities of being society's protectors and providers. Both sexes have been denied rights and both sexes have been given unfair burdens of responsibility.
We believe that the wide spread insensitivity to male suffering which exists in our society is a direct result of the exclusion of males from the nurturing role. The dominant part played by women in the formative years of children's lives means that many men and women are conditioned from birth to see the world through their mother's eyes. They see her fears, her worries, and her pain. Consequently, we all grow up in a society that is far more sensitive to the needs and wants of women and girls than it is to the needs and wants of men and boys.
Society's insensitivity to male suffering will only end if we can break down the considerable barriers which exclude men from the nurture of children. Only then will we begin to see the world through our fathers eyes.
Rather than blaming one gender for all our problems, we believe that we must transform our conceptions of what it means to be a man or a woman. This does not mean that we wish to destroy the traditional gender roles that exist in our society, rather we wish to convince people that these roles should be expanded to include a much wider range of responsibilities and rewards.
For survival purposes, society's has valued men who are good protectors and providers. In order to bribe males to take on the onerous responsibilities of protecting and providing for their families, society has traditionally placed a much greater value on what men do [outside the home] than it does on what women do [inside the home]. The important point is that, in the absence of strong biological imperatives, society has had to revert to strong social controls in order to get men to fulfill their survival roles.
In order to ensure the continuation of the species, society has also valued women who are good nurturers and adorners. The strong biological imperatives underpinning the female gender role has meant that society has traditionally placed much greater value on women's lives than it has on men's. This type of mindset might have been be justified prior to the industrial revolution when we were struggling to populate the planet but it makes no sense whatsoever in a world that is heavily overpopulated.
The Australian Men's Party believes that continued devaluation of men's lives, simply because they do not bare children, is wrong. Whenever we are given the opportunity, we must insist that men's lives have the same intrinsic value as those of women's.
However, until we change the distorted way society perceive men and boys, there is very little chance that people will either listen to or acknowledge the anger and hurt that many men feel. The best we can do, is to challenge these men to channel their (justifiable) anger and hurt into constructive projects that are designed to help other men in need.
Despite the incredible injustices which men have suffered in this society, we must never lose the ability to laugh at ourselves. We're all human, and humour reminds us of both our foibles and our shortcomings.