THARUNKA interviews Ian Wilson from the Australian Men's Party
Q: Why is there a need of the AMP?
As an eight year old boy (in 1963) I could clearly see that both men and women were suffering because of society's strict adherence to gender roles. I thought to myself, "Surely, I'm not the only one who can see this". With the optimism of an eight year old, I automatically assumed that my generation would figure out how much both men and women suffered because of gender stereotypes.
Then came the modern feminist movement, with its belief that women where the only ones who suffered significant discrimination because of their gender. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Blind Freddy could see that gender roles where just as restrictive and just as destructive for men. Why couldn't everyone else see it as well.
After four decades of living through this nightmare, I've finally figured why we as a society so easily recognised discrimination against women and ignore or trivialized comparable discrimination against men.
The only rational explaination I could come up with that most people were trained from birth to see through their mother's eyes. To see her fears, her worries, her concerns and her pain. Most people were NOT trained to see their father's fears, worries, conerns or pain. Our collective tunnel vision comes from women's dominant role in the rearing of children.
It become plain to me that this blindness to men's suffering had deep root's in our basic "humanity". It was built on the biological imperitive that all our energies were to be directed to survival of the next generation - women were expeceted to be nurturers and adorners, while men where expecetd to be the protectors and providers - all for the purpose of making sure that the children came first.
The problem with this rational for running society is that the need to organize along these lines has long since past.
In the 20th century we learned to question the negative effects of women's role of nurturer and adorner but not such attempt has been made to question the negative effects of men's role as protector and provider.
In fact the very nature of what society (in the name of survival) required of men as protectors and providers, works against men's voices being heard and amplifies women's voices. Society requires that men :
* regard their lives as more expendable than those they protect
* surpress all forms of emotion other than "controlled" anger in life threatening siuations
* stand on their own and not ask others for help
* accept the fact that society sees their suffering as secondary to those whom they are supposed to protect
* accept the fact that they will not be taken seriously if they complain about their physical and emotional needs
* derive their value and self-worth from what they do rather than who they are
The aim of the AMP is to end this incredible injustice.
Q: What issues concern specifically men in Australian Politics?
The AMP party policies are based on MASCULIST principles. The main areas of concern are:
i) To value men's lives as much as we value women's:
A. Men's health
Showing as much concern for the value of men's health as we we do for women's health. AMP demands parity in health funding for men's and women's health issues.
B. Violence against men
The AMP recognizes that both sexes suffer inordinate amounts of violence. However, the AMP also recognizes that men are the main victims of this violence. Help for victims of violence should be based in proportion to those who actually suffer violence, not society's prejudices as to who is most "vunerable".
C. Military service
Women would be asked to bear comparable responsibilty to men in all areas of defence, including combat. The AMP will no longer accept the assumption that men's lives are any less valuable than women's when it comes to serving in combat roles.
D. Industrial Deaths and Injuries
The AMP recognizes that 94 % of all those killed and injured in industrial accidents are men. This is a cost that (mostly) men must bear to nuture their families and as such industrial safety should be given as much attention and concern as we give to maternal safety before and after birth.
ii) To give men sexual and reproductive rights comparable to those of women.
A. Reproductive Rights
Men have no reproductive rights just reproductive responsibilities. Men are human beings who must have full control over their own reproduction.
The AMP will recognise and codify men's reproductive rights into law.
The AMP will increase spending on research into male contraception to match the efforts put into research on female contraception.
If after 10 years, male reproductive rights continue to be completely ignored, we will sponsor research into the development of an artificial womb - in order to end the tyranny of women's absolute control over reproduction.
Men will no longer be treated as cheque book and sperm doner.
B. Valuing male sexuality.
The hetrosexual act is widely portrayed as something that men do to women rather than an act of mutual gratification between two consenting adults.
The AMP recognises that BOTH men and women constantly cheapen and devalued male sexuality.
Men are considered to be sexual preditors covered with a thin veneer of civilization. As a consequence teenage boys as young as 11 or 12 are considered "lucky" if they are raped by middle-aged women.
iii) Family Law
The AMP supports presumptive joint-physical custody following divorce.
It believes that a child has right to see both of its parents following divorce.
The AMP believes that the family court should not treat fathers as second class parents. It oppose the current policy which assumes that the best interests of the child are the same as the best interests of the mother.
The AMP recognises that many men are excluded from child rearing by their spouses. Men's involvement with their children should not be determined by their spouses.
The AMP supports paid paternity leave for fathers in line with the maternity leave given to mothers.
The AMP will make sure that pre-nuptial agreements are given full legal force in deciding the conditions for separation and divorce.
iv) Boys Education
The AMP recognize that boys education is in state of crisis with boys falling further behind girls in almost every area of education.
The AMP recognizes that the poor educational outcomes for boys, particularly in literacy, have been a long standing problem that has gone unrecognised for many decades.
The AMP beleives that policies need to be adopted to encourage men into careers as daycare workers, and pre-school, primary school and secondary school teachers.
iv) Gender Equity in the Justice System
Men are much more likely to receive a jail term than women when they comit similiar crimes. This is true even if correction is made for past crimininal history, crime type, severity of crime, and whether or not the defendenat is held in pre-trial detention. Women are much more likely than men to receive mitigated or remedial sentencing options such suspended sentences or parole.
The AMP will fight to end gender discrimination against men in sentencing in Australian Courts.
What do you think of the influence of feminist thought in Australian Society?
Any philosophy that proudly ignores the suffering of half of humanity is evil!
Feminism has taken deeply held prejudice against men and women and amplified them a thousand fold, all in the name of so called "gender equality". In reality this movement has set back true gender-equality by hundreds of years.
First-wave feminism blamed all women's problems on men
Second-wave feminism blamed all the world's problems on men
Third-wave feminism blamed all men's problems on men
The truth is that both men and women have a role in how we peceive the male and female gender roles. Neither sex is fully to blame for the terrible state we are in and both sexes have the responsibility to change our perceptions of what it means to be a woman or a man. The most destructive path to choose is one where we blame the other sex for all our problems.
Do you think we are building a truly equitable society?
NO - NOT until: men have equal rights and responsibilities with women and women have equal rights and responsibilities with men
Why are men not vocal in their affairs like women are?
When a women gets up and complains we are conditioned to listen... particulary if it involves any form of danger or inconvenience to women.
When a man gets up and complains we are conditioned to ignore him - it was a matter of survival - our society could not afford to listen to men complaining - particularly if it concerned men's fears or safety.
How often have you heard:
"Thank God it was a women who stood up and complained on behalf of men....."
It only when a women speaks on behalf of men that men's concerns are given any validity.
Q: What are the difficulties facing a "men's movement"?
They are too numerous to list here in such a short interview.
Suffice it to say that they are substantial because we are fighting a well established elite that is well entrenched in power. This elite is smuggly confident about its belief in its own dogma and its bigotry and prejudices are open and unchallenged.
It will take generations to undo the incredible damage done by the current power elite upon the average man and woman. These people are so sure that they are at the vanguard of "enlightened thought" that they haven't even begun to question their own ideas and belief ?
Q: What responses have you got from the public regarding your policies?
None - the public does not know we exist - nor at this point do they care.
Q: Why do you think that there are so many men who don't even acknowledge
these issues?
Collectively, men are conditioned just like women to see the world through their mothers eyes. They are (collectively) fearful to talk back to women because this is tantamount to talking back to their mothers.
It is far easier to acquiese to women's demands than to confront women. If a man has the audacity to confront women he is isolated and ostrasized by society. The full force of the alpha males (=state) is brought into force to silence him. And if he refuses to be silenced he is crushed.
Little wonder their are few men who willing to stand up for men.
Silence has it rewards - even if they are only freedom from punishment.
Ian Wilson July 2001