Sex discrimination at London School of Economics

Tom Martin is making headlines around the world for bringing a £50,000 sex discrimination lawsuit against the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE), claiming its gender studies Masters programme he enrolled on consistently promotes biassed, female victim-hood stories, blaming men, in order to justify ignoring male equality debates like those brought by the fathers' rights movement.

Tom discusses his case on A Voice for Men radio, and appears in an explosive new youtube video, asking LSE students if discrimination against men in a gender studies course is ever justifiable, as the university's defence team now argue. Some LSE students are immediately hostile on camera, one declaring “There's no discrimination against men!” - her outburst juxtaposed by a fast-scrolling 160 item A to Z list of discrimination issues faced by males. Other students agree with Tom's complaint, one quietly admitting “I've been here for three years and never heard or read of a study about equal rights or equal opportunities for men, so definitely, there's a case there.”

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The Feminist Trojan Horse in Family Law

Federal Member for Dawson, George Christensen, attacks the Gillard Labor government's changes to the Family Law Act which will water down provisions giving non-custodial parents (mostly fathers) equal access to their children.

Transcript from Hansard - House of Representatives, Monday 30 May 2011
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr300511.pdf

George Christensen, MP for Dawson, Queensland (Mackay area)

Mr CHRISTENSEN (Dawson) (12:18): In addressing the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011, I have come to understand how the citizens of Troy must have felt when they were greeted with the gift of a giant wooden horse, because this bill is not what it appears. It is a Trojan horse. Just like the giant wooden horse, full of Greek warriors, in Greek legend and like an insidious computer virus, full of malicious code, this Trojan bill is loaded with consequences that will undermine some of the most basic human rights for both parents and children, and particularly fathers.

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Feminist Myths and Magic Medicine (Catherine Hakim)

Equal opportunity policies, in regards to women’s access to the labour market in the UK, have been successful. Despite this, many politicians and feminists appear disappointed with the slow pace of change in women’s attainment of top jobs. Sex differences are treated as self- evident proof of widespread sex discrimination and sex-role stereotyping rather than the result of personal choices and preferences. Thus, calls to smash the glass ceiling, to eliminate the pay gap and to end sex differentials are regularly heard in Parliament and from supranational organisations, academia and the media. But these demands for further change rest on faulty assumptions and outdated or partial evidence. For the latest academic research and cross-national comparative studies show that most of the theories and ideas built up around gender equality in the last few decades are wrong. Despite feminist claims, the truth is that most men and women have different career aspirations and priorities. Men and women often have different life-goals and policy makers should therefore not expect the same job outcomes.

What women really want (UK)

Rarely do social theorists cause a public furore outside their ivory towers -- except for Catherine Hakim, feminist foe and author of such provocative works as Mummy, I Want to be a Housewife. Last year, in Erotic Capital, she claimed that women's looks, sexuality and charm should be as highly valued as assets usually held in higher regard, such as brains - and she cited prostitutes, model Katie Price, wives and girlfriends of sportsmen, princess Diana and Madonna. Now she has done it again. Hakim argues, in a new paper called Feminist Myths and Magic Medicine, that women still want to "marry up": to marry men who are richer and cleverer than them. She says "most of the theories and ideas built up around gender equality in the past few decades are wrong" and that "despite feminist claims, the truth is that most men and women have different career aspirations and priorities".

Julian Assange, Feminism, and Rape (USA)

One unexpected consequence of the WikiLeaks saga has been to turn the spotlight on the debate over rape, sex, and consent. Julian Assange, journalism's misbegotten enfant terrible, has been hounded by accusations of sex crimes after he vaulted to fame by releasing leaked classified documents on the Internet. The charges were dismissed but then reinstated; Assange was arrested in London earlier this month and was released on bail last week while he fights extradition to Sweden. The nature of these charges has revived questions about where the law should draw the line between bad behavior and criminal acts, and whether the feminist rethinking of rape has made it easy for any man to be targeted.