Editorials

Tory MP Gives Speech at J4MB Conference

12 August 2016

By Lois

The Conservative MP for Shipley, Philip Davis, has given a 45-minute speech at an international conference on men’s issues arranged by the anti-feminist political party Justice For Men and Boys (J4MB). In the speech, he said “feminist zealots really do want women to have their cake and eat it,” and that Britain’s justice system was skewed in favour of women and discriminated against men. He claims his appearance at the conference does not mean he supports all of the party’s ideology, or agrees with the other speakers present, which included anti-feminist bloggers who have likened Malala Yousafzai to Osama Bin Laden.

Davis has voted against gender equality reform legislation, and was criticised by Labour MP Jess Phillips for stating that men have difficulty being heard in Parliament. Davies told the conference: “I don’t believe there’s an issue between men and women. The problem is being stirred up by those who can be described as militant feminists and the politically correct males who pander to this nonsense. It seems to me that this has led to an ‘equality but only when it suits’ agenda that applies to women. The drive for women to have so-called equality on all the things that suit the politically correct agenda but not other things that don’t is of increasing concern to me.”

J4MB is run by Mike Buchanan, a former business consultant who, since his retirement at age 52, has launched campaigns such as the Anti-Feminism League and the Campaign for Merit in Business, which actively opposes initiatives intend to improve gender equality within businesses and executive positions. The party issues monthly awards to the most ‘whiny feminist’, ‘toxic feminist’ and ‘lying feminist’, as well as encouraging highly anti-feminist and inflammatory articles from the likes of the aforementioned bloggers.

Speaking as a militant/whiny/toxic/lying feminist myself, I think it is undeniable the danger of allowing men like Davis to pollute Parliament and stand in the way of reform. I find a great deal of what J4MB does frankly disgusting and uncalled for, least of all because it doesn’t do anything to actually support what it claims is its manifesto. They are so busy spouting hate speech about how terrible and out of order feminists are they have forgotten the only remotely justifiable reasons behind their existence: what are they doing for trans men? Male victims of rape and abuse? Gay men? Nothing, because whatever they might claim, the root of their party lies in continuing the oppression of women in business and politics to suit their own needs, and they achieve that by vilifying feminists, who have done more to fight real problems that do affect men then they ever have. Feminists, or many of them at least – I cannot speak for everyone – do not hate men and would happily fight for men’s rights to equality as readily as they would for women’s, but it is also undeniable that women have had much further to come, and indeed have made great progress.

What I also find hugely disappointing is women such as Janet Bloomfield, a supporter of ‘women against feminism’ and the organisations they work for. Blogs exist that consist of women tearing other women down, calling single mothers ‘bona fide idiots’ and victims of sexual assault ‘silly little tramps’ and so, so much worse. It baffles me how women can treat each other like this, when they already face so much brutal opposition from men like Buchanan. It would be hypocritical of me to accuse female anti-feminists of being worse than male anti-feminists, and they aren’t; gender doesn’t really come into it when you’re facing a battle such as the one that exists against this kind of behaviour. But it still saddens me that some women are unable to see their own and each other’s worth to the extent that they will side with the enemy – sexists of all genders. Male and female feminists exist all over the world, and so I suppose it would be natural that the same could be said for those that oppose the movement. Sexism, in all its forms, leaves me at a real loss of understanding. But open, organised sexism and misogyny (because that’s what it is) such as this? It leaves me dumbfounded on a whole other level.

I would like to see some kind of institutional condemning of Davis’s appearance at the conference, but the past has told me it will not happen. I hope nonsense movements like J4MB are never able to wield any real power, as they only get in the way of growth for those of us who truly want equality. However, just this is not enough; the existence of these groups proves how far we still have to come, and some day hopefully will.

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