Miscellaneous links about men. Links are here either because I haven't gotten around to writing about them or because they're duplicated elsewhere and it's good to collect them all in one place.
In general, I hate links pages on other sites because they're often nothing more than URLs. I'll do my best to explain what I like or dislike about each link here, so that you don't have to visit each one just to find out what it's about.
Personal Favourites
Lou Owen has written only a couple of things for MenWeb magazine, but I love what he wrote. My favourite item is a list of short statements that describe men; not the sarcastic or self-deprecating descriptions that you'll see elsewhere, but a real list of the good things that men stand for. If I could be half of the things on this list I'd feel proud instead of angry. [I found out later on, from The Men's Center that Lou didn't write this... he found it and passed it on. Nonetheless, this shows exceptionally good taste.]
The other thing that Lou wrote for MenWeb is advice on what to do when the women at work start man-bashing. This is fantastic advice: it's calm, even-handed and intelligent. It tells you how to cool the situation off without getting yourself in trouble, and it tells you when to back off and not try to fix things. One day I hope to be as cool-headed and intelligent as Lou. In the meantime, I'll just rant here. [Later, again, I've discovered this same piece on Per's MANifesto, August 1997. Perhaps Lou didn't write this, either, or Lou was a contributor to Per's newsletter.]
Large Sites — Web Zines, Essays, Lots of Original Writing
One of the sad things about men's zines on the Web is that they seem to publish for a year or two and then die. Many of the zines listed below say on their banner pages, "a monthly men's magazine," or "a quarterly men's rights publication," and then you see that the last issue was two and a half years ago. Nonetheless, much of this stuff doesn't age, so it's still worth a read.
MenWeb is a huge repository of articles, reviews, stories, advice, poems, and interviews about "men's issues." While much of it tends toward the mythopoetic, "I'm-so-sorry-for-being-male" pro-feminist side of the movement, which I despise, there is also more political, anti-feminist stuff and just plain good stories by ordinary men about their lives. Something for everyone. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have been updated in a few years, but kudos to whoever is paying to keep the site up. It's well worth visiting.
The Backlash is a much more political site maintained by Rod van Mechelen. If you've never heard of it, you should pay it a visit. MenWeb tips its hat to The Backlash, naming it as the "other major men's Web magazine" but lamenting the fact that it's so political. Mr. van Mechelen sometimes spins off on personal rants, but by and large it's a site filled with well-presented men's issues material of the anti-feminist sort. You could spend days in the links section alone checking out other sites. Unlike MenWeb, The Backlash is updated on a regular basis.
NiceGuy's Women Suck! pages are the ongoing work of a Nice Guy who is fed up with women and their games. His site makes great reading precisely because he doesn't edit his experiences to make himself look perfect. Loads of honest, quality writing from an intelligent man. Highly recommended.
Per's MANifesto was a Web zine that appeared to have published its last issue in March of 1998. Nonetheless, the articles were well written, with a sense of humour (one that feminists probably won't appreciate) and covered the news of the time quite closely. A lot of material and well worth the read. The version linked to here is rescued content from the original site, now 404.
Gender War, Sexuality, and Love is the monumental work of John Galt, aka "zenpriest". When I started this site I envisioned something like what he has created. However, I have a feeling that I haven't the time, the energy, or the intelligence to write so much so well, so I'll have to be satisfied linking to it.
Balance Magazine bills itself as an "inclusive vision of gender equality." Its last issue was published in spring of 1998.
Manhood Online (mentioned elsewhere) out of Australia has a very professional looking site with a lot to explore and an excellent forum.
The Men's Center is providing me with Web space, and although it's still small it appears to be a growing concern. It's also being updated monthly, which is more than happens to a lot of other men's sites, including mine.
Everyman is billed as a "bi-monthly journal," but it hasn't changed in the year I've been popping back for a look. Still, there is some worthwhile reading, and it's Canadian, to boot.
MenMedia is out of the U.K. and has extensive essays and news about what's going on in Europe, as well as general criticism and smashing of feminist myths. They date their articles, too, which is refreshing.
Manorama, also of the U.K., has a sharp, sarcastic wit, but also good writing and interesting news about what's happening in England.
Meeting Places and Discussion Boards
A good men's discussion board is a rare thing indeed. I've poked about the Usenet and various discussion boards, and very few of them work well. The Usenet's alt.mens.rights is filled with screaming crazies, both feminists and foaming-at-the-mouth masculists who can't tolerate anyone who doesn't slavishly agree with them. If you like rough-and-tumble debate, that's the place for you. At the other extreme was a forum I was involved in for a couple of years that, although it was supposed to be a "men's place" had been invaded by women (not bad) and as a result "men's issues" were rarely discussed (not good). Occasionally when someone brought up a "men's issue," male viewpoints were drowned out by women saying how their life issues were more important, something that seems widespread on such boards. So, a good men's board is a treasure.
The Men's Center (mentioned elsewhere) has a discussion forum that just started out as of March 2000. From the main page click on "Community" and then "Forums".
The Equalitarian Discussion Board is an offshoot of The Backlash! by Rod van Mechelen. It was started only recently (January 2000) but because of the popularity and longevity of The Backlash! the board is doing well by men's rights standards.
I used to be a huge fan of Manhood Online's forum out of Australia, but the latest version is problematic for people with dial-up lines. The original version of the forum software was simple and very fast; the new version (now a couple of years old) is slick but exceptionally slow. Kudos to the person who rescued the forums from oblivion, but I find the new implementation unusable. Pity.
On-Line Books
I prefer not to link to the kinds of books you can buy from Amazon. There are lots of sites out there with bibliographies; I'll let them do the linking. Besides, there's nothing more depressing than reading about some fantastic, subversive book written from a man's point of view, only to find that the most you can get on the Internet is a place to insert your credit card number.
Jack Kammer has written several books on men's issues. His latest, called "If Men Have All The Power, How Come Women Make All The Rules?" is free to download off the Web. All Jack wants in return is your comments on the book. Overall I think that the book is an excellent crash course in the issues surrounding men's rights. Although it doesn't go into the same depth as other books (in particular Warren Farrell's books), Jack's book covers the field in a series of brief statements. A good introduction.
