MENZ Issues September 1996: Volume 1 Issue 3
Book review: Good Will Toward Men by Jack Kammer
All this issue written by Martin Lewis except book review.
Every growth needs YANG to break inertia;
YIN to prevent momentum going too far.
Back in action again!
As you are aware from Chairman David’s letter (31 May 1996) we lost our full time Co-ordinator for a few months due to lack of funds. You will be pleased to know that the Centre’s basic activities, though lower profile, continued. Martin is back at it full time and we are putting some energy into finding funds to keep him!
The Men’s Health Day
The Men’s Festival referred to in that same letter has materialised under the guidance of Mark Rowley and Chris Piper, Men’s Health Group Convenors, as the Men’s Health Day. This is on Saturday Sept 21 at Glenfield Community Centre. Please do your bit by putting up the enclosed poster somewhere prominent and distributing the brochures. (More here if you want them) This will be a stimulating day with the varied programme the team has prepared. What do you think of the logo? I like it more than our one! See you there.
Targets 1997
Our plans and goals for this financial year (July 1, 1996 – June 30, 1997) are being formulated at present. Targets include continuing the regular Public Forums, establishing a monthly discussion group, new Focus Groups on Education Equity, (Any others you would like to take part in?) investigate the interest in an affiliated women’s group.(see the AGM minutes) What else do you want to see your Centre doing?
Education Equity
Our next focus will be another Public Forum tentatively set for Wednesday 23rd, October. The subject will be Education Equity and will address the changes in education which have seen boys become educational dropouts and low achievers. The lack of male influence in education, too few male teachers and the prevailing attitudes in New Zealand Schools with regard to these trends.
Subscriptions
Don’t forget to pay your 1997 Sub. This promises to be an active year. Your Subs, Donations and Involvement are all crucial to our success in Promoting a clearer understanding of Manhood.
Book Review:
How the Lace Curtain tried to keep you from learning about:
‘Good Will Toward Men’
by Jack Kammer
St Martin’s Press. NY
a new book expressing women’s opinions about Men.
By any measure, Good Will Toward Men is the kind of book that would be expected to garner a good deal of exposure in the traditional print media:
- it deals in sexual politics and gender issues, topics that get more than a little attention in the media.
- there has never been another book that interviewed women who can appreciate and articulate a pro-male perspective on sexual politics.
- it includes a former president of NOW (National Organisation for Women) expressing good will toward men, in and of itself a remarkable and unexpected fact.
- the book had gained strong early praise from an impressive collection of experts and other public figures who deal in gender issues and sexual politics.
- the author and the former president of NOW appeared on NBC’s Today Show on the book’s publication date.
Nevertheless, the book was reviewed in a grand total of zero daily newspapers. Furthermore, the book generated not a single feature story in any major newspaper.
Those facts alone do not provide strong reason to suspect journalistic foul play.
The following facts, however, do:
- the book review editor of a well-respected daily newspaper in a major American city killed a review of Good Will Toward Men because the review was favorable.
- a feature writer for the Baltimore Sun who was hostile and antagonistic in her interview with the author of Good Will Toward Men did the worst thing she could do to hurt the book: she wrote nothing.
These two incidents are known and well documented. Since the book received so little attention we might surmise that other editorial decisions were similarly made.
Extract from "Backlash" magazine
Women of Good Will
A new trend is appearing in feminist writing. Women who feel that the anti-male message of Gender Feminists misrepresents women are writing about it.
The first such book I saw was "Who Stole Feminism" by Dr Christina Hoff Sommers, now we have "Good Will Toward Men", a series of interviews with prominent American women compiled by journalist and men’s activist, Jack Kammer.
This trend is also reflected in some of my personal contacts with women.
During our short existence some have perceived (or for political reasons portrayed) us as some form of anti-woman group. Those who know otherwise, generally support us. Let us formalise this support.
Let’s explore the possibility of establishing an affiliated group (totally independent and autonomous) for women who share our objectives.
