"IN DEFENSE OF FATHERS,
FAMILY, AND MANHOOD, Since 1971"
WARNING! This site is politically
incorrect!
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The legitimate men's/fathers’ movement grew from early efforts at divorce reform. Its largest constituency remains in that field. Organized divorce reform began in 1906 when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle founded the Divorce Law Reform Union in England. It is still in existence. Even then, Doyle and others evidently considered women to be more oppressed than men; and in some respects they probably were. In America, organized reform began for men in the 1800s with small groups scattered about. The National Sociological League was perhaps the earliest large organization. In 1931 its Executive Director, Dr. Alexander Dallek, claimed 25,000 members, from every state in the union. They attacked shotgun marriages and unreasonable child support (which in those days actually was child support, not disguised alimony). In 1932 an organization called The Family Protection League lobbied state legislatures. No details of its demise are recorded. In 1960 Reuben Kidd and George Partis formed “Divorce Racket Busters” in Sacramento, California. After coming to national prominence in 1961, the name changed to United States Divorce Reform Inc. (U.S.D.R.). Its Board of Directors was the late Reuben Kidd, George Partis, Jay Burchett, Dr. Winterfield, and John Cooper. By 1963 USDR's active membership roster had grown to 2,000 members. USDR's prime focus was modernization of California state divorce laws by replacing divorce courts with “Family Arbitration Centers.” The effort was entitled the "Sitton-Winterfield Initiative." It never obtained the necessary signatures to qualify on the ballot for the November 1966 elections. Although the concentration on California's laws may have been practical, a “shake-down cruise” to prepare for taking on all states’ laws, non-Californians became restless, and began falling away. Parochial interests developed. Themselves seemingly afflicted with the divorce syndrome, various factions began feuding and broke off to form their own splinter groups. Separate organizations sprung up everywhere. After one lengthy earlier attempt at unifying the movement in the early ΄70s in Elgin, Illinois failed, several other ecumenical-minded activists and I met in Los Angeles in early 1977, first at the home of Professor Amneus, and next day in a conference room at his University. There we formed a new coalition called Men’s Equality Now International, its acronym M.E.N. International. The foundational philosophy recognized the broader aspects of anti-male discrimination. It was to function as a forum of information exchange, with a Board composed of the heads of major organizations. Predictably, rival coalitions formed, some with quite talented people. The drain on membership and talent by ongoing defections and by officers and members dropping out when their individual problems were resolved, as well as an internal palace revolt, caused M.E.N. International to slowly slip into dormancy. Some U.S. coalitions remain active and do good work, but are not large or influential enough to be effective. There remains an obstinate, almost militant refusal of the various elements to cooperate in opposition to external and internal enemies and problems. This old accursed phenomenon does more harm than all the anti-male elements in society combined. One is reminded of the psalm of Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
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