[Wamvan] Thoughts on Men's Rights Activists (MRAs) in Vancouver/Canada?

jana g janagee at gmail.com
Mon Nov 26 21:16:23 PST 2012 

jana juniper here ... with an additional bit of info regarding 'mens
rights' ... recently i did an interview with Karen McAndless in
Vancouver about VAW - violence against women ... she spoke about what
is happening in BC around 'father's rights' and how it is affecting
women and children / families at home and in BC's courtrooms.

Here is a link to the McAndless interview:
http://previous.ncra.ca/exchange/dspProgramDetail.cfm?programID=130006

and their website is 'whenlovehurts.ca' for a bunch of information on
what abuse looks like ...

and, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against
Women is being recognized in
Vancouver this Saturday, December 1st from 10 am to 6 pm at the
Vancouver Public Library on W.
Georgia ... there will be lectures, film festival, art exhibition and
roundtable discussions ... a lot
going on - 604-872-8212 for more info on upcoming day of remembrance ...

I thought this info was relevant to the current WAM thread and figured
it would be welcomed in the mix.

in solidarity

On 11/25/12, Jarrah <jarrahhodge at gmail.com> wrote:
> Definitely! I'd suggest Thursday night the 20th or Saturday the 22nd
> daytime. If that works for folks I could start trying to find a place that
> would work.
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 25, 2012 at 9:41 AM, Joanna Chiu <chiu.joanna5 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> If only I could teleport back to Vancouver to cover this story. (I've
>> been
>> in Hong Kong on a one-year contract position at a newspaper for the past
>> half year.)
>>
>> I'm coming back home for a few weeks starting Dec. 18, though. Can we all
>> please meet up and do something fun? And brainstorm on how to take over
>> the
>> world?
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Nov 25, 2012 at 1:17 PM, Frieda Werden
>> <frieda.werden at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Suzette says the dealership that had the signs was at Hastings and
>>> Knight
>>> (Clark).  It was there for a long time, we saw it just a few weeks ago,
>>> too, but Suzette says she thinks they have taken the signs down.  I was
>>> having fantasies of throwing eggs, but perhaps someone did that or raised
>>> a
>>> constructive objection - or, maybe the old owner sold out?  Or just got
>>> fed
>>> up with the MR movement people.  Or got busted for something.  It would
>>> be
>>> interesting for a journalist to go there and talk to people about why
>>> they
>>> had the signs and why they took them down.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 8:44 PM, Joanna Chiu
>>> <chiu.joanna5 at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey, thanks for all the information. Is this MRA business a recent
>>>> thing
>>>> in Vancouver that started growing this year?
>>>>
>>>> What's been happening at commercial drive & broadway stn, Tami?
>>>>
>>>> I'd like to discuss counter measures as well. If we do a counter poster
>>>> campaign, my worry is they'll just tear down the posters in retaliation
>>>> for
>>>> whoever tore down theirs. And I don't think they're worth the printing
>>>> costs.
>>>>
>>>> Maybe we can make some sort of web poster/infographic to share around
>>>> social media? Or an online petition? What would we want to ask for? An
>>>> end
>>>> to harassment of feminists by MRAs? I don't know, any other ideas? The
>>>> tricky thing is that you don't want to help them get more publicity.
>>>>
>>>> Joanna
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Nov 25, 2012 at 12:28 PM, Frieda Werden
>>>> <frieda.werden at gmail.com
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> There's a car dealership here in town with MRI posters all over it.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 11:33 AM, Tami Starlight <
>>>>> tamistarlight at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Yup
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Been an ongoing issue here and know a few who were challenging their
>>>>>> shit on commercial drive & broadway stn.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sent from my wireless device
>>>>>> *All my relations*
>>>>>> Tami Starlight:Unceded coast Salish territory/Vancouver
>>>>>> tamistarlight at gmail.com
>>>>>> http://facebook.com/Tamistarlight
>>>>>> Tami_starlight (twitter)
>>>>>> Cosmictami (skype)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 2012-11-24, at 8:42 AM, Jarrah <jarrahhodge at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Joanna,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> You or the journalist should really talk to the folks from Feminist
>>>>>> Edmonton. They are directly challenging MRAs through a counter-poster
>>>>>> campaign and online videos. Their videos are here:
>>>>>> http://www.youtube.com/user/FeministEdmonton?feature=watch and they
>>>>>> have a website here: http://feministedmonton.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Men's Rights Edmonton has made videos like this in response:
>>>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcI4VPiJVKM&feature=youtu.be
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I would love to do a counter-poster campaign here if anyone's
>>>>>> interested. The more I hear from some MRAs the more angry I get. They
>>>>>> target my videos endlessly with anti-feminist comments and post their
>>>>>> own
>>>>>> video responses where they don't show their faces. They pull out the
>>>>>> most
>>>>>> ridiculous arguments for why feminism isn't needed and actually hurts
>>>>>> men.
>>>>>> They have an endless repository of quotes from people you and I have
>>>>>> never
>>>>>> heard of who say they're feminists and advocate violence against men.
>>>>>> They
>>>>>> try to bait you into long, fruitless arguments.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In this video the guy actually criticizes Because I am a Girl because
>>>>>> they don't help boys in developing countries (
>>>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f68U4p7Ml8&list=UUj5Ce3ACuCyGCjmrHydbr_Q&index=7&feature=plcp
>>>>>> ).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> They made a video in response to what I thought was a very open post
>>>>>> by one of my contributors saying she wished she could work with MRAs
>>>>>> if
>>>>>> they truly believe in equality. Their video has a picture of a woman
>>>>>> in a
>>>>>> gorilla mask with the title "Feminist Sans Makeup" and they read her
>>>>>> entire
>>>>>> post in a mocking voice and invite commenters to attack her arguments
>>>>>> (
>>>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYMQkSCdELs).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To some extent I get conflicted - I don't want to make videos or
>>>>>> write
>>>>>> long posts directly taking them on. I know it's inviting huge amounts
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> trolling and putting my face/name out there as a target. But I'd love
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> work on some sort of counter postering campaign involving more
>>>>>> people.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> At any rate, I'm happy to talk more on this issue but for an example
>>>>>> of people actively fighting back I would definitely follow up with
>>>>>> some of
>>>>>> the Feminist Edmonton activists. Also interested to hear what other
>>>>>> experience WAM-ers have had in Vancouver.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Jarrah
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 6:45 AM, Joanna Chiu
>>>>>> <chiu.joanna5 at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hey WAM peeps,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> A Men's Rights group recently did some poster campaigns in
>>>>>>> Vancouver.
>>>>>>> http://masculism.ca/blog/vancouver-mra-hits-the-streets/
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> For those who haven't heard about MRA's before, these Urban
>>>>>>> Dictionary definitions are actually quite accurate:
>>>>>>> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mra
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Are there any feminist individuals or groups in Vancouver that are
>>>>>>> actively resisting against them? Would really like to know. I might
>>>>>>> write
>>>>>>> about this for my next Herizons' column, and a journalism student
>>>>>>> from
>>>>>>> Langara asked me if WAM! members had any comments for an article
>>>>>>> she's
>>>>>>> writing on MRA's.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> More info on the posters in Vancouver. Some had been torn down.
>>>>>>> http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/09/10/mens-rights-posters-vancouver_n_1871526.html
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Here are the journalist's questions below but please comment on
>>>>>>> whatever you find pertinent.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Joanna
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 1. Have you encountered/had any experience with the men's rights
>>>>>>> movement?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 2. What is your perception of men's rights activists?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 3. Men's rights activists have many qualms with the feminist
>>>>>>> movement. One thing is, the men's rights movement does not believe
>>>>>>> that,
>>>>>>> historically, the scales of power have been tipped away from women,
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> that society is not a patriarchy. As a feminist, what would your
>>>>>>> response
>>>>>>> to that be?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 4. On issues such as reproductive rights, one of the men's rights
>>>>>>> activists I spoke with said that it was an issue of religious beliefs
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> not a "war on women." Do you agree/disagree? Why?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 5. Have women achieved equal status in society?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 6. Why do you believe feminism is still relevant?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 7. I asked a men's rights activist about the over-sexualization of
>>>>>>> women in the media, the madonna/whore dichotomy, and his thoughts
>>>>>>> were:
>>>>>>> it's not only society's exploitation of female sexuality, but women
>>>>>>> exploiting the sexual power they hold over men. I am curious to hear
>>>>>>> your
>>>>>>> thoughts on this.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 8. What would you say to anyone who views feminism as an attack on
>>>>>>> men's liberties?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 9. Can you point to a point in history, from past to present, when
>>>>>>> women have held more power than men?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 10. Do you think the feminist movement is threatened by the men's
>>>>>>> rights movement?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> ---
>>>>>>>  Joanna Chiu
>>>>>>> www.joannachiu.com <http://www.joannachiu.com%20/>
>>>>>>> twitter.com/joannachiu
>>>>>>> Ph: 5115 8253
>>>>>>> WAM! Vancouver <http://www.wamvancouver.wordpress.com%20/>
>>>>>>> <http://twitter.com/joannachiu>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> Wamvan mailing list
>>>>>>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>>>>>>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> --------------------
>>>>>> Jarrah Hodge
>>>>>> @jarrahpenguin
>>>>>> http://gender-focus.com
>>>>>> *Vote for Gender Focus in the Canadian Blog Awards: *
>>>>>> http://polldaddy.com/poll/6654035/
>>>>>> --------------------
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Wamvan mailing list
>>>>>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>>>>>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Wamvan mailing list
>>>>>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>>>>>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Frieda Werden, Series Producer
>>>>> WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service www.wings.org
>>>>> <http://www.wings.org>
>>>>> https://www.facebook.com/wingsradio
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Wamvan mailing list
>>>>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>>>>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> ---
>>>>  Joanna Chiu
>>>> www.joannachiu.com <http://www.joannachiu.com%20/>
>>>> twitter.com/joannachiu
>>>> Ph: 5115 8253
>>>> WAM! Vancouver <http://www.wamvancouver.wordpress.com%20/>
>>>> <http://twitter.com/joannachiu>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Wamvan mailing list
>>>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>>>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Frieda Werden, Series Producer
>>> WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service www.wings.org
>>> <http://www.wings.org>
>>> https://www.facebook.com/wingsradio
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Wamvan mailing list
>>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ---
>>  Joanna Chiu
>> www.joannachiu.com <http://www.joannachiu.com%20/>
>> twitter.com/joannachiu
>> Ph: 5115 8253
>> WAM! Vancouver <http://www.wamvancouver.wordpress.com%20/>
>> <http://twitter.com/joannachiu>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Wamvan mailing list
>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> --------------------
> Jarrah Hodge
> @jarrahpenguin
> http://gender-focus.com
> *Vote for Gender Focus in the Canadian Blog Awards: *
> http://polldaddy.com/poll/6654035/
> --------------------
>

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