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A Voice for Men

October 22, 2023

A Voice for Men, also known as AVfM, AVFM or AV4M, is a United States-based[1] for-profit limited liability company[2] and online publication founded in 2009 by Paul Elam. A proponent of the men's rights movement, or "Men's Human Rights Activism", it is the largest and most influential men's rights website.[3][4][5][6] Its editorial position is strongly antifeminist and frequently accuses feminists of being misandrist.

A Voice for Men (AVfM)
Formation2009; 14 years ago (2009)
FounderPaul Elam
PurposeMen's issues, anti-feminism
HeadquartersHouston, Texas, U.S.
Region served
International
Publisher
Paul Elam
Websiteavoiceformen.com

About Edit

A Voice for Men hosts radio shows, has a forum and posts articles on its website. It occasionally features groups. AVFM's staff members and contributors are unpaid volunteers with the exception of the founder.[2] The site features an online store, called "The Red Pill Shop" (named for the red pill meme), which sells T-shirts, cell phone covers, and holiday decorations.[2][7] The site also accepts financial donations. Elam says "every dollar goes right in my pocket," but is used to advance the group's cause.[2] According to Dun & Bradstreet's database, as of 2014 AVFM had an estimated $120,000 in yearly revenue and one employee.[2]

In March 2011, AVFM launched a broadcasting franchise on BlogTalkRadio. Paul Elam hosted the first broadcast.[8]

Activities Edit

In early 2011, AVFM created the website Register-Her, a wiki page which initially listed the names, addresses and other personal information of women convicted of murdering or raping men. The registry expanded over time to include women considered by the sites operators to be guilty of "false rape accusations" or "anti-male bigotry".[2][6][9][10][11] Under the motto "Why are these women not in jail?", the site also published personally identifying information of women who participated in protests against the men's rights movement (MRM), mocked the MRM on social media, or who voiced feminist supportive ideas.[6][9][11][12] AVFM founder Paul Elam stated that there would no longer be "any place to hide on the internet" for "lying bitches".[9] The site was closed for a period of time,[12] but later it was back up again at a different web address (at least, until February 18, 2020).[13]

In 2014, AVFM launched a website called White Ribbon, adopting graphics and language from the White Ribbon Campaign, a violence prevention program which was established in 1991.[14][15] AVFM's White Ribbon site was initially established as a response to the White Ribbon Campaign, arguing that women's shelters were "hotbeds of gender hatred" and that "corrupt academics" had conspired to conceal violence against men.[9] The website was harshly criticized by Todd Minerson, Executive Director of White Ribbon, who stated that the AVFM White Ribbon website is a "misguided attempt to discredit others" and urged its supporters "not to be fooled by this copycat campaign".[16]

AVFM individuals assisted in setting up the first International Conference on Men's Issues, which was held in Detroit, Michigan in late June 2014.[17] At the gathering attended by a few hundred men, and a few women,[3] Elam stated that the choice of the city took place since it represents "masculinity".[12] Individuals who gave speeches included Mike Buchanan from the UK's Justice for Men and Boys (J4MB) party and Warren Farrell. Topics discussed included the effect of unemployment on men in the aftermath of the world economic recession, the possibility of developing a male birth control pill, and attempts to increase care for men who had served in the U.S. military.[17]

The 2018 International Conference on Men's Issues (ICMI18), organized in association with the British political party Justice for Men and Boys, was due to have taken place at St Andrew's, the home of Birmingham City Football Club, UK, between July 6 and 8, 2018.[18] However, in early November 2017 the club cancelled the intended use of their facilities saying that they had been "misled at the time of booking". Mike Buchanan, the leader of J4MB, had initially said he still intended for the conference to go ahead at St Andrew's as he felt he had "a perfectly good and legally binding contract".[19] The conference was instead held at the ExCeL, London between July 20 and 22, 2018.[20]

Criticism Edit

AVFM was included in a list of twelve websites in the spring 2012 issue ("The Year in Hate and Extremism") of the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) Intelligence Report in a section called "Misogyny: The Sites".[21] The issue outlined the "manosphere", describing it as "hundreds of websites, blogs and forums dedicated to savaging feminists in particular and women...in general".[21] The report credited some sites as making an attempt at civility and trying "to back their arguments with facts" but condemned almost all of them for being "thick with misogynistic attacks that can be astounding for the guttural hatred they express" and ultimately described them as "women-hating".[21]

A prominent example used of AVFM inciting violence against women was[original research?] the declaration of the month of October as "Bash A Violent Bitch Month", with Paul Elam stating, "A man hitting you back after you have assaulted him does not make you a victim of domestic violence. It makes you a recipient of justice. Deal with it."[22]

Later that year, the SPLC published a statement about the reactions to their report, saying it "provoked a tremendous response among men's rights activists (MRAs) and their sympathizers", and that "[i]t should be mentioned that the SPLC did not label MRAs as members of a hate movement; nor did our article claim that the grievances they air on their websites – false rape accusations, ruinous divorce settlements and the like – are all without merit. But we did call out specific examples of misogyny and the threat, overt or implicit, of violence".[23]

A 2014 statement by the SPLC criticized the International Conference on Men's Issues, particularly finding fault with the citations made that "40% to 50% of rape allegations are false" since the SPLC views that "the best scholarly studies show that between about 2% and 8% of such allegations are actually false— a rate that is comparable for false allegations of most other violent crimes." However, the organization's statement also argued that the AVFM-associated conference was "relatively subdued" given that most of those there worked to keep "vitriol to a minimum" in the discussions. A commentary on the nature of grief for men received praise from the SPLC, but the organization cautioned that the nature of prior material stated by those in AVFM was still a severe problem.[12]

AVFM's rhetoric has been described as misogynistic and hateful by feminist commentators such as Leah McLaren,[24] Jaclyn Friedman,[25] Jill Filipovic,[14] Brad Casey,[26] Clementine Ford,[27] and Mark Potok of the SPLC.[2] Writing in The New York Times, Charles McGrath stated that websites like AVFM contain "a certain amount of anti-feminist hostility, if not outright misogyny".[28] Time has reported on SPLC's "misogynist" description of the group as well as on the movement's official disavowing the concept of misogyny, with Elam cited as stating that being controversial was a way of drawing attention. Journalist Jessica Roy remarked that she found the AVFM conference divided between many individuals making violent threats and laughing openly at jokes about rape, and many individuals seeking to promote socioeconomic and legal changes by polite discussion.[17]

In 2018, the SPLC categorized AVFM as a male supremacist hate group.[29][30]

References Edit

  1. ^ Gheciu, Alex Nino (November 3, 2013). . Chill Magazine. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Serwer, A.; Baker, K.J.M. (February 6, 2015). "How Men's Rights Leader Paul Elam Turned Being A Deadbeat Dad into A Moneymaking Movement". BuzzFeed. Retrieved April 6, 2015. The claim that Elam and his friends are merely trying to have a conversation about the rights of men in modern society is bogus. What it's really about is the defamation of women as a group; that's called misogyny.
  3. ^ a b Rose, Joel (September 2, 2014). "For Men's Rights Groups, Feminism Has Come at the Expense Of Men". NPR. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  4. ^ Shire, Emily (October 25, 2013). "A Short Guide to the Men's Rights Movement". The Week. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  5. ^ Rekai, Mika (August 1, 2013). "Men's rights attracts angry young men". Maclean's. Rogers Digital Media. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Kelly, R. Tod (October 20, 2013). "The Masculine Mystique". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  7. ^ "A Voice For Men LLC". listings.findthecompany.com. FindTheCompany.com. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  8. ^ "An Introduction to the Men's Movement". blogtalkradio.com/avoiceformen. A Voice for Men via BlogTalkRadio. March 2, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d Blake, Mariah (January–February 2015). "Mad Men: Inside the Men's Rights Movement—and the Army of Misogynists and Trolls It Spawned". Mother Jones. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  10. ^ Gheclu, Alex Nino (August 15, 2013). "Controversial men's rights group fundraising for a Centre for Men and Families". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Smith Cross, Jessica (April 5, 2013). . Metronews Canada. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d Potok, Mark (August 20, 2014). "War on Women". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  13. ^ . Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. There is also some more information available at https://wehuntedthemammoth.com/2012/12/17/register-her-is-a-fake-offenders-registry-run-by-misogynists-designed-to-vilify-and-intimidate-women/ ... at least, "as of" Dec 17, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Filipovic, Jill (October 24, 2014). "Why Is an Anti-Feminist Website Impersonating a Domestic Violence Organization?". Cosmopolitan. Hearst Communications. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  15. ^ McDonough, Katie (October 23, 2014). "Men's rights group launches creepy website to co-opt respected anti-violence campaign". Salon. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  16. ^ Jones, Clay (October 23, 2014). . whiteribbon.ca. White Ribbon Campaign. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  17. ^ a b c Roy, Jessica (July 2, 2014). "What I Learned as a Woman at a Men's-Rights Conference". Time. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  18. ^ Staff writer (November 1, 2017). "Questions for Birmingham over links to political party". Football365. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  19. ^ Hussain, Danny (November 2, 2017). "Anti-feminist group BANNED from staging conference at St Andrew's stadium by Birmingham City FC". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  20. ^ Whyte, Lara (July 25, 2018). . openDemocracy. 50.50. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  21. ^ a b c "Misogyny: The Sites". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center (145). Spring 2012.
  22. ^ "Male Supremacy". Southern Poverty Law Center. from the original on June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  23. ^ Goldwag, Arthur (May 15, 2012). "Intelligence Report Article Provokes Fury Among Men's Rights Activists". Southern Poverty Law Center.
  24. ^ Leah McLaren (March 12, 2015). "How men's rights groups are distorting the debate about equality". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 26, 2015. They are actively supported by the U.S. organization A Voice For Men, the very openly misogynist men's rights organization that coined the term "rape farmers" for feminists.
  25. ^ Friedman, Jaclyn (October 24, 2013). "A Look Inside the 'Men's Rights' Movement That Helped Fuel California Alleged Killer Elliot Rodger". Prospect.org. Retrieved April 26, 2015. A Voice For Men makes no excuses for their hatred of women, from posts ranting about women who are 'begging to be raped' to treatises about how fat women want to be sexually violated because it would mean we are desired.
  26. ^ Casey, Brad (April 17, 2013). "We Went to a Men's Rights Lecture in Toronto". Vice. Retrieved May 8, 2015. AVFM is run by a man named Paul Elam and provides a forum for vitriolic hatred against women and feminists.
  27. ^ Ford, Clementine (June 19, 2014). "A lesson for men's rights activists on real oppression". ABC News. from the original on November 1, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2015. Unfortunately, as it's being hosted by A Voice for Men – a motley crew who espouse hatred and fear of women – it promises to be about as useful to the advancement of men's issues as a condom made out of sticky tape.
  28. ^ McGrath, Charles (January 7, 2011). "The Study of Man (or Males)". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  29. ^ "The Year in Hate: Trump buoyed white supremacists in 2017, sparking backlash among black nationalist groups". Southern Poverty Law Center. from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  30. ^ "Male Supremacy Organizations are Now on SPLC's List of Hate Groups". Ms. Magazine. February 26, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2022.

Further reading Edit

  • Sharlet, Jeff (March 2015). "Are You Man Enough for the Men's Rights Movement?". GQ.

External links Edit

  • Official website

October 22, 2023
voice, also, known, avfm, avfm, av4m, united, states, based, profit, limited, liability, company, online, publication, founded, 2009, paul, elam, proponent, rights, movement, human, rights, activism, largest, most, influential, rights, website, editorial, posi. A Voice for Men also known as AVfM AVFM or AV4M is a United States based 1 for profit limited liability company 2 and online publication founded in 2009 by Paul Elam A proponent of the men s rights movement or Men s Human Rights Activism it is the largest and most influential men s rights website 3 4 5 6 Its editorial position is strongly antifeminist and frequently accuses feminists of being misandrist A Voice for Men AVfM Formation2009 14 years ago 2009 FounderPaul ElamPurposeMen s issues anti feminismHeadquartersHouston Texas U S Region servedInternationalPublisherPaul ElamWebsiteavoiceformen com Contents 1 About 2 Activities 3 Criticism 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksAbout EditA Voice for Men hosts radio shows has a forum and posts articles on its website It occasionally features groups AVFM s staff members and contributors are unpaid volunteers with the exception of the founder 2 The site features an online store called The Red Pill Shop named for the red pill meme which sells T shirts cell phone covers and holiday decorations 2 7 The site also accepts financial donations Elam says every dollar goes right in my pocket but is used to advance the group s cause 2 According to Dun amp Bradstreet s database as of 2014 AVFM had an estimated 120 000 in yearly revenue and one employee 2 In March 2011 AVFM launched a broadcasting franchise on BlogTalkRadio Paul Elam hosted the first broadcast 8 Activities EditIn early 2011 AVFM created the website Register Her a wiki page which initially listed the names addresses and other personal information of women convicted of murdering or raping men The registry expanded over time to include women considered by the sites operators to be guilty of false rape accusations or anti male bigotry 2 6 9 10 11 Under the motto Why are these women not in jail the site also published personally identifying information of women who participated in protests against the men s rights movement MRM mocked the MRM on social media or who voiced feminist supportive ideas 6 9 11 12 AVFM founder Paul Elam stated that there would no longer be any place to hide on the internet for lying bitches 9 The site was closed for a period of time 12 but later it was back up again at a different web address at least until February 18 2020 13 In 2014 AVFM launched a website called White Ribbon adopting graphics and language from the White Ribbon Campaign a violence prevention program which was established in 1991 14 15 AVFM s White Ribbon site was initially established as a response to the White Ribbon Campaign arguing that women s shelters were hotbeds of gender hatred and that corrupt academics had conspired to conceal violence against men 9 The website was harshly criticized by Todd Minerson Executive Director of White Ribbon who stated that the AVFM White Ribbon website is a misguided attempt to discredit others and urged its supporters not to be fooled by this copycat campaign 16 AVFM individuals assisted in setting up the first International Conference on Men s Issues which was held in Detroit Michigan in late June 2014 17 At the gathering attended by a few hundred men and a few women 3 Elam stated that the choice of the city took place since it represents masculinity 12 Individuals who gave speeches included Mike Buchanan from the UK s Justice for Men and Boys J4MB party and Warren Farrell Topics discussed included the effect of unemployment on men in the aftermath of the world economic recession the possibility of developing a male birth control pill and attempts to increase care for men who had served in the U S military 17 The 2018 International Conference on Men s Issues ICMI18 organized in association with the British political party Justice for Men and Boys was due to have taken place at St Andrew s the home of Birmingham City Football Club UK between July 6 and 8 2018 18 However in early November 2017 the club cancelled the intended use of their facilities saying that they had been misled at the time of booking Mike Buchanan the leader of J4MB had initially said he still intended for the conference to go ahead at St Andrew s as he felt he had a perfectly good and legally binding contract 19 The conference was instead held at the ExCeL London between July 20 and 22 2018 20 Criticism EditAVFM was included in a list of twelve websites in the spring 2012 issue The Year in Hate and Extremism of the Southern Poverty Law Center s SPLC Intelligence Report in a section called Misogyny The Sites 21 The issue outlined the manosphere describing it as hundreds of websites blogs and forums dedicated to savaging feminists in particular and women in general 21 The report credited some sites as making an attempt at civility and trying to back their arguments with facts but condemned almost all of them for being thick with misogynistic attacks that can be astounding for the guttural hatred they express and ultimately described them as women hating 21 A prominent example used of AVFM inciting violence against women was original research the declaration of the month of October as Bash A Violent Bitch Month with Paul Elam stating A man hitting you back after you have assaulted him does not make you a victim of domestic violence It makes you a recipient of justice Deal with it 22 Later that year the SPLC published a statement about the reactions to their report saying it provoked a tremendous response among men s rights activists MRAs and their sympathizers and that i t should be mentioned that the SPLC did not label MRAs as members of a hate movement nor did our article claim that the grievances they air on their websites false rape accusations ruinous divorce settlements and the like are all without merit But we did call out specific examples of misogyny and the threat overt or implicit of violence 23 A 2014 statement by the SPLC criticized the International Conference on Men s Issues particularly finding fault with the citations made that 40 to 50 of rape allegations are false since the SPLC views that the best scholarly studies show that between about 2 and 8 of such allegations are actually false a rate that is comparable for false allegations of most other violent crimes However the organization s statement also argued that the AVFM associated conference was relatively subdued given that most of those there worked to keep vitriol to a minimum in the discussions A commentary on the nature of grief for men received praise from the SPLC but the organization cautioned that the nature of prior material stated by those in AVFM was still a severe problem 12 AVFM s rhetoric has been described as misogynistic and hateful by feminist commentators such as Leah McLaren 24 Jaclyn Friedman 25 Jill Filipovic 14 Brad Casey 26 Clementine Ford 27 and Mark Potok of the SPLC 2 Writing in The New York Times Charles McGrath stated that websites like AVFM contain a certain amount of anti feminist hostility if not outright misogyny 28 Time has reported on SPLC s misogynist description of the group as well as on the movement s official disavowing the concept of misogyny with Elam cited as stating that being controversial was a way of drawing attention Journalist Jessica Roy remarked that she found the AVFM conference divided between many individuals making violent threats and laughing openly at jokes about rape and many individuals seeking to promote socioeconomic and legal changes by polite discussion 17 In 2018 the SPLC categorized AVFM as a male supremacist hate group 29 30 References Edit Gheciu Alex Nino November 3 2013 Are Men the New Underclass Chill Magazine Archived from the original on December 11 2014 Retrieved December 8 2014 a b c d e f g Serwer A Baker K J M February 6 2015 How Men s Rights Leader Paul Elam Turned Being A Deadbeat Dad into A Moneymaking Movement BuzzFeed Retrieved April 6 2015 The claim that Elam and his friends are merely trying to have a conversation about the rights of men in modern society is bogus What it s really about is the defamation of women as a group that s called misogyny a b Rose Joel September 2 2014 For Men s Rights Groups Feminism Has Come at the Expense Of Men NPR Retrieved April 29 2015 Shire Emily October 25 2013 A Short Guide to the Men s Rights Movement The Week Retrieved December 6 2014 Rekai Mika August 1 2013 Men s rights attracts angry young men Maclean s Rogers Digital Media Retrieved December 6 2014 a b c Kelly R Tod October 20 2013 The Masculine Mystique The Daily Beast Retrieved April 26 2015 A Voice For Men LLC listings findthecompany com FindTheCompany com Retrieved April 6 2015 An Introduction to the Men s Movement blogtalkradio com avoiceformen A Voice for Men via BlogTalkRadio March 2 2011 Retrieved December 6 2014 a b c d Blake Mariah January February 2015 Mad Men Inside the Men s Rights Movement and the Army of Misogynists and Trolls It Spawned Mother Jones Retrieved April 6 2015 Gheclu Alex Nino August 15 2013 Controversial men s rights group fundraising for a Centre for Men and Families Toronto Star Retrieved April 26 2015 a b Smith Cross Jessica April 5 2013 Men s issues or misogyny Controversial men s group to discuss women s studies Metronews Canada Archived from the original on November 29 2014 Retrieved April 26 2015 a b c d Potok Mark August 20 2014 War on Women Intelligence Report Southern Poverty Law Center Retrieved August 11 2015 Register Her dot net web site Archived from the original on February 18 2020 There is also some more information available at https wehuntedthemammoth com 2012 12 17 register her is a fake offenders registry run by misogynists designed to vilify and intimidate women at least as of Dec 17 2012 a b Filipovic Jill October 24 2014 Why Is an Anti Feminist Website Impersonating a Domestic Violence Organization Cosmopolitan Hearst Communications Retrieved December 6 2014 McDonough Katie October 23 2014 Men s rights group launches creepy website to co opt respected anti violence campaign Salon Retrieved April 26 2015 Jones Clay October 23 2014 White Ribbon Copycat Statement whiteribbon ca White Ribbon Campaign Archived from the original on October 26 2014 Retrieved October 28 2014 a b c Roy Jessica July 2 2014 What I Learned as a Woman at a Men s Rights Conference Time Retrieved April 22 2015 Staff writer November 1 2017 Questions for Birmingham over links to political party Football365 Retrieved November 2 2017 Hussain Danny November 2 2017 Anti feminist group BANNED from staging conference at St Andrew s stadium by Birmingham City FC Birmingham Mail Retrieved November 2 2017 Whyte Lara July 25 2018 Young men should be furious inside the world s largest gathering of men s rights activists openDemocracy 50 50 Archived from the original on July 26 2018 Retrieved July 25 2018 a b c Misogyny The Sites Intelligence Report Southern Poverty Law Center 145 Spring 2012 Male Supremacy Southern Poverty Law Center Archived from the original on June 7 2018 Retrieved June 8 2018 Goldwag Arthur May 15 2012 Intelligence Report Article Provokes Fury Among Men s Rights Activists Southern Poverty Law Center Leah McLaren March 12 2015 How men s rights groups are distorting the debate about equality The Globe and Mail Retrieved April 26 2015 They are actively supported by the U S organization A Voice For Men the very openly misogynist men s rights organization that coined the term rape farmers for feminists Friedman Jaclyn October 24 2013 A Look Inside the Men s Rights Movement That Helped Fuel California Alleged Killer Elliot Rodger Prospect org Retrieved April 26 2015 A Voice For Men makes no excuses for their hatred of women from posts ranting about women who are begging to be raped to treatises about how fat women want to be sexually violated because it would mean we are desired Casey Brad April 17 2013 We Went to a Men s Rights Lecture in Toronto Vice Retrieved May 8 2015 AVFM is run by a man named Paul Elam and provides a forum for vitriolic hatred against women and feminists Ford Clementine June 19 2014 A lesson for men s rights activists on real oppression ABC News Archived from the original on November 1 2016 Retrieved May 8 2015 Unfortunately as it s being hosted by A Voice for Men a motley crew who espouse hatred and fear of women it promises to be about as useful to the advancement of men s issues as a condom made out of sticky tape McGrath Charles January 7 2011 The Study of Man or Males The New York Times Retrieved May 8 2015 The Year in Hate Trump buoyed white supremacists in 2017 sparking backlash among black nationalist groups Southern Poverty Law Center Archived from the original on February 21 2018 Retrieved February 21 2018 Male Supremacy Organizations are Now on SPLC s List of Hate Groups Ms Magazine February 26 2018 Retrieved July 2 2022 Further reading EditSharlet Jeff March 2015 Are You Man Enough for the Men s Rights Movement GQ External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Voice for Men amp oldid 1167470508, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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