Are Men Marginalized

Moderator:
Dale Forde

Panelists:
Dr Martin Baptiste
Suleiman Bulbulia

As to the question as to whether or not men are marginalized, is the suggestion of this question an imaginary one!  Are men in this society marginalized or not?  To answer this we need to ask the men, since only the one wearing the shoes will be the only one to know how truly tight they are.  A look at the legal and social systems will show the odds stacked heavily against the men, which speaks directly to marginalization.  

Within the legal system, we see some questionable mothers will win custody of the children even in cases where the man is more capable of taking care of them, all because the system of the marginalization of men has now become endemic in our society.  On the other side of the social scale, women tend to have girlfriends on whom they can lay their burdens, while a man may be seen as less than a man by other men if he lets it be known that he is hurting.  From childhood, boys are told they can’t cry if they fall, while no such judgment is placed on the girls!  Where will this marginalization end, when will it end?

Objectives: To identify and acknowledge trauma that men feel from being marginalized, and come to a place of recognizing the dangers to the family and how ending it would benefit the family!

Questions: 

To identify and acknowledge trauma that men feel from being marginalized, and come to a place of recognizing the dangers to the family and how ending it would benefit the family!

• Are men marginalized or not? – if they are, what does it look like on various fronts, where is the evidence?
• Can men be blamed for their own marginalization?
• If men are not marginalized, where did that notion come from in the first place?
• What can men do to end their own marginalization?
• What can society do to help end it?
• What difference will it make if any for the marginalization of men to end?
• How will it help them in their roles as husbands and fathers and leaders?
• Where do we start to end these discrimination against men?