Through Jon Krakauer's book, “Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town” and the article by Mariah Blake “Mad Men: Inside the Men's Men's Rights Movement and the Army of Misogynists and Trolls It Spawned,” we get to see the worst of the men's rights movement and understand why feminism is still needed. Although Krakauer's books are not specific to men's rights or feminism, they provide compelling evidence of why feminism is necessary and why most men's rights activists are not really fighting for men's rights, but fighting to take away progress from women's rights. Meanwhile, Blake's article showcases the original good intentions of the male activism movement that morphed into the violent, sexist movement it is today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The men's rights movement was essentially spawned by the feminist movement, with Warren Farrell, a former feminist advocate and friend of Gloria Steinem. “Farrell argues that women aren't the only ones hindered by sexism: gender roles harm men too, forcing them to take on the financial burden of supporting families and stifling their emotions.” (Blake) Farrell primarily advocates for father's rights. Some of the other issues he is interested in include men who are victims of domestic violence, male emotions and the recognition of fathers' work. However, he also makes some unusual claims, including that the wage gap is false and that false rape accusations are common. These types of claims, while false, also allow rape apologists and potential rapists or abusers to have a platform and think they are legitimate. In fact, false rape accusations are extremely rare; only about 2% of rape reports are false, about the same as any other crime. (Krakauer 122) According to Krakauer, it is also a drastically underreported crime. “Carefully conducted studies consistently indicate that at least 80% of rapes are never reported to law enforcement. An analysis published in 2012 by Kimberly Lonsway, research director at End Violence Against Women International, and Joanna Archambault, former police sergeant in charge of the San Diego Sex Crimes Unit, suggests that only between 5 and 20 percent of forcible rapes in United States States are reported to the police; a paltry 0.4% to 5.4% of rapes are criminally prosecuted, and only 0.2% to 2.8% of forcible rapes culminate in a conviction that includes prison time for the attacker. Here's another way to think about these numbers: When an individual is raped in this country, more than 90% of the time, the rapist gets away with it." (Krakauer 123) It is absolutely despicable how easy it is for rapists to get away with crime, or getting away with such minimal punishment. Furthermore, Farrell argues that women who report rapes are just in the throes of a power rush and think men didn't ask "correctly." “And thanks to feminism, she argued, when women felt abused they could now more easily prosecute accusations of sexual harassment or rape, a very popular concept among men's rights activists today "No one taught men to report thewomen for sexual trauma for saying 'yes,' then 'no,' then 'yes,'" Farrell said. “Men were left with less than one option. They were still expected to start, but now, they were doing it badly , they could have gone to prison.'” (Blake) Krakauer's statistics show that very few women report sexual harassment and rape when they happen, and also that very few reports are false, thus contradicting most of what Farrell said. I find that disturbing someone as seemingly well-intentioned and honorable as Farrell could even suggest that The men's rights activists in Blake's article wanted to help men, one thing they should do is help men who are victims of rape and sexual assault. Men don't get raped as often as women, but they are still traumatized by it and often do not report it or even seek medical or mental help, due to a number of factors, the main one being toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity is the idea that all men should be tough and angry and emotionless, that they shouldn't like “feminine” things, that they should always want sex, that they should always be powerful. This is harmful and false. Men are allowed to feel emotions, say no to sex and have whatever hobbies they want, whether it's a traditional male pastime like football or fixing old cars, or something more feminine like cooking or sewing. . This is what true equality looks like, and it's something feminists fight for. Most of these men's rights activists, however, do not appear to have this attitude. “For some, the 'manosphere' offers a place to air real grievances about issues such as bias in family courts or the sexual abuse faced by men. But it has also spawned a network of activists and sites that take Farrell's ideology in a disturbing direction. “ (Blake) Therefore, these activists lash out at women online. “The founder of A Voice for Men, Paul Elam, who is a friend and protégé of Farrell, has justified violence against women and wrote that some of them “go through life with the equivalent of I AM A STUPID, CONNIVING BITCH . —PLEASE RAPE ME, the neon sign shining above their empty, narcissistic little heads.' Other activists have posted names of women they consider enemies and praised online stalkers, such as 'Gamergate' groups who bombard feminist critics with rape and death threats. or abused. They've even implicated people in cases they weren't even a part of, as seen with Rachel Cassidy. “Publishing personal information to make someone a target of harassment (also known as “doxing”) is a common practice among men's rights activists. In late 2013, someone posted photos of Rachel Cassidy, a 20-year-old college student from Ohio, on the anonymous online forum 4chan, claiming she had made false rape accusations. Nolan, who has made it his mission to "name and shame" women who falsely accuse men, gathered every bit of information he could find on Cassidy and published it in Crimes Against Fathers. Police and university officials have explicitly stated that Cassidy had nothing to do with the rape allegations in question. However, she was inundated with hateful messages and death threats, forcing her to delete all her social media accounts and stop attending classes.” (Blake) Even though Farrell seems reasonable enough most of the time and somewhat respectable, the problem is men like Elam. Yes, Farrell has said he disapproves of these tactics, but he also believes they are necessary. (Blake) They are absolutely not necessary. Certainly not.