One of the more frustrating things about discussing men’s issues, and lies about men, is that you get constantly asked the same questions over and over again, and challenged for sources. This problem is only increasing as the number of people flocking to the men’s movement looking for answers to questions that have troubled them their whole lives. Furthermore, the amount of misandric misinformation, or solid information that’s been freely available for decades but buried in clouds of academic and government bureaucratic fog, is just huge.
You start trying to educate someone about male victims of domestic violence, and in passing the subject of male victims of sexual assault comes up, and you don’t have any handy references to work with or to give the genuinely curious a starting point.
Maybe you yourself know a lot already about one area, for example the huge male suicide rate, but then someone asks you a question about domestic violence and you haven’t got a clue where to begin.
Indeed, even if you’re thoroughly educated on all men’s issues (and who is?) can you always remember off the top of your head where references are if people challenge you? I can tell you that I know men are at least as likely as women to experience sexual assault (if not more likely) but I know if I get asked about this I have to dig through the archives here on AVfM and other places just to find it if someone says “bullshit, prove it!”
Creating your own list of references and resources is daunting enough, publishing one and keeping it up to date is even more daunting and can fall by the wayside if other things in your life take over. So what’s the solution? What men have always done better: collaborate to build something great, and collaborate to maintain it.
It is thus with some pride that I announce a project I’ve been wanting to create for more than a year now: the Men’s Rights Reference Wiki, a collaborative effort between AVfM and The Nice Guy forum.
How do you use a wiki? Well the wonderful think about it is you only have to learn whatever interests you. You can edit any page to add or correct information. Not good at grammar or spelling? Who cares? Put up what you know to be true and someone else who’s better at that can come in behind you and sort out the grammar. Have some references that are useful but don’t know how to format them correctly? That’s fine, if you haven’t the time to learn, put them up in whatever format you have and someone else will help with the formatting. It is the ultimate collaboration tool, all you need is a free account and a willingness to contribute. If you still don’t get it, go sign up for an account and start playing with it.
If you think it’s too simple to work the way it seems, you’re mistaken. Yes, it really is that simple to edit any page that anyone else has worked on. There are even pages to discuss with others what should and should not go on a page.
The purpose of the AVfM Reference Wiki, it should be said, is purely for providing solid references and useful data. It is not for editorializing, ranting, recommending services, or even for advice. It is there to provide that thing that most men love best: cold, hard fact, information you can use and share and tell others about, and point them to if they have questions.
There’s not much in that wiki now, but that’s the other beauty of a wiki: the more people add, the bigger it grows, and all it does is grow and grow and grow with time. Right now there’s only a little there. So did you want to see more? Well what are you waiting for, go check out and add information to our wiki. This is a community endeavor to help us sort the bullshit from the reality, to help sort out what we know to be true from what we think to be true from what may be true and what may not be true.
Much thanks to those who made creation of this possible. Now get out there and help us turn this into a resource all men’s advocates, and the world in general, can use. If you ever wanted to do something to help the movement but weren’t sure what, here’s a new way you can do more than just bitch. Go check it out!
*Update*: For anyone wondering, our main Wiki admin is Strix, who absolutely knows what he’s doing and did huge work setting this up. Thank you Strix!
