Pru Goward, the Australian federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, presented a paper last night reflecting on the "men's movement" and, from what I can gather from the edited extract in The Age is dumping on it as a group of men who are potentially

"driven by anger and sadness for what has been lost, rather than hunger for a better future".

To paraphrase, that the men's movement is about returning to "the good old days" where women were subservient and men ruled the world. I think she has missed the point completely, although there are undoubtedly men's groups around that fall into that category.

The reality was that "the good old days" were not that great for men either. On the surface they had power but as Henry Thureaux succinctly put it over one hundred years ago

Most men live lives of quiet desparation

The men's movement has nothing to do with women, or with returning to "the good old days". In Australia and, from what I can gather, Canada, USA and England, the men's movement is about helping men free themselves from the destructive expectations that society puts on them.

The enlightened young men that Pru Goward refers to in her article are, sadly, still the minority. Australian men are still ultimately expected to be the breadwinners in the household. They are still taught that it is a sign of weakness to cry, or show any emotions except "happy" and "angry". They still believe that it is a sign of weakness to visit a doctor or take the medication that is prescribed if you do. Their health is still largely ignored by medical research and any funding of such is limited at best. None of this has anything to do with women, except in enlisting their support as mothers and wives to assist in important social change.

The men's movement is not interested in turning back the clock, nor is it interested subjugating women. It is solely concerned with the psychological and physiological well-being of men. Pru Goward may like to turn her attention to discriminations that exist against men in our society because they do exist, particularly in the area of health.