Selling equality?

The Maxim man?

Years ago, one of the big debates of the so-called "fathers' and men's rights movement" orbited around the question of how to sell men's equality.

          Some members of the infamous Gang of Six wanted to produce something like what The Man Show is today. Personally, I found the idea vulgar and argued for a concept similar to what Maxim Magazine is, today. We even snapped some photographs to demonstrate how we could tastefully integrate pictures of naked women with high-brow articles.

          While we argued, business guys did what business guys do, and created businesses. So, today we have The Man Show and Maxim Magazine, which are fine but don't really sell real equality for men. For that, it took the creative genius of Tom Leykis.

          Back when Leykis first began to really focus on men's issues, I took a listen and I didn't like it. He was, in my opinion, vulgar, and his show promoted a vicious view of women I found repugnant.

          What I didn't realize at the time, however, was that he had found a way to reach men and teach them what they needed to know about the feminist war on manhood. It didn't matter that most of his insights originated with George Gilder, Warren Farrell, Fred Hayward, Cathy Young, Mel Feit, Tom Williamson, Christina Hoff-Sommers, or any of the other feminist-critics and pro-equality advocates, including me, the fact is he found a way to get people to listen.

          A few months ago, I began to give Tom's show another listen, and whether because my own sensibilities or his show have mellowed, or both, I enjoy and recommend it.

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