International Conference on Men's Issues (2016)

Good news, the $3,000 target for Steve Brule’s crowdfunder has been met, we look forward to seeing him at the conference, and watching his video footage later. Our thanks to all the J4MB supporters who helped Steve meet his target.

One more push will enable the talented Canadian videographer Steve Brule – the producer of Fiamengo Files – to join us at the conference, and take some great footage. Please donate what you can here. Thank you.

The $3,000 crowdfunder for Steve Brule, an important Canadian videographer, to attend the London conference, has passed $2,000 – just $990 more is now required. My thanks to J4MB followers whose names I see in the list of contributors, and those who tell me they’ve donated anonymously.

I urge you to donate what you can afford towards the appeal. Thank you for your support.

In preparation for Tim Hammond’s conference presentation of findings from the Global Survey of Circumcision Harm, he has strongly urged conference attendees to first watch his documentary Whose Body, Whose Rights? Anyone who has wondered why MGM is such an important campaigning issue for J4MB and AVfM will find some of the answers in the documentary.

According to Hammond:

There is an astounding amount of myth and misunderstanding about this complex social, medical and religious issue, whether you come from a circumcising or a non-circumcising society. It would be immensely helpful to attendees to come to the conference with a basic understanding of the unique anatomy and important functions of the male foreskin, as well as the anti-sexual history and scope of male genital cutting customs.

The acclaimed documentary explores the history of male genital cutting (both in the West and in Judaism), debunks historical and contemporary medical claims, gives a voice to men harmed by the custom, and introduces viewers to the concept of foreskin restoration. It also sheds light on the legal and human rights questions, explores common ground with female genital cutting, and reveals what’s being done to protect vulnerable children from this anachronistic practice.

Hammond asserts that this background knowledge will enrich the experience of conference attendees as he presents his survey findings about long-term adverse physical, sexual, psychological and self-esteem consequences of infant male circumcision upon the health and wellbeing of boys and the men they become.

The documentary is available in two parts on YouTube. The first part, which automatically leads into Part 2, can be accessed here. The total documentary duration is 55:16.

Steve Brule is a talented videographer, and the producer of the groundbreaking Fiamengo File series. He’d surely be a significant contributor to the visual record of the conference, and his appeal for funding (video, 3:05) is here. The funding website is here, and $740 has already been raised towards the $3,000 target. We’ve provisionally set aside a ticket for Steve, in the hope and expectation the target will be met.

Please give generously, to help bring Steve to London. Thank you.

The list of highly regarded journalists who will be attending the conference continues to grow.

I’m pleased to report – with his permission – that Marco Visscher, a Dutch freelance writer and editor, based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, will be carrying out some interviews during the conference.

He writes for leading weeklies in both the Netherlands and Belgium (such as Vrij Nederland, Knack and Humo) and for the weekend supplement of one of the leading newspapers, Trouw. A page on his website (in English) about himself is here. In his online archive, you’ll see that already this year, he’s had interviews published with both Christina Hoff Sommers and Camille Paglia. Click on the tab near the top of the page for a translation into English.

Marco has been commissioned by Knack magazine to write a feature article about the conference, and the men’s rights movement in general.

In the course of the conference there will be a number of book signings, currently scheduled for 17:30 on Saturday, 9 July. The following writers and books have been confirmed:

Erin Pizzey – This Way to the Revolution: A Memoir

Paul Elam – Say Goodbye to Crazy: How to Get Rid of His Crazy Ex and Restore Sanity to Your Life (co-authored with Dr Tara J Palmatier)

Peter Lloyd – Stand by Your Manhood: A Game-changer for Modern Men

Herbert Purdy – Their Angry Creed: Feminism Exposed

Janet Bloomfield (JudgyBitch) – FeminISN’T

JJ Sharpe – Confessions of a Crouch End Pram Pusher

Mike Buchanan:

The Marriage Delusion: the fraud of the rings? (hardback, numbered copies from the first edition of 500 copies).

The Fraud of the Rings (paperback edition of the above)

Feminism: The Ugly Truth

A decision has been taken to cancel the press conference that had been scheduled for the first morning of the conference. A number of media representatives will be present throughout the conference, and we expect they will give an objective account of the proceedings.

The current position on media representatives is here.

There will be a book signing session at the London conference, and among those signing copies of their books will be:

• Erin Pizzey
• Paul Elam
• Peter Lloyd
• Herbert Purdy
• myself

Janet Bloomfield (JudgyBitch) will be signing a limited number of copies of her book FeminISN’T, a 252-page collection from her blog pieces, a steal at just £6.00 – a discount on the current Amazon UK price of £6.14 (and you’ll save the Amazon £2.99 p&p charge too).

Some good news. Jack Hadfield, a student at the University of Warwick, will be reporting on the conference for Breitbart News. His qualifications for doing so could scarcely be better, as he’s following in the footsteps of George Lawlor, another student at his university, as he explained in a Breitbart piece last October – here. A selection of Jack’s Breitbart pieces is here.