By the National Coalition For Men (NCFM)
This article responds to NCFM Member Sean Kullman’s piece Does the Democratic Party Demonize Males and Masculinity”.
NCFM has never endorsed and does not endorse any political party.
Because Kullman focused on Democrat behavior, we offer this companion article to balance the discussion by examining how Republican policies and rhetoric also harm men and boys. We use the term feminaphobia, which Michael Gurian apparently coined in Boys, A Rescue Plan and Kullman referenced, to describe the political reluctance to hold women equally accountable under law, policy, and civic duty.
Republicans often present themselves as defenders of family values, personal responsibility, and equal justice. Yet their legislative actions frequently protect women from obligations while placing those same obligations on men. This pattern creates real harm for men, boys, fathers, and families.
Decades of Failure: No Commission on the Status of Boys and Men
For more than fifty years, both political parties have funded and expanded Commissions on the Status of Women at the federal and state levels. These commissions receive millions of dollars, hold permanent institutional power, and influence policy and public messaging,
During the same period, neither party created a federal Commission on the Status of Boys and Men. Only a few states have even considered the idea. As a result, boys’ declining academic performance, men’s worsening health, rising male suicide rates, fatherlessness, and male homelessness remain unaddressed at the structural level.
NCFM has worked for years to change this. We have funded national efforts to establish such commissions, supported state‑level initiatives, taken legal action, and urged lawmakers—including Republicans—to acknowledge the crises facing boys and men. Yet both parties continue to refuse to create a permanent, well‑funded body dedicated to these issues.
This absence has devastating consequences. Without institutional advocacy, male issues remain invisible. Boys fall behind in literacy. Men’s mental‑health problems worsen. Fathers lose access to their children. Male victims of violence and sexual abuse go uncounted. Policy remains gender‑skewed because the institutions shaping policy have been gender‑skewed for decades.
Republicans criticize Democrats for ignoring men, but they have also failed to build the institutions needed to correct the imbalance.
Selective Service: Republicans Block Equal Civic Duty for Women
NCFM twice filed federal lawsuits challenging the male‑only Selective Service System. We argued that forcing only men to register for the draft violates equal protection. Our cases advanced for years and stimulated national debate. The Supreme Court refused to rule in our favor.
A bipartisan majority in Congress recently supported adding women to draft registration. Military leaders and fairness advocates endorsed the change. The reform was expected to pass until a bloc of Republican legislators removed the provision.
Republicans argued that women should not register, even though women already serve in combat, lead units, and volunteer at high rates. Their decision preserved a system where only men bear the legal burden and face criminal penalties for non‑compliance. This was not a stand for liberty, tradition, or equality. It was a hybrid misguided fear of protecting young women coupled with misguided feminaphobia.
Domestic‑Violence Shelters for Men
NCFM filed the first successful lawsuit against domestic‑violence shelters that refused to help male victims. The case established that taxpayer‑funded services cannot discriminate based on sex.
Despite this victory, Republicans continue to support funding structures that overwhelmingly serve women. Hundreds of shelters exist for women, but fewer than a dozen or so serve men—even though research shows that women abuse men at similar rates.
False Accusations: Republicans Refuse to Address Female Accountability
NCFM has spent decades helping men falsely accused of rape, sexual assault, paternity fraud, and other crimes. These accusations destroy careers, reputations, families, and mental health. Many falsely accused men never recover and some die by suicide.
Most false accusers are women. Yet Republican lawmakers repeatedly refuse to pass laws that impose meaningful penalties on false accusers. They demand accountability for male offenders and male college students under Title IX but stay silent when the wrongdoer is female.
This selective enforcement is not “law and order.” It is gendered leniency that leaves falsely accused men without recourse.
Paternity Fraud: Republicans Protect the Fraud, Not the Father
Paternity fraud remains one of the clearest injustices men face. A women knowingly misidentify the father. The biological father loses his child. The non‑biological man must pay. The child grows up without accurate medical history. The state enforces the fraud through child‑support orders even when DNA proves the truth.
Republicans could fix this by requiring DNA testing, allowing men to disestablish paternity, penalizing women who commit fraud, and protecting children’s right to truth. Instead, they maintain a system that shields the woman who committed fraud and punishes the uninvolved men.
Republican Support for VAWA: Gender‑Skewed Law, Gender‑Skewed Consequences
For nearly thirty years, Republicans supported the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). They voted for reauthorization, expanded funding, and defended its structure—even though the name excludes half the population.
VAWA’s framing has severe consequences. Male victims are turned away from shelters, denied services, or told they do not qualify. Funding overwhelmingly prioritizes female victims. Public messaging reinforces the false idea that domestic violence is something men do and women suffer.
Republicans criticize identity politics, yet they support a law built on identity politics. Their refusal to demand gender‑inclusive language reflects feminaphobia: fear of acknowledging female violence and male victimization.
NCFM’s North Carolina Chapter: Restoring Due Process Under Title IX
When federal guidance gutted Title IX due‑process protections and replaced them with an autocratic, misandric system, NCFM’s North Carolina Chapter intervened. They helped restore fair procedures through the Department of Education.
Their work ensured that students nationwide—mostly men—would not face secret hearings, biased panels, or predetermined outcomes.
While this victory took place under a Republican administration the party failed to prevent the draconian implementation of the misandrist reforms which we successfully fought.
Criminal Justice: A Double Standard Republicans Ignore
Republicans champion “law and order,” yet they ignore clear disparities in how the justice system treats male and female offenders. Women receive lighter sentences, face fewer arrests for identical crimes, and are under‑prosecuted for sexual abuse. Male victims are often dismissed.
Reproductive Policy: Responsibility for Men, Rights for Women
Republicans criticize Democrats for expanding women’s reproductive autonomy, yet their own proposals increase male responsibility without granting male rights. Men face child‑support obligations at conception, lack paternal consent protections, and face criminal penalties without parallel accountability for women.
Cultural Messaging: Women as Virtuous, Men as Problematic
Republican rhetoric often portrays women as virtuous and nurturing while framing men as dangerous or irresponsible. Although the language differs from Democratic messaging, the underlying assumption remains women are the solution, men are the problem.
Why This Matters for NCFM’s Mission
Feminaphobia has real consequences. Men bear exclusive draft obligations. Fathers lose custody. Boys face harsher discipline. Male victims are ignored. False accusations go unpunished. Paternity fraud is enforced by the state. Male reproductive rights do not exist. Male victims of domestic violence are sidelined by VAWA. And without commissions on boys and men, these issues remain invisible.
NCFM advocates for men and boys, exposes gender bias, and demands equal treatment. That mission requires confronting all political actors—including Republicans—who refuse to hold women equally accountable.
A Path Forward: Equal Rights Require Equal Responsibility
A real pro‑family, pro‑equality platform would require Republicans to support equal draft registration, penalize false accusers, criminalize paternity fraud, acknowledge female violence, reform family courts, create reproductive parity, demand gender‑inclusive domestic‑violence policy, and establish well‑funded Commissions on Boys and Men.
Equality requires symmetry. Responsibility cannot be gendered. Men deserve fair treatment from both Republicans and Democrats.
Reader Questions
- Given NCFM’s long history of litigation and advocacy, what areas of gender‑biased policy do you believe most urgently need reform?
- What are the most serious consequences of refusing to establish Commissions on Boys and Men, and how should lawmakers correct this imbalance?
- How has VAWA’s gender‑exclusive framing shaped public perceptions of domestic violence, and what changes would ensure equal protection for everyone?
