March for Men event to be held in Melbourne next month

A PRO-GUN, anti-feminist, half-American Donald Trump supporter is asking for money to help fund a “March for Men” in Melbourne next month.

Sydney Watson, who describes herself as a “conservative political commentator”, is planning on bringing hundreds of men and women together at Melbourne’s Federation Square on August 25 to march against what she sees as “an assault on men collectively”.

The former University of Melbourne student is critical of the response from politicians and the media after the death of Eurydice Dixon, who was killed while walking home from a night out.

In particular, she takes issue with the narrative that has emerged declaring men need to change their behaviour, not women.

“As many of you know, over the last number of weeks, it has felt like there has been an assault on men collectively,” she said in a video promoting the event.

“I know that this has upset a lot of men and women alike and a lot of people are very distressed that they don’t feel as though they can support men’s rights, masculinity and men in general without being judged.

“I want Australians to rally together for masculinity, for men’s rights and just to demonstrate that we know that men matter too.

“I want to make it abundantly clear that the purpose of this rally is not to hate on women, diminish women’s rights or to make any negative statements about women.”

She said the fight for women’s rights is harming the fight for men’s rights.

“Society is unlikely to be functional if we continue to put down one entire gender in order to prop up another."

Ms Watson has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the event. On Monday, more than $800 had been raised towards a goal of $5000.

The event page states: “From the schoolyard to the office, Australians have been repeatedly reminded how undesirable it is to be a man. After weeks of attacks from the media, from politicians and from interest groups — enough is definitely enough!”

Ms Watson’s brand of politics is divisive. She has previously published videos about gun control, feminism and white privilege.

A recent video was titled: “Hey women, men are not responsible for your safety.” She talked about Ms Dixon’s death and why she felt it was wrong to lump collective blame on men.

“It’s stupid,” she said. “This whole argument (that men need to change their behaviour, not women) is stupid. My safety is my responsibility. I don’t want to put any accountability on anyone else. Sure, we can teach men not to rape or, alternatively, maybe we can give women the right to self-defence.”

Ms Watson shared a Facebook post by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews in June in which he made a point of singling out men.

“Women don’t need to change their behaviour. Men do,” the Premier wrote.

Ms Watson said she was “absolutely seething”.

“This post is sanctimonious and patronising. I, for one, am absolutely sick and tired of men collectively being demonised at every turn and at every opportunity.

“I’m getting so sick to death of this narrative that all men are violent. Because it is a horrific and unjust lie.”

Her comments were met with stinging criticism from many on her own channels.

“Why is it bad that I tell my son not to brutalise and violate another person,” one woman wrote.

“I don’t hate men but I still want them held accountable for their actions.”

Another wrote that Ms Watson had “missed the point”.

“Babe. Wow, where do I start? I’m not a feminazi but I am a feminist and believe in equality for all human beings. I think your (sic) missing the point of ‘teach men not to rape’.

“For thousands of years to date, gender roles and responsibilities have been placed upon us from a very early age depending on our sex. And up until the last maybe 20 years women were objectified and were literally a male’s property if married.

“I think what they are trying to say is that there should be education from an early age to break the cycle of men seeing women as objects, because there are still some people and cultures who still teach and preach this to their children.”
One woman wrote simply: “She’s a right wing idiot.”

Another video on Ms Watson’s YouTube channel is titled: “Dear feminists, here’s why you are hypocrites.”

“A woman rapes a man and nobody wants to call a spade a spade and call it rape,” she said.

“I’d really like to know why it is that we downplay female-perpetrated violence.

“Is it because it doesn’t fit into the male perpetrator/female victim paradigm? Or is it because society feels a need to shield women from criticism?”

She published another video about the politics of race, declaring: “White privilege does not exist.”

“Nothing irritates me more than being told that I have white privilege,” she said.

“Now if you’re a white person in the 21st century, you have probably had the term ‘white privilege’ applied to you at one point or another. It may have been somebody trying to put you in your place, invalidate an experience that you may have had or really just tell you that ‘you’re too pasty to be important’.”

Ms Watson’s public accounts promote “restoring” journalism to “its natural state” and “kicking political correctness to the kerb”.