Our History

Organized in 1987, The National Center For Men (NCM) became the first men's rights group in the United States to address the full range of men's issues, from conscription to circumcision, from fathers' rights to sexist dress codes that are unfair to men... No issue was too provocative for us. No double standard was off limits.

Our people spoke out with passion and pride and courage, often in the face of a mean-spirited opposition that was bent on censoring us or silencing us or shouting us down. We were not silenced. Instead, we remained outspoken proponents of reform, helping as many men and their families as we could.

From the start we were determined to be highly visible.

On His Soapbox: NCM reproductive rights chairman, Kingsley Morse.

NCM's appearance on the Phil Donahue Show in 1988 marked the first time that the then-shocking idea of men's reproductive choice was presented so publicly. When we made the case for equal choice on the Montel Williams Show in 2000 and then again on the Howard Stern Show in 2003 our arguments were warmly received. Slowly, but certainly, we are changing minds... Our men's reproductive rights project is the only one of its kind in the nation. In fact, our 2005 appearance on The View led directly to "Roe vs. Wade for Men," a lawsuit which generated enormous public discussion and debate. NCM members gave hundreds of interviews to radio, television, internet and print journalists. The public, men and women, gave us substantial support.

In 1991, on the Oprah Winfrey Show, The National Center For Men was ahead of its time by challenging emerging sexual harassment law. We demonstrated how these laws were often used to punish men for the expression of opinion.

Our Consensual Sex Contract debuted on the Maury Povich Show a few years later and was then featured in numerous magazine articles and hundreds of radio and television programs, including the Today show, A Current Affair and Jerry Springer. Our Sex Contract raised the public's awareness about how innocent men could be destroyed by false accusations of sex crime. It made headlines in newspapers around the world, including the London Times and USA Today.

On CNN's Larry King Live and Crossfire we further tackled the tough issues of rape and false accusation of rape. On both of these mainstream CNN shows we advanced provocative theories with dignity and authority.

On the television show Day & Date we introduced an innovative proposal for the collection of child support after divorce. We argued that BOTH PARENTS should make contributions to a bank account in the name of the child.

We made frequent appearances on the Morton Downey, Jr. Show, a national, prime-time TV brawl, where we dueled with Mort and his loud studio audience over the most sexually-charged issues of the day. It was never boring. Despite the occasional sleaze of the Downey show, our message penetrated through the noise of the studio to a nighttime home audience, eager to hear our point of view. And the supposedly unsophisticated Downey audience got it: They understood Mel's skirt to be a visual attack on double standards and a defiant statement for men's liberation and equal choice.

On Television: NCM executive director, Mel Feit, argues for men's equal rights on Court TV.

On 48 Hours, Rolonda, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo and dozens of other national and local shows, The National Center For Men set the record straight about domestic violence: In families, women are as violent as men. Then, in a recent issue of the Desert Star, a California newspaper, we broke new ground again by asserting that false accusations, frequently made by women against men during divorce, should also be seen as a serious form of domestic violence.

On Court TV we exposed the anti-male bias in employment and family law. We insisted that court ordered child support was often exorbitant, amounting to disguised alimony, and we lobbied for shared parenting after divorce.

Two NCM officers host their own talk shows. Since 1995, NCM deputy director, Jim Whinston, has produced and hosted Fathers and Families, a radio and cable TV show in Portland, Oregon, and heard over the internet at KPSU.org. Jim concentrates on the problems men face during divorce and emphasizes the search for long-term, positive solutions. NCM public relations director, Roy Barreca, has co-hosted MensNet since 1999. MensNet, a cable TV show seen in New York City, examines the men's rights perspective on events in the news. Both shows give airtime to activists who are usually denied access to the mainstream media.

On The Set: NCM deputy director, Jim Whinston, as he prepares to host his cable TV show, Fathers and Families.

In The Studio: NCM public relations director, Roy Barreca. Roy is co-host of the cable TV show, MensNet.

NCM's advocacy has always embraced the toughest and most controversial issues: female sexual power, male reproductive choice, violence against men, censorship in the media and academia, male homelessness and men's health, the military draft and draft registration, false accusation, men in skirts, men and divorce... Over the years, dozens of brave and articulate NCM representatives, men and women, have appeared on hundreds of national and international television and radio shows, news and talk, addressing every valid men's issue. We were never shy.