Sigurd Hoeberth (Höberth), president of Aequitas, a men’s rights organization in Vienna, organizer of the unsuccessfully realized First International Congress for Men’s Rights, quoted in May 1929 –
“We demand equal rights. The shameful condition as regards
marriage and family rights has in many countries become a public scandal and
disgrace. The cause is to be found in antiquated laws, and in the way justice
administered so as to be downright inimical to males. For two years our
organization has been fighting to change this, and often we have been
slandered. Our intention is not to attack marriage nor to lessen rights for
women. Our aim is to guide the lawmakers so as to place family life on a sound
and just basis. We wish to have laws adjusted to modern conditions, with equal
duties and also equal rights for both sexes.”
“One hundred years ago, when our present laws were enacted,
it will probably be necessary to protect women, as they were shut out of most
economic pursuits, and had no political rights. In those days the woman
remained home until married. She occupied herself with her parent’s household,
and brought with her, when married, a moral consciousness and a sense of the
value of marriage. The old-fashioned woman rarely demanded divorce. and usually
when she did so, she had good and sufficient reasons. And as she could not very
well go into business she was justified in demanding and receiving alimony.
“Now all this is changed. The woman of today enjoys all the
political and economic rights of man. Every occupation is open to her. Indeed
in many cases she can advance more rapidly than a man. Under these conditions
what does marriage mean for a woman who has not a moral consciousness? To her
marriage is nothing more than a nose bag. And according to our laws a husband
is just an animal required to keep the nose bag full. And if a man is not ready
to go over the top in order to keep his nose bag full enough to satisfy the
speculative ambitions of his wife, then prison stares him in the face.
“And how do the instruments of justice act? A smirking
smile, a well cut dress, a few crocodile tears, and the nose bag filler is
lost. A woman cannot lose in court. We have collected data showing in detail
many cases where justice has been flouted. Under such conditions it is suicide
for a man to marry. And this explains the falling off in marriage, and the many
liaisons. What can one expect? But even in the liaisons man is the victim. The
father of the illegitimate child is always the one who can fill the nose bag to
the fullest, and satisfy the woman’s ambitions. Our laws require that there be
a father. It is left to the unscrupulous woman to choose one. This practice has
ruined the lives of many innocent men. It is high time we got together and insisted
upon equal rights.”
[Excerpt from: “Equality Is Asked By Austrian Male -
“Aequitas,” Viennese Society Champions Husbands and Bachelors,” (from Chicago
Daily News), The Charleston Daily Mail (W. Va.), May 3, 1929, p. 17]
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Hoeberth
devoted 12 years of his life to men’s rights activism. His activities were
banned by the Nazis in 1938 as soon as they occupied Vienna. He died later that
year.
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Wikipedia once had an article devoted to Hoeberth, but
deleted it on April 7, 2015, citing the subject’s failure to meet Wikipedia’s
notability standard. The editorial discussion that Wikipedia has preserved
sheds interesting light on the thinking (and scholarly ineptitude) of
Wikipedia’s team of home-baked editors. First the existence of Hoeberth was thought to be a hoax, then it was decided his 12 year long career of political activism, his ground-breaking magazine and his anti-Mussolini polemics were historically irrelevant. So much for “consensus” authority over
scholarly work.
The deleted article:
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Click article image to enlarge
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