[This article was originally published on The Medium]

Introduction
Unlike other demographics, men have a wide variety of communities that represent them. This is due to the fact that men have a variety of different ideas on how to handle the concept of men’s issues. Some communities have common interest and manage to affiliate with one another. This causes confusion to the general public. They get different groups mixed up with one another and are likely to judge one group based on the actions of another group. This also makes it easier for slander by opposition. The media routinely plays off of this confusion in order to push a narrative. The purpose of this article is to end all of the confusion.

Part 1: Different Forms Of Activism
There are several men’s groups that have different goals, strategies, and ideas. Men’s communities heavily vary.
>Some groups usually lean towards a complete civil rights/political rights approach, such as the father’s rights movement and intactivists. This form of activism is all about the legal and political action.
>Other groups put more weight on social issues. MGTOW and the red pill are great examples of this. Groups with this perspective usually consider themselves philosophies and ideologies, as opposed to movements or organizations. Therefore, they are more focused on raising awareness to men’s issues and giving them self help, as opposed to societal changes.
>Finally, you have social movements, such as the men’s rights movement. This allows them to use several strategies-such as legal organization, political action, social issues, and all forms of media attention. They aren’t limited to one topic or strategy.

Part 2: Men’s Communities-Pro Feminism
Pro feminist men’s groups consist of two philosophies: men’s liberation and male feminism. Both philosophies have a huge overlap with one another. However, they have made minor efforts to gain independence and separate themselves from one another.

-Male Feminism

Male feminism is an extension of the feminist movement used to support their cause, without declaring oneself as an official member of the group. This is due to the controversy of whether or not men can be a member of the feminist movement. The goal of the group is to advocate for social, legal, educational, financial, and political justice for women. It’s a men’s group for women.
Examples:
>White Ribbon Campaign
>National Organization Of Men Against Sexism
>#HeForShe

-Men’s liberation

Men’s Liberation exists as a means to deconstruct “traditional masculinity” which they feel is the cause of male issues. They focus more on self help and individual virtue, as opposed to human rights. They believe that men don’t need a movement, just liberation (hence the name).
Examples:
>California Men’s Gatherings
>Radical Faeries

Part 3: Men’s Communities-The Manosphere
The Manosphere is a collection of men’s groups that differ from Pro-feminism, due to their negative relationship with the feminist movement. The Manosphere believes that feminists are responsible-or at least contribute-to a lot of the laws and culture that negatively affects men. For that reason, most of its members refer to themselves as “anti-feminist” while others simply don’t identify as feminists.

-Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW)

The MGTOW community is a philosophy that promotes the idea of separatism. It encourages men to “walk away” from women in marriages, relationships, and sometimes friendships. This is due to their perception of the toxic relationship between men and women.

-Red Pill

The red pill is a metaphor that’s used as a philosophy for male advocacy. The red pill is supposed to explain how men and women “wake up” to the harsh realities of gender inequality.

-Pick Up Artist (PUA)

As the name implies, the purpose of the PUA community is to assist men in their pursuit for relationships. This can range from romantic to sexual relationships. This community doesn’t necessarily exist to help men with any direct issues. It purely exists to help heterosexual men “pick up” women.

-Incel

Incels are an online subculture who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner, despite the fact that they want one.

-Mythopoetic Men’s Movement

What separates the Mythopoetic Men’s Movement from other men’s groups is there focus on “self reflection” and “individual virtue”. This group attempts to connect to men on a “spiritual” level-as opposed to a legal level. Their heavily identified by their unconventional rituals and therapeutic workshops.

-Intactivism

Anti-circumcision intactivists. They raise awareness about the harm of the practice in an attempt to put an end to it.
Intactivist Groups:
>Catholics Against Circumcision
>Circumcision Resource Center
>Doctors Opposing Circumcision
>Saving Our Sons

-Father’s Rights Community

Father’s rights groups exist to fix custody laws, fight parent alienation, fight for child support reform, and create a positive image for fathers.
Notable father’s rights groups:
>The Father’s Rights Movement
>Dad’s Divorce
>Fathers 4 Kids
>The Father’s Rights Network
>Fathers 4 Justice
>Families Need Fathers

-Men’s Rights Movement (MRM)

The men’s rights movement is the largest community for men’s issues. The main objective of this movement is to promote cultural and social change, while also fighting for financial and legal changes. Representatives of the movement call themselves MRAs (men’s rights activists). MRAs seek action through politics, business, and media. Their strategies can range from human rights to individual virtue.
The MRA Umbrella:

The National Coalition For Men (NCFM) is a civil rights organization which aims to address the way sex discrimination affects men and boys. The NCFM is the “legal backbone” of the MRM. They file lawsuits against businesses and schools, while applying political pressure against the government.

Justice For Men & Boys (J4MB) is a men’s rights political party in the UK, with the goal of passing legislation for men and boys.

The term “Honey Badgers” was originated to describe women of the men’s rights movement (however, the term “FeMRA” has become more utilized). The term is now more affiliated with the Honey Badger Brigade-a men’s rights organization that runs a website and hosts a weekly podcast. Prominent members of the men’s rights movement (such as Karen Straughan, Alison Tieman, Brian Martinez, and Hannah Wallen) are major speakers for the podcast.

The International Conference On Men’s Issues (ICMI) is an annual men’s conference where members of men’s rights groups and other male advocacy groups to join and speak about the current state of men and boys.

AVFM is a men’s rights website that involves blogging, journalism, and news updates. It helped spawn the annual ICMI and Honey Badger Brigade.

Overlap
A lot of this confusion stems from the overlap between these men’s groups. Despite the noticeable differences, they are likely to find common ground on certain topics. For that very reason, the groups will affiliate with one another to work on a “project” of some sort. But, overlap does not mean that the groups are synonymous. It simply means that they run into each other on several occasions.
Examples:
>A wide variety of men’s groups are present in the manosphere. Father’s rights activists, men’s rights activists, MGTOW, and so forth. Therefore, you can find the group speaking together about men’s issues.
>The father’s rights movement rose to prominence in the West around the same time as the men’s rights movement. The two groups affiliated with each other often. However, they slowly gained independence and became their own separate community. The two groups still overlap and push for policies related to father’s rights. Warren Farrell, formerly known as the “father” of the men’s rights movement, also considers himself to be an advocate for father’s rights. The National Coalition For Men, a men’s rights organization has worked with father’s rights groups to pass laws. A variety of these reasons make it hard for people to tell the difference between “father’s rights” and “men’s rights” groups.
>The Mankind Project (MKP) is an organization that follows a lot of the rhetoric of the pro-feminist men’s liberation movement. However, they revived a lot of the rituals of the mythopoetic men’s movement. They also welcome men of any group to their coalition. Which means that men from all over the male advocacy spectrum may find themselves joining the MKP.