Swimming in the dark is no barrier for man who is blind

For many, losing their sight is the worst thing they could imagine happening to them. More than 30 years ago, this fear became reality for Melburnian, Allan Bates.

“I had an accident in my teens resulting in the loss of the left eye. I developed Sympathetic Opthalmia and my over active immune system slowly destroyed the right eye over 30 years. I am now totally blind, can't even see light and have been for about 20 years” said Mr Bates.

Instead of shying away from his vision loss, Mr Bates became more determined than ever to take on new challenges and prove to people in his life that anything is possible.

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Women who cry wolf

On January 29, a short article appeared in the The Age online. Four sentences of this article were devoted to the fact that Police have cleared two Collingwood footballers, Dayne Beams and John McCarthy, of alleged sexual assault following grand final celebrations in 2010. It stated that Mr Beams and Mr McCarthy denied wrongdoing and co-operated with the investigation. In stark contrast to the brouhaha that erupted when allegations were made by an unnamed female in October last year, the media have by and large glossed over this story. A mere four sentences pales in comparison to the deluge unleashed by multiple Fairfax media commentators baying for blood and decrying the rampant misogyny of the AFL.

Call me crazy, but the school building program is turning boys into girls

Already, schools have lunchtime ''no running'' rules. This is true. No big balls (I'm refusing the obvious joke here, but have you ever tried to play soccer with a tennis ball?) and no chasey, barring the tamest possible version. Now that almost every school has a major chunk of its ''open'' space fenced and scaffolded, what will give? Boys, and boy-ness, for a start. As even boisterousness becomes frowned-upon and the fighting that is bound to erupt in such pent conditions becomes punishable by that boys' own worst-possible penalty, endless hours of raking-it-over talk, just being a boy becomes a problem. The incentive is to stay static, watch the screen, make like a girl, gossip, get fat. Which is where the double whammy kicks in. Estrogen.

'Floozies' to blame in AFL sexual assaults, say women

A new study into women's attitudes towards sexual misconduct in the AFL has found women don't always blame footballers for creating trouble. More than 80 women, all AFL supporters or club members, were interviewed for the study, which found that women's reactions to allegations of sexual assault ranged from disgust, to blaming the victim, to suggestions that sexually aggressive women target footballers. A woman recounted a scene in a nightclub. "Girls ran at them [players] - literally - like they've sat down at their seats and these girls just appeared out of nowhere and started dancing basically right on their laps … like full-on in there not giving them any space. When you see that happening, you see what they [players] have to deal with."

EMALE Issue 90 (September 2010)

In this month's issue:

huge response to CHECK IT event

are you getting enough sleep?

new men’s health & wellbeing training courses

aussie youth play it safe when it comes to sex info

future events

• Exercise Your Mood Week September 11-19

news briefs

• New Report Details Men’s Health in New York City
• Victoria’s Consultation Summary for the Men's health and wellbeing strategy 2010-14 released
• Beyond Blue to Green: The benefits of contact with nature for mental health & well-being
• Cats star urges young men to play safe with their health

new resources

• The Australian Directory of Men's Support Services