To me it is a women’s forum. Only women can be mums. Just like only men can be dads. The clue is in the forum name.
Women’s and men’s experiences differ significantly biologically, culturally, socially and emotionally. Women are not one homogeneous group but our experiences are shaped and shared as a result of the way in which society is constructed and how we understand experience is a result of that. Women seek out the opinions of other women because of these shared experiences and understandings.
Men can never understand women’s experiences because they are not women and are not consciously and subconsciously subject to the societal forces which women are. So for example, I might ask my DH’s opinion on a range of subjects like where to go on holiday, what to have for dinner, which sofa to buy. But I would not seek his opinion on what coercive control looks like, how to deal with bullying in the workplace (although I’d want his emotional support) or the best way to deal with menopausal symptoms, as examples.
You might want to do that, other women might want to do that, but I don’t. I can’t stop men from posting and I would respond to a man if I felt like it - I do draw distinction between genuine men asking for advice (and like I said before, I get embarrassed if there’s an unjustified pile on) and those just generally pitching in with advice in response to women’s issues/concerns. That does give me the ick.
MN might now be “for parents”/anyone but it didn’t start out like that. If it was “Parentsnet” and aimed equally at women and men, I’d bet my last dollar that it wouldn’t have been as successful. Women liked having a safe space to chat and discuss their issues - given as many as 1:4 women have been victims of SA, many women are understandably cautious and downright afraid of men. The male voice almost always dominates when a space is shared because we live in a patriarchal society.
At the end of the day this is my opinion - that’s it - just my opinion. But sometimes I just want to scream “FFS just let us have something just for us - stop always having to encroach on women’s spaces!”