WHILE the rise of internet bullying, online stalking and cyber fraud are well documented, there’s another dark side of the internet which only seems to have arisen in recent times.

The Men’s Rights Activists movement – a group of entirely white, young middle class men who are under the impression feminists have somehow taken over western society – has spread like a particularly annoying rash over usergenerated sites such as Facebook and Reddit.

The MRAs, as they call themselves, came out of their lairs this weekend after your Worcester News’ Catherine Phillips wrote an entirely reasonable article applauding Celebrity Big Brother for ejecting former Baywatch star Jeremy Jackson after he decided it was a good idea to pull open model Chloe Goodman’s dressing gown.

Of course, the MRAs immediately claimed Goodman was lucky such a fine specimen was interested in her, and of course she’s appeared on Page 3 so her breasts are fair game. Obviously.

Unfortunately MRAs have shown themselves to be anything but harmless.

After terrorist Anders Breivik killed 77 people in Norway in July 2011 it was revealed he had previously claimed feminism was eroding European society.

Does sexism towards men exist? Yes.

It’s not uncommon while waiting in a shop queue to spot mothers manoeuvre themselves between me and their children as if my gender makes me some potential Child Catcher and suffer the derision of my fellow men when I mention I occasionally enjoy a yoga class when I should be downing pints and watching Top Gear.

But this pales in comparison with what women have to put up with on a daily basis.

If an argument gets out of hand I’m much more likely to be threatened with a punch in the face than sexual violence. I can leave the house without make-up and not fear being frowned upon. I don’t have to worry that wearing comfortable clothes will make other people in the gym think I’m “asking for it”.

While – thankfully – I don’t know what motivates the average MRA, it’s hard not to assume that sexual frustration has something to do with it.

But this is hardly an excuse.

I can boil down my message to Men’s Rights Activists to two simple words – grow up.