IF A GUY WORE A T-SHIRT
from a mass-market retailer that proclaimed, "Girls are stupid, throw rocks at them," a firestorm of protests would likely swell amid claims of sexism.

But what happens when the same expression is monogrammed as, "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them"? Sounds like a double standard, yes?

Truth be told, the latter was a best seller at thousands of teen-oriented clothiers around the world. That is, until Glenn Sacks got involved.

The activist host of the weekly talk show "His Side" launched a protest against male bashing, garnering worldwide press coverage and, among 3,500 retailers, prompting 95% of them to desert the item.

That is just the beginning of Sacks' mission to level the battlefield between the sexes. Among the barrage of politically motivated talkers on the airwaves today, this former high-school teacher instead aims to speak up for "gender and family issues from a perspective unapologetically sympathetic to men and fathers," he says.

Sacks refers to himself as the "defender of the much maligned American male against the unfair attacks and insulting stereotypes that we constantly endure" and the "modern cultural norm of woman is good, man is bad; woman is right, man is wrong."

Sacks appears in three top 10 markets--WSNR-AM New York, KTIE-AM Los Angeles and WWZN-AM Boston--every Sunday evening. His program is also streamed on the Internet at hisside.com. The live, interactive show is self-syndicated.

While he might sound like a hot-headed extremist, Sacks' show is devoid of histrionics. It offers a counterpoint to what he considers the portrayal of fathers on TV sitcoms or Lifetime movies, where men are often portrayed as dopey weaklings or predators.

Sacks' pointed opinions about society's off-kilter references to men is rooted in his belief that following the feminist movement of the 1970s, it became acceptable to blame guys for much of the world's foibles.

"The feminist movement was good for the first 15 years, from 1970," Sacks carefully explains. "But sometime in the mid-'80s, society really jumped the rails, and it has been a damaging force since. During the '90s, men received an unbelievable amount of criticism, the vast amount of it unwarranted."

Examples include generalizations about men abandoning their families, not paying child support and being abusive parents. In commercials and across TV, he says that men are often portrayed as cartoonish boobs.

"I'm not trying to turn back the clock on women's progress, but we need some sort of corrective action to bring things back to the center," Sacks says.

"Laws are so stacked against men; there are tremendous civil-rights violations going on in the United States against fathers," he says.

WIFE BY HIS SIDE

Ironically, it was Sacks' wife who encouraged him to take action: "She nagged me enough until I finally decided to write about it." His first column on the topic in 2001 was picked up by the Los Angeles Times. The Chicago Tribune printed the third. Suddenly, Sacks had a new calling card.

Dozens of interview requests poured in (with Time magazine, USA Today and The New Zealand Herald among them), as well as TV appearances on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNBC, the BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

And then there was radio, including NPR, the syndicated "Tom Leykis Show" and news/talk WOR New York.

"I was on so many shows, and they would absolutely be flooded with calls," Sacks says. "I let this permeate my brain, and it dawned on me that I should be able to do this myself."

He formed a company, Sacks Media Group, bringing in investors, as well as a part-time producer who books guests; a part-time publicist to pitch articles and shows; and a full-time business partner. He also launched his meaty Web site, hisside.com, which he says has garnered 1.25 million hits in the past four years.

In March 2003, Sacks launched the weekly radio show "His Side With Glenn Sacks." Two years later, his ventures in media are now a full-time profession.

"The thing I liked about radio is that it felt like a good way to get this content to men in an entertaining way that's digestible," he says.

Not surprisingly, much of his audience is male, in their 30s-50s. "Divorced dads are my base of support," he says.

But Sacks also has a lot of women who listen, call and write, and most support his viewpoints.

"A lot of them feel anguish for what their sons are going through in school," he says, adding that he never insults women on the show or attempts to offend them.

He also tows a neutral line when it comes to politics: He has appeared on Dr. Laura Schlessinger's conservative radio show as well as the liberal Air America Radio network. "This kind of a view is often stereotyped as conservative, but I don't tip my hand on whether I'm a Democrat or a Republican," he notes.

GETTING HAMMERED

Still, of course, there are detractors. "I get hammered from two sides: Obviously the feminist side gives me a lot of heat, though I've had a lot of feminists on the show and I like them very much as people; and then I get attacked pretty vehemently by chivalrous males who say I'm a wuss teaching my son to be a wuss." (Sacks and his wife have a son, 12, and a daughter, 7.)

Actually, he adds, "I wish we got more opposition from people. It's a source of frustration sometimes, because I really do like to defend my opinions."

Sacks is amused to admit that he has been called everything from whiney to a bitter deadbeat dad getting back at an ex-wife. In truth, Sacks has never been divorced, paid child support, had a child out of wedlock or been arrested, he says.

"I don't have a problem with men being the butt of jokes," Sacks says. "But when men are always the jerk or lazy or they can't figure out how to load the dishwasher, we need to bring back some balance. I'm campaigning for every decent guy who works hard for his family, comes home and turns on the TV and sees nothing but fathers who are idiots."

Sacks' voice has come across loud and clear. In addition to the "Boys are stupid" cease-fire, he raised a ruckus about a Verizon TV ad that ran last November.

In the commercial, "there's a father who's trying to help his 8-year-old daughter with her homework and of course, he doesn't know a damn thing. The daughter looks up at the mom, who's obviously a lot smarter than the dad, and the mom tells the guy to get out and go wash the dog," he says.

A grandmother called Verizon to complain about the cliched portrayal of pop and the company blew her off, according to Sacks. So she took the complaint to "His Side," which soon fostered media coverage in some 300 newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post and USA Today. The ad disappeared from the airwaves in three weeks.

"I had people telling me to 'stop whining, it's just a commercial' and saying, 'Ah, did it hurt your feelings?' But it's satisfying to know that we are accomplishing things," he says.

Sacks believes that the market for his man mandate has years of relevance.

"There are 25 million non-custodial parents in the country. So many people are divorced and have been through the family law system. There are very few people talking about these things, and I think this is a hot-button topic for a significant amount of the male population."