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Approximately one fifth of all cases ruled on gender equality grounds by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) have been brought by male applicants. This article investigates their claims and arguments, and their reception by the Court, in order to understand the extent to which male applicants shape EU jurisprudence. It argues that they require the enlargement of the definition of parenthood in order to incorporate their requests to be granted parenthood-related rights, ultimately furthering an anti-stereotypical conception of fatherhood. However, their genderblind approach to fatherhood justifies in pension cases the removal of women’s special advantages and allows the Court to ignore the structural component of gender inequalities. Finally, male applicants foster a meritocratic vision of equality which encapsulates men’s claims to equal treatment but limits the range of measures that can be adopted to promote women’s rights.
