The Men’s Anti-Violence Council, in collaboration with the Career Leadership Academy (CLA) class at The University of Iowa, created a film project about masculinity. Mobile Masculinities was created by MAC member, Derrais Carter, in order to create discussions about masculinity among men on campus and in the community. In addition to creating interpersonal discussions, the video clips also serve as online resources.
You don’t need fancy recording equipment or studio space to have authentic discussions about masculinity. You can use a camera on almost any mobile device (e.g. cell phone camera, laptop webcam, tablet, etc.) and record men discussing masculinity.
The CLA students were incredible in supporting, advertising, recruiting, and editing material for the project. There will be a public viewing of the project on Tuesday, April 10 in Room A of the Iowa City Public Library starting at 6 p.m. There will be a panel discussion afterwards about masculinity in our community. The event is free and open to the public. Click on the image below for a larger version of the flyer.
You can see our first Mobile Masculinities video clip with Jackson Katz here!
As most of you have already heard, March 8 is International Women’s Day. This year the theme is Connecting girls, inspiring futures. Take some time today to reflect how you are supporting the women and girls in your life and community, as well as how you can assist in empowering them across the world. If you cannot name anything specific that you are doing to help, follow some of the links in this post for ideas about how to get involved and be part of the solution.
Soraya Chemaly’s piece, International Women’s Day: 10 Reasons Why Feminism is Good For Boys and Men, provided me with some inspiration. Besides highlighting some important positive aspects of feminism on men and boys, there was a video produced by high school boys in Australia through the Gender Equality Project. Watch the video below and take a cue from these boys. Listen to the women and girls in your life about their experiences, educate yourself about the issues, and speak out to others as a supportive and active ally.
Hats off to Dr. Boyce Watkins for his commentary on Jay-Z banning b$tch from his linguistic repertoire. The decision came after the birth of Jay and Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy. The rapper has received well-deserved criticism regarding his decision and he should. However, virtually nothing was said a few years ago when Hov rapped “when the Jena 6 don’t exist…thats when I’ll stop sayin’ bitch…BITCH!!!” (from “Say Hello” on American Gangsta). Hov takes an aggressively masculine tone, separating gender from racial oppression. His view of race is decidedly masculine with little, if any, investment in black women. I don’t like that it took one of my favorite rappers this long to get his act together. Nor do I like that it took his daughter being born for him to make the decision. At the end of the day, though, I’m glad that Blue Ivy inspired Jay to change. For any parents reading this, I’m sure that the birth of your little one(s) made you think twice about your values too, right?
What concerns me more than Jay’s actions are the millions of fans that buy (or download) his music while blindly accepting the warped gender dynamics reinforced in his songs. These are the people who, on a daily basis, are presented with opportunities to shift the power dynamics that Daddy Hov fears his daughter will have to confront.
Facebookers (myself included) are “liking” Prof. Watkins’ post as if doing so delivers a death blow to gender oppression. Newsflash!!! It doesn’t. And that means we have work to do. Gender oppression extends far beyond saying b&%@! As I climb off my soapbox, please indulge me by educating yourself on gender oppression and gender equality. Here are a few websites and videos to get you started:
Then put this newly-acquired knowledge into practice! Look for groups/organizations in your area that fight gender oppression. If one doesn’t exist, start one. There are also online initiatives that you can get involved in. You can contribute to a blog and spread awareness online. You can create art that educates us on this issue. You can create an app that supports gender justice. The possibilities are endless!
It is easy to sit back and critique Jay-Z without being self-reflexive. However, we perpetuate and/or survive gender oppression every…single…day. Now is the time to change the game. What are you going to do?
Save the date! On Wednesday, October 26, the University of Northern Iowa is having a one day institute on engaging college men in anti-violence initiatives. MAC members attended the institute last year and it was definitely worth it. This year should be even better.
The folks at UNI have lined up some amazing talent. Jackson Katz is the keynote speaker along with presentations by Elizabeth Miller and Feroz Moideen, who are involved with Coaching Boys into Men, and Harry Brod, a longtime ally, advocate, author, and expert on men and masculinity. In addition to the featured presenters, there will be breakout sessions from experts and allies from across the state and country.
Click on the links below to download the institute flyer and registration form. We hope to see you there!
One of the best aspects of working with people in the violence prevention, anti-oppression, anti-sexism and social justice fields is that my inbox is always full of amazing material relevant to the work I do.
There is so much good stuff out there, it’s hard to find the time to read and digest it, let alone find it all. I’m really thankful to all the people who forward me information about the topics that I am passionate about. A couple of weeks ago, I was forwarded a link to an awesome blog called No, Seriously, What about teh menz?
I spent 5-10 minutes on their FAQ section and was hooked. The blog editors and contributors have taken on a monumental task. Not only are they attempting to maintain a space to define, clarify, and discuss issues related to gender, sexuality, identity, and equality but they are also purposefully engaging men in the discussion, process and content. My favorite part of the blog is the tone and delivery. Each piece is written in an approachable and accessible manner. They are raw, unpolished and irreverent. They appear to be crafted by intelligent and passionate individuals who are doing their best to articulate their reactions to important topics in an approachable way. Each contributor seems to want to connect, not impress, their audience. I appreciate that.
As a PhD student, I’ve had to digest some pretty dense articles. I often finish the article, scratch my head and wonder, “What did I just read? What were they even talking about?” I’ve never been impressed by people who speak only in professional jargon that alienates everyone except the 14 people who obtained a PhD in Obfuscating Terminology. A truly wonderful statistics professor would always ask our class to explain the concept in ways that someone who had no background in statistics could understand. I believe No, Seriously is on it’s way to creating an effective forum to discuss egalitarianism and privilege in a way that is accessible to people who are new and those who are well-versed in the topics.
Below are some topics they cover in their FAQ page. I’m not in love with every single thing I have seen. I don’t care for their profuse usage of the word “fuck.” When I say profuse, I mean it is so common it often distracts me from the content of the passage. However, I’ve never read a blog where I agreed with everything that was said. I do appreciate and respect their content and mission. Anyone who can explore and explain the concept of masculist without making me cringe is doing something right. I hope that they continue to address gender egalitarianism in awesome ways!
No, Seriously, What about teh menz FAQs:
I’m not allowed to say “lame” now? What the fuck does “cis” mean? Don’t feminists think men are evil? I’m so confused!
What’s this “masculist” think some you guys keep talking about? Doesn’t feminism already cover gender equality?
After much hard work by the folks over at theIowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence(ICADV) and Iowa MAN members, the official Iowa MAN website launched. The website looks great. The most important thing about this event is that it signifies a statewide effort to engage men about the issues related to eliminating violence and creating safer communities.
Below are Iowa MAN’s vision and mission:
VISION
We envision a community where men are actively engaged in confronting men’s violence against women and girls and all its forms, and where all members of society are engaged in promoting healthy, peaceful, and respectful relationships.
MISSION
As an organization, we will eliminate men’s violence against women and girls by pursuing knowledge from those most affected by it. As a call to action, we will work to inspire all men of Iowa to partner with women to promote healthy and respectful relationships in their homes, neighborhoods, and the community, to model peaceful and respectful behaviors with each other, and to empower our youth with similar tools and skills necessary to live and expect a lifestyle free from abuse.
You can visit the Iowa Men’s Action Network websitehere.
Michael Kaufman, author, educator and co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign, recently launched a redesigned blog at www.michaelkaufman.com with numerous resources and articles about engaging men, gender equality, masculinity and violence prevention. I’ve heard Michael speak about these issues and was impressed with the content, humor and delivery of his message.
One of the first posts that I read on Michael’s website was a post about a documentary by Marc de Guerre called The End of Men. Check out a promo of the documentary below.
I frequently link to content on The Good Men Project. I often agree with their vision and appreciate their transparency about their journey in discovering what it means to be a good man. I appreciate their willingness to struggle with this concept while doing what most of us do. They try and be the best friend, father, partner, brother, son, and coworker they know how to be while always aware that they could be better. They struggle with being a good man, a real man, and a strong man. They make mistakes, learn and try again. The important piece to me is that they are willing to celebrate their successes and share their struggles.
However, I also love it when we can inject some humor and satire into this discussion. A common knee-jerk reaction to men who aren’t willing to swallow society’s definition of a real man and who are willing and able to criticize and reflect on these concepts, is to label them a misandrist traitor. This is why I loved Tom Matlack’s piece entitled Have you Seen My Mangina?
It was a perfect illustration of gender policing and many of the ridiculous restrictions that are placed on men. I love the way Tom described his confusion during his journey to decipher the meaning of the term and whether or not he is a mangina or has a mangina? The examples that he solicited from his friends and colleagues were hilarious. It was great to see his eventual reclamation of the word and feeling of pride in being a man who was comfortable being himself. That flexibility, humor and compassion is a great example to set for other men and boys. I still cringe at the term mangina and all of the potential negative connotations about the inferiority of females and femininity. That term is not what I like about this piece. In fact, that term is what I abhor about this piece.
I’m advocating for more examples of men who embrace attitudes, behaviors and other men who perform in ways that are not often appreciated or tolerated by society. If more men could move past feeling ashamed and being shamed by others because of constantly failing rigid, impossible and arbitrary rules of manood, we would have a lot more healthier and happier men.
It would be nice to live in a world where individuals were not bombarded with derogatory and hateful words when they step outside of the socially constructed box. Until then, I hope that more individuals can reframe these words and celebrate the diversity and flexibility that allows them to define who they are.
If you are involved or interested in the development of teaching, research and clinical practice in the field of men’s studies and masculinities, you should consider attending the 19th annual Men and Masculinity Conference hosted by the American Men’s Studies Association (AMSA). The theme this year is Men, Masculinities and the Common Good in an Era of Economic Uncertainty.
The conference is on March 31-April 3, 2011 at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and is co-sponsored by the Women’s Center and Women’s and Gender Studies Program of the University of Missouri – Kansas City. You can register online for the conference and pre-conference workshops. You can save money with early registration if you sign up before February 28. Michael Kimmel will be presenting the keynote address.
You can find out more about AMSA on their website and you can join the AMSA group on Facebook.
