Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Keith E. Edwards" <>]

I too share this concern. There clearly are many issues facing men in 
general and college men in particular. However, I do see many men and 
some women use these real issues as an opportunity to attack feminism 
for "swinging the pendulum too far" or as Ben Atherton-Zeman states "men 
are the real victims now" (which I hear a lot). I find few of these 
folks are really anti-feminist in ideology but instead just not looking 
at the issue in a very deep way. For these folks I find tapping into 
this concern can be a great entry point to engage them on issues of 
gender equity. Of course there are some who are anti-feminist and are 
using this as a strategic political tactic. As Ben stated it is 
important to speak out in the face of this backlash, as Alan Berkowitz 
noted Jackson Katz's book has great potential in this area as well. 
Christopher Kilmartin also frames the issue well in terms of men's 
responsibility.

My approach is generally to begin by saying that "Battle of the Sexes" 
is a crappy show on MTV and not at all a solution to the issues facing 
men or women. The issues facing men are not because feminism has gone to 
far, it is because feminism has not yet been allowed to go far enough. 
The real issues facing men are, upon closer examination, really a result 
of the patriarchal system and the unrealistic and impossible 
expectations it puts on men. Men certainly benefit from male privilege 
in concrete ways but there is also a price we pay. Patriarchy forces men 
to conform to a traditional definition of masculinity that is not a fit 
for any actual men. The pressure for men to fit into this restricted 
version of masculinity keeps us denying parts of our humanity that do 
not fit and performing inauthentically to aspects of it that do not fit 
with our authentic selves. This traditional definition of masculinity 
often dismisses the manhood of men who do not fit a hegemonic ideal 
because of their race, sexual orientation, class, ability, etc. In this 
way, the system of patriarchy uses the traditional definition of 
masculinity as a tool to oppress women, marginalize some men, and limit 
all men.

As I speak on college campuses, I find more and more college 
administrators interested in this as well as college men and women. Just 
last week I was speaking with students on a campus in the mid-west. 
After a brief discussion of patriarchy and the traditional definition of 
masculinity and the way it puts pressures on men, these first-year 
students were able to throw out examples from their own lives in which 
they observed pressure for men to deny parts of themselves or perform to 
a false masculinity. These examples included men yelling at women on the 
street, making homophobic statements as well as men who felt pressure 
not to confront these behaviors that disgusted them. They also saw this 
playing out in all aspects of their lives including men performing to 
this version of masculinity in the gym, classroom, and bedroom. While I 
was impressed at the connections these students made, what was 
particularly interesting/depressing is that these were not examples that 
they had heard about or experienced at some point in their lives...they 
were all their own experiences from this past week! I also spoke with 
college administrators on the campus who were concerned about the high 
rates of college men's drinking and lower levels of involvement, 
academic success, and retention.

We must address the anti-feminist or even anti-women backlash that some 
who point out these issues are advocating. We also can use these issues 
facing men as an opportunity to bring more folks into the gender equity 
movement. The reality is that addressing patriarchy will not only 
benefit women but it will also benefit us as men as well.

Thanks
Keith
--

*Keith E. Edwards*

*Men Ending Rape*
302-377-2982




 - http://www.menendingrape.org