Shifts in the sexual cultures of young heterosexual men and women represent both opportunities for and obstacles to safe sex.
Please see the attachment below, in PDF.
Activism & Politics
20 Apr 2009
From around 2005 until early 2006, I delusionally entertained an idea of myself as ungendered. Then a radical activist friend, Yolanda Carrington, pointed out to me how politically absurd this notion of mine was. And I realized that the white male supremacist mind—mine in particular—is quite capable of generating lots of mental CRAP. How could I have grown up in a deeply white male supremacist society, and not be socially and interpersonally gendered? Her point was that regardless of what I thought of myself as, I am in a real world where gender—and race—matter, a lot. And being gendered, as a woman or man, a girl or a boy, is not something one can escape. Privileges and power are distributed based on how we are perceived, and according to our anatomy. The anatomy is biological, but the political meaning is entirely social.
20 Apr 2009
I’m not a big TV watcher, but an ad I saw the other day caught my eye. You may have seen it – it shows an infant at a tray table throwing food into the air. The infant’s father is supervising, and rather than creatively encouraging the infant to eat his food, he coaches him to throw the next bit of food overarm like a bowler playing cricket. At this point the infant’s mother comes into the room, and looks at them with a surprised and disappointed face.
I was struck by how such a seemingly harmless and funny ad can reinforce gender role stereotypes. The mother’s brief appearance is done in a way that frames her as the responsible parent who needs to apply the rules of the house. The father is presented as the fun-loving, playful parent who implicitly likes to bend the rules. He takes centre stage in the ad and no doubt draws lots of affectionate laughter from viewers, while she is relatively invisible and reduced to her function as a parent.
20 Apr 2009
Have you ever experienced one of those moments where you hear a comment stereotyping women, and know that you should say something … but hesitate or freeze? Do you ever find yourself starting to laugh at a sexist or homophobic joke, and then catch yourself and think “What should I do now?”
18 Apr 2009
Michael Kaufman discusses the need to both address and involve men in ending violence against women (VAW), a few of the pitfalls and guiding principles, and shares his thoughts on what is the most developed example of this work, that is, the White Ribbon Campaign.
Please see below for the attachment, in PDF.
12 Apr 2009
In various settings, small numbers of men and boys are changing their attitudes and behaviour towards women - supporting opportunities for women to earn an income outside the home, or speaking out against gender-based violence, for example. What makes this kind of resistance to rigid views of gender possible? How can development policies and programmes stimulate or build on these positive attitudes and behaviours to achieve gender equality for all? This report - consisting of an overview, annotated bibliography, and contacts section - describes a broad range of innovative work being carried out in different parts of the world to engage men in the promotion of gender equality. It looks at the reasons for involving men and boys in gender and development work, and considers why it might be in men's own interests to change. It goes on to consider possible strategies for, and examples of, positive changes in men's attitudes and behaviour, focusing on:
:-involving men as partners against gender-based violence;
:-strengthening men's resistance to violence and conflict;
:-fostering constructive male involvement in sexual and reproductive health and rights;
:-encouraging men's positive engagement as fathers and carers; and
:-promoting more gender-equitable institutional cultures and practices within development organisations.
09 Apr 2009
This manifesto also exists in German and French.
Please contact danielmang@web.de for any information or interest!
09 Apr 2009
By Julian Real, 2007, with invaluable input from Celie's Revenge
Here's a list of what men can do:
First, recognize and accept that the personal is political, and that interpersonal behavior is part of your political work as a responsible humane being. Stop either/or'ing the private and the public, the personal and the social, the interpersonal and the institutional. All are breeding grounds for male domination of women and children.
Given the above:
09 Apr 2009
By Erica Little-Herron
“How are women treated worse than men?” my fifteen-year-old brother-in-law challenges me in an arrogant tone.
I stare at him.
09 Apr 2009
By George Marx, 1987.
I. INTRODUCTION
This paper focuses on men's anti-rape organizing from the perspective of one member of a men's pro-feminist anti-rape group. We work at educating ourselves and other "normal" men. I hope that a lot of my ideas will be adaptable to others' situations. I will try to separate issues into fairly distinct sections, although they will inevitably overlap.