Efforts to prevent sexual violence against women and girls now increasingly take as given that they must engage men and boys. The theatre-based intervention described in the previous issue of Feminism & Psychology (Rich, 2010) is one of a wave of programmes and strategies focused on males. Using that intervention as a springboard, this article asks: why should we engage men and boys in preventing violence against women, what strategies are under way and do they work? Educational interventions among males often invite them to become active or pro-social bystanders, taking action to stop the perpetration of specific incidents of violence, reduce the risks of violence escalating and strengthen the conditions that work against violence occurring (Powell, 2010: 6–7). However, engaging men in challenging rape-supportive norms and behaviours is hard work. This article concludes by discussing the barriers to, and supports for, men’s bystander interventions.
Activism & Politics
This XY special collection brings together a range of critiques of 'fathers' rights' groups - anti-feminist men's groups focused on issues of family law, fathering, and other areas. Such groups overlap with 'men's rights' groups. Flood's chapter "What's wrong with fathers' rights?" provides a short introduction, while other other pieces provide more detailed commentary. See the end of this page for the pieces, in PDF. The collection includes the following pieces:
1. I can receive praise or acknowledgement for doing the same or similar work as female colleagues, who will not receive similar praise or acknowledgement.
2. My odds of being hired for a job, when competing against female applicants, are probably skewed in my favor. The more prestigious the job, the larger the odds are skewed.
3. I can have very little experience but still be pushed (or pulled) into visible leadership positions.
.... (For the remainder, please see below.)
Do you have an inspiring story about someone who has stood up against the tide? Engagingmen.net's e-magazine is seeking stories of resistance and change to publish.
This document was found on the website of Men Against Pornography in the late 1990s. While I can no longer find it online, I've put this copy up on XY as a record of this powerful and provocate statement regarding profeminist men's accountability to particular feminists and feminisms. I am unsure of its publication date. Michael Flood.
This document reports on a pilot project in Pakistan involving men in gender equality, undertaken by the NGO Rozan and the Ministry of Women's Affairs and supported by UNESCO.
How can we prevent violence against women? And how can we make progress by engaging men? This one-day workshop provides a comprehensive introduction to frameworks and strategies for primary prevention, with a focus on engaging and mobilising men.
Together with many others, we have come to see male supremacy as a system causing a great deal of violence and harm not only in the world at large, but also within our own radical and Left movements. Whether it’s physical or sexual abuse, talking over others, unsolicited neediness, or shrugging off emotional and logistical work, practices of male supremacy often work to undermine solidarity and community. They harm, traumatize and push people away, placing even more obstacles in our collective path to social transformation.
Let's get right into it.
I am a straight male who loves punk music. By pure chance of my sexuality and gender, I am a person of immense privilege. I am also a member of the demographic that comprises the majority of the punk scene. I’m writing this in the hope that fellow members of our demographic will take a deeper consideration of our role in sexism within the scene. While we supposedly value ideals of inclusiveness and egalitarianism, we fall woefully short in practice.