Miscellaneous

Father’s Day is an appropriate time to remember that the man occupying the White House represents among the worst expressions of manhood the US has ever seen. That dangerous truth is being obscured by so many of Donald Trump’s other treacherous actions. Million of words have been written excoriating the questionably elected president on a host of topics—from denying climate change to restricting minority voting rights; from restricting women’s reproductive rights to promoting harsh prison sentences for nonviolent offenders. Almost entirely absent in this blizzard of assaults on social progress, is the predator-in-chief’s misogyny.
Homer, a new website that seeks to shine a light on masculinities, confuse ideas of what it means to be a man and add depth to what role models for men look like, is seeking submissions. Homer invites and encourages writing from women, LGBTIQA writers and writers of all races and CALD backgrounds, but it won’t go far to destigmatising male vulnerability et al. without the public complicity of men. Homer is about men going public with this conversation, in concert with everyone else.
A body of writing on ‘inclusive masculinity’ has emerged in scholarship on men and masculinities. Pioneered by Eric Anderson and developed further by others such as Mark McCormack, this work makes both empirical claims about shifts in masculinity, sexuality, and homophobia, and conceptual claims about how to theorise masculinities. This work also has attracted critique and commentary. Here, we have collected recent examples of commentary on inclusive masculinity theory. Further additions are welcome.

As one of the first studies on Afghan Masculinities and Gender inequality, the overall purpose of the research is to achieve an in-depth understanding of different notions of being a man in Afghanistan and how they contribute to gender inequality. Results affirmed that being a man refers to social roles, behaviours, and meanings prescribed in a particular context.

Our world is a deeply unequal one. Systemic inequalities which disadvantage women and advantage men are visible around the globe. Whether one looks at political power and authority, economic resources and decision-making, sexual and family relations, or media and culture, one finds gender inequalities. These are sustained in part by constructions of masculinity–by the cultural meanings associated with being a man, the practices which men adopt, and the collective and institutional organisation of men’s lives and relations.

CARE Uganda is looking for someone who can support them with participatory action research related to men's involvement in sexual, reproductive and maternal health.

[Note: The text of this talk is below. But if you want to see a video of the talk as it was delivered, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHnpNyyhjhw.]

Language warning. I’m going to use the ‘F word’, a lot, in this talk. And that word is feminism. I’ve got two simple messages. Feminism needs men. And men need feminism.

“Men who go to Church don’t commit domestic violence!”  A recent Christianity Magazine survey revealed over ½ respondents – mostly women & regular church goers - had suffered domestic abuse.  Up to 10% evangelical Christians in UK experienced physical abuse in 2012. Read more