Miscellaneous

ANU Masterclass opportunity: Men and masculinities: Theoretical and historiographical reflections. (apply by

When men participate as students in Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) classrooms, they undergo feminist change. They adopt more progressive understandings of gender, show greater support for feminism, and increase their involvement in antisexist activism. Male students in WGS classrooms benefit to the same degree as female students, showing similar levels of change, although they start with poorer attitudes and thus the gap between them and their female peers persists. At the same time, male students’ presence highlights critical challenges to feminist pedagogy: gendered patterns of interaction, resistance to feminist teaching, and limitations on women’s critical reflections on personal experience. When men teach WGS, typically they are ‘‘graded up’’—evaluated by students as less biased and more competent than female professors. Male professors face distinct dilemmas in teaching about gender inequality from a position of privilege. Yet, like male students, they can adopt traitorous and antipatriarchal social locations and standpoints, developing pedagogies for and by the privileged.

Male-male social bonds have a powerful influence on the sexual relations of some young heterosexual men. Qualitative analysis among young men aged eighteen to twenty-six in Canberra, Australia, documents the homosocial organization of men’s heterosexual relations. Homosociality organizes men’s sociosexual relations in at least four ways. For some of these young men, male-male friendships take priority over male-female relations, and platonic friendships with women are dangerously feminizing. Sexual activity is a key path to masculine status, and other men are the audience, always imagined and sometimes real, for one’s sexual activities. Heterosexual sex itself can be the medium through which male bonding is enacted. Last, men’s sexual storytelling is shaped by homosocial masculine cultures. While these patterns were evident particularly among young men in the highly homosocial culture of a military academy, their presence also among other groups suggests the wider influence of homosociality on men’s sexual and social relations.

Citation: Flood, M. (2008) Men, Sex, and Homosociality: How bonds between men shape their sexual relations with women. Men and Masculinities, 10(3), April: 339-359.

The Centre for Research on Men and Masculinities at the University of Wollongong is hosting a workshop on the critical studies of men and masculinities. The workshop is intended to assess the state of play in the critical study of men and masculinities, facilitate the establishment of research collaborations, and launch the Centre for Research on Men and Masculinities.

CALL FOR PAPERS - Masculinities in Asia
Print

Date: 4 Aug 2011 - 5 Aug 2011
Venue: Asia Research Institute
469A Tower Block, Level 10 Bukit Timah Road
National University of Singapore @ BTC
Organisers: N/A

Description:

CALL FOR PAPERS (DEADLINE: 1 MARCH 2011)
This international workshop is jointly organized by the Asia Research Institute and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (Asian Studies Division, Gender Studies Minor Program, and 'Doing Asian Studies' Reading Group), National University of Singapore

I was recently puzzling over why I was having such difficulty doing a particular piece of writing. Everything I tried felt a little off key, a little false, and I couldn't understand it. It slowly dawned on me that the explanation was that I couldn't write authentically about the topic at hand without setting it in a different and broader context -- that is, without talking at least briefly about my feelings about masculinity.

The world of misogynist men's rights activist online trolls isn't as huge as one might think. The question posed to Yahoo Answers below is made by a guy named Nifty. He is the Yahoo friend of Doodlebugjim in his current incarnation. If you don't recall who Doodlebugjim is from a previous post (a mention in comments, actually), I'll update you below. And then we'll move right along to Nifty's question and a rebuttal response.

Think for a minute about the strong female action heros of recent memory. Think also about their status as icons of feminism, as female empowerment personified. This articles explores the depiction of the modern cinematic female action hero, revealing how most are not the genuine feminist icons we hope them to be. Rather, and most unfortunately, most female action heros are only extensions of male fantasy.

What image pops up when you hear the term ''feminist''? Some might imagine unshaven legs and armpits, short hair and a shorter temper. Others might envisage a middle-class humanities academic - perfect prey for ''chardonnay socialist'' gibes. If you imagined both of these, well done. I have hairy pins, I'm bald, I have a background in the liberal arts - and I'm a feminist.

SEEKING MALE PARTICIPANTS FOR RESEARCH STUDY

Graduate Student Seeking Male Research Participants for an ONLINE SURVEY. In particular, the Survey focuses on Men’s societal roles, managing emotions, and how men deal with conflict in the United States.

In order to participate you:
• Must be male.
• Must be age 18 or older.
• Must have been born, raised, and currently reside in the United States.

Your Participation entails:
• Sending an email to: Menstudy2009.2010@gmail.com
• Following the instructions in a reply email which will direct you to a