Let's begin with one basic observations about how things work in dominant Western societies:
Misogyny is not only corporately manufactured, but is also promulgated, promoted, heralded, and honored as "sacred" in a society that continually finds new ways to violate and degrade women as a gendered class.
Sexualities
There was another post made here a couple of weeks or so ago that a good friend noted was potentially transphobic, or, at least, not very welcoming of trans visitors to my blog. I agreed with her and pulled the post. I revised it so much it became something else. What follows is that something else. (I sometimes use the word "they" or "them" as synonymous with "she/he/neither" and "her/him/neither", respectively.)
Sweet Tea is a collective of Southern queer men dedicated to fostering supportive, sustainable and loving communities among queer men by raising our consciousness of sexism and other forms of oppression. Their proclamation was publicised online in April 2009.
This special issue of the magazine XY: Men, Sex, Politics (1994) focuses on men and sex. It includes the following articles:
Journey of desire: new forms of monogamy and sexual preference.
Good thing it's not sex: sexual socialisation.
Loving and touching.
Sex with men?
Heterosex
A celibate marriage
You show me yours.
Diverse desires.
Gay patriarchy.
Please see below for the magazine, in PDF.
Laura Mª Agustín uncovers some of the myths around sex workers and the men engaging their services within the context of building a movement to end 'violence against women'. She argues that totalizing all experiences of prostitution with a view to punishment and criminalization does not work and advocates a much more visionary and pluralistic approach.
Cameron Bustamante describes the beginnings of conversations among men about sexual violence.
There has been much talk at this conference about the need for men to love each other and be willing to speak openly about that love. That is important; we need to be able to get beyond the all-too-common male tendency to mute or deform our emotions. But it’s also crucial to remember that loving one another means challenging ourselves as well. That’s what I would like to do today, to challenge us -- in harsh language -- on men’s use of pornography. In an unjust world, those of us with privilege must be harsh on ourselves, out of love.
Pornography and prostitution are overwhelmingly not 'choices.' They are vast, exploitative, patriarchal-capitalist industries, largely violent, very lucrative, controlled by women-hating men, and destructive of the women (and children) who are victimized by them.
Breaking the barriers to desire: Polyamory, polyfidelity and non-monogamy - new approaches to multiple relationships
Edited by Kevin Lano and Claire Parry
Five Leaves Publications, 1995.
These workshop notes include useful questions for discussion, brief writeups on elements of ‘good sex’, further reading, and a handout for young people on “Tips for Good Sex”. I have also included a lengthier discussion of working with boys and young men on ‘doing consent’, as I think this is a critical issue. The materials on consent easily could be turned into a workshop on their own, for boys and young men.