Despite tremendous media coverage of the upcoming recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom in California, one aspect of this political struggle that has barely registered in California or nationally is the women’s rights work and leadership of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the first partner of California. In a Ms. exclusive interview, contributing writer Jackson Katz, a long-time colleague and collaborator of Ms. Newsom, asked her about her gender justice advocacy work both in and outside of the Newsom administration—and her unfinished agenda.
Author: Jackson Katz
Jackson Katz, Ph.D., is internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship and activism on issues of gender, race and violence. Katz has long been a major figure and thought leader in the growing global movement of men working to promote gender equality and prevent gender violence. He is co-founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), one of the longest-running and most widely influential gender violence prevention programs in North America and beyond. He is the author of two acclaimed books and creator of the award-winning "Tough Guise" educational documentary series. He is also the creator of "The Man Card: White Male Identity Politics from Nixon to Trump" (2020). His TEDx talk, "Violence Against Women Is a Men's Issue," has nearly 5 million total views.
The Ms. Q&A: Jackson Katz on Performative Patriotism, White Masculinity, and the Future of the Republican Party
The Trump-inspired Capitol riots were a stunning, disgraceful reminder that far-right violent extremism and white-nationalist terrorism are on the rise.
But while much of the commentary about the insurrection has focused on racism, another crucial part of the story has escaped scrutiny: the fact that the vast majority of those who rioted were not just white people, but white men.
Progress in Gender Violence Prevention Begins When the Trump Presidency Ends
Trump’s behavior has so dramatically lowered the bar for what is and should be expected of adult male behavior that it will take years to undo the regression. Come January 20, we will see if our nation’s “moral imagination” can be reignited—this time with infinitely more competent and enlightened 21st century leadership.
What Donald Trump Understands about American Men
Trump might not be a sophisticated political thinker or student of history, but he understands something fundamental about manhood in a patriarchal culture: the system remains in place because a majority of men fear being ‘unmanned’ and losing the respect of other men more than they value abstract concepts like commitment to scientific reason, equal justice under law or even democracy itself.
Boxing Metaphors and the Importance of Gender in the Trump-Biden Debate
How will we be able to develop a better, more inclusive leadership class that is capable of finding solutions to complex 21st century problems when our political culture is dominated by language that focuses not on what candidates say or stand for—but on the fact that the “frontrunner” failed to deliver a “knockout punch”?
Bad Cops and Bystanders: How Male-Dominated Cultures Keep Men Silent
Three sworn officers of the Minneapolis Police Department—all adult men—were in a position to interrupt their fellow officer’s abusive behavior and save Floyd’s life. But none did. Why?
How do norms in male-dominated peer cultures like police departments operate to keep men silent, even when they know something is wrong?
Donald Trump and the Tragedy of Failed “Masculine” Leadership
The straightforward explanation for why the federal government has done such a poor job in response to the coronavirus crisis is that Donald Trump is simply not man enough to be president of the United States.
Trump and the “Nasty,” “Horrid” Women Reporters
The viewing public has been able to observe what untold numbers of women have experienced directly for millennia: powerful men treating them differently than men as they try to do their jobs.
Unmasking Donald Trump
Wearing a mask acknowledges that we are all human beings, and that it is in our DNA, regardless of gender, to care about each other. It is a national tragedy that we don’t have a president who can say and model this in a time of great need. But we can say it to each other—We can all step up and cover our faces.