Look to the Middle East for your lessons in feminism, and take notes. There are countless examples of men in the Middle East standing up for women’s rights.
Tag: Masculinity
One Reason We All Want to Live in Barbieland? There Is No Gun Industry.
“There are no guns in Barbieland.”
The characters—and some of the audience, all of whom likely scanned the theater for exits before sitting down (it is the “real world” of America, after all)—sighed deeply, relieved the Kens couldn’t inflict the horrors we see in the news every day.
What Boys and Men Can Learn from Ken
The Barbie movie reveals one of the patriarchy’s dirty little secrets: Not only does the patriarchy exclude and punish women; but it also harms men who don’t meet the very narrow definitions of ‘manhood’ that are most favored.
Millions of men have already seen the movie and enjoyed it immensely. This success is a testament to our ability to laugh at ourselves and some of the less attractive features of male-dominated cultures, without crying foul and embracing an unearned victim status.
Wanted: More Fathers on the Front Lines of Social Change
Moms have long employed their moral authority as a parent to advance the social good. Where are the fathers and grandfathers?
Did ‘Ted Lasso’ Change the Way We View Masculinity on TV?
Ted Lasso stayed true to its most salient value in our current media landscape by casually and comfortably addressing the possibility of healthier masculinity in heavily male-dominated spaces. This is particularly groundbreaking given the context of aggression in men’s sports, especially English football.
Football Legend Jim Brown’s Legacy Includes Serial Abuse of Women
When football legend and civil rights icon Jim Brown died at 87 years old on May 18, commentary about his life and legacy downplayed his long history of violence against women.
One of the extraordinary ironies of Brown’s life is that he was a Black man who, in the face of stinging racism, demanded to be treated as a full human being who was “not going to be pushed around or disrespected.” But he allegedly did just that, and worse, to many Black women.
A New Texas Two-Step for Uvalde and Beyond
One year after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, officials are still ducking and weaving; still doing little to curb easy access to guns throughout the state.
With mass shootings a weekly occurrence, we cannot overlook who the murderers are: almost exclusively white men. Men must join the movement to advance life-saving gun control measures. It is the least we can do to honor the memories of those murdered in Uvalde, and all the other victims and survivors of American gun violence.
Josh Hawley’s New Book on Manhood Is Wrong on Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Ideas about men and manhood have been evolving for more than 50 years, but Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has not gotten the message. His new book, Manhood: Finding Purpose in Faith, Family, and Country ignores the realities of today’s men—more and more of whom are abandoning traditional expressions of masculine culture. Support among younger men for women’s reproductive rights, for gay and trans rights, for voting rights, is especially on the rise.
Fifty years ago, Hawley may have sold a lot of books. Today, I’m betting they’ll be remaindered by the Fourth of July.
The Proud Boys Have Only Just Begun to Fight
Guilty verdicts for seditious conspiracy were handed down to key members of the Proud Boys on May 4 for actions related to the Capitol insurrection—marking a significant milestone in the 21st-century struggle in democratic societies against far-right extremism and political violence.
But the group is still mobilizing at a rapid pace across the country. And they’ve adjusted their strategy, turning toward anti-LGBTQ activism and expanding the group’s mission beyond Trumpian “stop the steal” efforts to focus its violent tactics on policing the borders of traditional masculinity. So what can be done about the disturbing emergence of the Proud Boys as a reactionary force determined to block social progress?
The Danger of Incels—and How We Shift the Thinking of Men Attracted to These Groups
The sources of misogyny and violence against women are complex, and it is critical to examine them—not just during National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but always.
One such perpetrator of violence: incels, or “involuntary celibates.” The grievances of this group over their perceived sexual exclusion often takes the form of violence, especially violence against women. Society must come together to address the root causes of incel violence—or continue to face the deadly consequences.