Masculinity and Male Violence: Targeting Men for Change

Karen Small, Women’s Media Watch

?? We as women, by the nature of our work, have had a growing concern about how little has been done to critically explore issues affecting men and boys.?It has never been easy for women to speak to men about male violence, particularly sexual and domestic violence. Whether it is because of men’s trivializing comments, or their outright personal??attacks and hostility, women (and some men) feel? exasperated and powerless when they try to talk to men about the need for change.

??It is no easier to change boys, considering how their gender identity is internalized and maintained. Boys get their ideas about male identity and manhood from parents, peers, their chosen role models ?sports and media personalities - and from society as a whole. There are rigid expectations of what they must live up to in order to be “real? men.?

?? Time and time again in Women’s Media Watch workshops we hear boys say that they are supposed to be tough, aggressive, in control, they are not to express feelings except aggression, not to cry, and never to ask for help. They expect girls to submit to them and to be dependent on them. Many boys are hit, yelled at, teased and forced into acts of violence to prove they are tough. They then take their pain and anger out on others, the way older males (and females) have done to them.

?? Boys say that unless they fight to prove their toughness, they’ll be labelled “chi chi man? or“sissy??Fear of being termed a homosexual (and being identified with females) has a powerful??? impact on boys from an early age. And media?images reinforce this message: WMW’s media??research suggests the recurring image of a violent person is one who is young, male, and more often rewarded than punished for his violent behaviour.*

?? Our culture cruelly constrains our young men into rigid, harmful and damaging patterns of behaviour. Young men need to understand the social framework of power that constantly pressures them to be violent. A transformation is needed at the personal level as well as at the cultural level.

??? Such a transformation can take place. In Women’s Media Watch workshops young men learn to challenge the notion that men are naturally aggressive. An important part of this work is getting young men to analyse media images and popular culture that promote violence and unhealthy male and female stereotypes, and helping them to choose alternatives to violence.

??For us at Women’s Media Watch this is powerful life-changing work that can be healing for us as well as for those we interact with. Nevertheless, challenging men to stop all kinds of violence against each other and against women should also be men’s work. ???????????????????????????????/span>- Karen Small

?/span>*The portrayal of violence in?the Jamaica media 1999-2000 Women’s Media Watch

Young Men and Sexuality

Hilary Nicholson, Women’s Media Watch

Young men often feel pressured to assert their masculinity either through sex or through being violent. For them, that is being macho. In response to this pervading mentality, Women’s Media Watch (WMW) has been exploring ‘sexuality?with young men.

?? For most boys and young men, sexuality simply means ‘having sex? They feel that they must have sex to prove themselves. They convince girls that both girls and guys get ill if they don’t have regular sex, and many boys force girls into sex. The underlying beliefs about what constitutes male sexuality therefore need to be questioned.? If young men can learn that they can express their sexuality in various ways other than simply ‘having sex? they may become less fixated on sexual intercourse and less likely to coerce girls into sex.

??? The WMW workshops use a variety of participatory techniques and lots of visual aids ?drawing, puzzles, role-play, video clips, magazines, tabloids and of course DJ lyrics.? Drawings about ‘sexuality?often start off with graphic?illustrations of body parts, but one group of young men drew a couple? sheltering?together??under an? umbrella in a rainstorm, walking?towards a? little house. Gradually, workshop participants learn that sexuality involves their whole person ?their thoughts, emotions and intelligence, and that sexuality can be expressed in many different ways.

??? Participants examine songs such as Shaggy’s ?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>It Wasn’t Me?or Lexus?chorus “ten gal breed and yuh damn right I did it? and they discuss the pros and cons of cheating in a relationship, or?having more than one girlfriend.?“It’s the in-thing, but that doesn’t make it right? admitted one young man at a workshop in Spanish Town. The frank approach by the WMW team has enabled the young men to open up to discussions of male-female relations and equal rights for women and men.

??? “Sexuality can be love and romance - and sexuality is your mind, too?concluded one young man, at the end of some heated debates in a workshop in Gordon Town. The WMW Team hopes he’ll pass this message on to some of his peers!

The above articles appeared in “Looking Out? ?Vol.2.No.2. -?Newsletter of Women’s Media Watch?????