Story by Charmaine Ng
“[Women and girls] are not out raping themselves,” Jackson Katz, leading anti-sexist author and filmmaker, declared. “But it’s not about individual men and boys,” he said. “It’s about a culture. We have to talk about how our culture is teaching men to rape.”
On a Wednesday night in early February, so many University students came out for the talk, “More Than A Few Good Men,” that it took half an hour to pack the EMU Ballroom. At the front of the line stood Leslie Jung and Kristen Toenniges . As members of a sociology class titled “Sex Is A Commodity,” the seniors had both watched Katz’s documentary, “Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity.” While intrigued by the subject, “what really brought us here was the three points extra credit,” Toenniges joked. On a serious note, “it’s all about gender roles that males and females carry and the boundaries that aren’t necessary, but are instilled in our lives.” Jung agrees, “It’s a social construct that we adapt to. It’s always shaping how we behave.”
Famous for his work in gender violence prevention education for men, specifically involving athletics and the military, Katz has spoken all over the world in academic and professional settings. He has co-created three educational films and authored The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help in 2006.
Sponsored by twenty organizations, including the Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention, ASUO Men’s Center, and the Interfraternity Council, the lecture took months to plan. IFC Vice President Turner Hoenig affirmed the importance of Katz’s message. “I do see it [VAC1] on this campus, more so when alcohol is involved. Not so much in the violent sense, more in that it’s drunken fun – but it’s really not,” he said.
With passion and sharp, demanding wit, Katz challenged men to work with women on issues like domestic violence, rape, and sexual abuse. As the ones responsible for these crimes 99 percent of the time, he said, men must acknowledge that they play a role in this problematic cycle. Katz also emphasized that cases of violence are not restricted to the mentally ill or troubled. “If we can say that these men are monsters, then we can resist the introspection that we should be engaging in,” he said.
Aside from sending out a call of action to men, Katz stressed the flaws in the attitudes that communities and media outlets espouse. It’s no secret that “we socialize boys and girls differently. Men have been socialized to respond to pain [by feeling] like a failure.” As a result, they avoid their emotions and actions, eventually lashing out at those closest to them: their partners.
The charged air in the ballroom came to life during a question-and-answer session. A woman brought a key point to his attention: “The row I’m sitting in was reserved for all of the coaches of the athletic department. No one showed up. Can you speak to that?”
Well, they certainly missed out.