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Title: The Unanswered Call
Author: Emcee Lynx
Language: en
Topics: anarcha-feminism, feminism, gender, Anarchist People of Color
Source: Retrieved on 2007-10-04 from https://web.archive.org/web/20071004215818/http://jailbreakpress.org/articles/spring07/unansweredcall.html

Emcee Lynx

The Unanswered Call

I asked my partner for a statement about Feminism to help me jumpstart

my writing process and she looked at me and said, “all men are stupid”.

I told her that if she kept talking like that I was going to have to

cry, and she amended it to “all men are stupid, except for you.” It was

intended as a joke and the exchange was friendly, but it reveals

something about the way feminism is perceived in our culture as

inherently antimale.

The severe shortage of male feminist writers might at first glance seem

to support this view, but it was not always the case – Frederick

Douglass and John Stuart Mills were both very influential in the early

feminist movement, for example. Attempts to define feminism as anti-male

(as opposed to pro-female or pro-equality) should give us pause, at

least partially because they demand that we stop and define what

Feminism actually is.

In a nutshell, the problem we will examine is that by framing the issue

as ‘ending oppression of women by men’[1] instead of ‘ending

gender-based oppression,’[2] much (but fortunately not all) feminist

theory has thus far failed to recognize gender-based oppression against

men and the linkages between that oppression and the oppression of

women. This is important for a variety of reasons, of which we only have

the time and space to address a few.

First, we must examine what exactly being a man or being masculine means

in our culture and why exactly it is problematic and worth discussing.

Secondly, we will look at a very few of the ways in which unrealistic

gender roles for men and women reinforce and support each other,

something that might seem obvious but has attracted surprisingly little

serious study. Third, we will test our new masculinist analysis by using

it to look at a few issues related to sexual assault and rape. Fourth

and (for our purposes at least) finally, we will look at why these

issues have remained fundamentally un-addressed for so long and argue

that we must begin to seriously address them if we want to win men over

to supporting feminism on a large scale.[3] There are a host of other

issues as well, and perhaps at some point in the future we can explore

them more fully, but for now we will circumscribe our analysis to these

three.

Our thesis is that it is essential for feminists – male and female – to

expand their (our) analysis to comprehensively examine men’s issues, and

that since the major obstacle to women’s emancipation is the

perseverance of restrictive and oppressive gender roles (be they at

home, in the workplace, or in politics) it is and will remain impossible

to accomplish the goal of women’s liberation without simultaneously

achieving men’s liberation as well. What that liberation may entail is a

matter of open debate, and it is clearly out of the scope of this paper

to attempt to define it. What we can do, however, is show clearly that

‘male’ and ‘female’ issues are so tightly intertwined as to be

inseparable and that attempts to deal with one without the other are

doomed to failure.

The failure to recognize the possibility of a masculine analogue to

feminism (“masculinism” perhaps?) has some truly disastrous results, for

men and women both, since male and female dichotomies reinforce each

other. The idealized strong “manly man” (who is impervious to pain,

never cries, despises weakness, earns a large enough income that his

woman does not need to work, and will gladly sacrifice himself for some

“greater good”[4]) is as old as chivalry and is the perfect counterpart

to the delicate emotional maiden (who stays at home cooking and

cleaning, never worries her pretty little head about politics, and

relies on her man to bring home the bacon and protect her). Both

archetypes are unrealistic and oppressive and reflect the same idealized

(upper class[5]) relationship between men and women, neither can exist

without the other and neither can be abolished without the other since

each creates the other. As evidence, after over a century of feminism,

women continue to do the majority of care-taking and childrearing labor

and feminist demands that men participate in these activities more

equitably will continue to be largely unsuccessful as long as such work

is portrayed as unmasculine and men are expected to work longer hours in

more dangerous conditions then women.[6]

The implications of these archetypes go far beyond housework, however,

and affect many aspects of our lives. Men are taught from a very young

age that they cannot cry, cannot show weakness, and cannot be

vulnerable, the recent case of a Father who ‘accidentally’ killed his

four year old son while trying to “toughen him up” by beating him[7] is

an extreme case but is by no means unusual. Male children in abusive

homes will frequently place themselves directly in the path of abuse in

order to “defend” their mothers and sisters[8] and only slightly less

likely to be subjected to sexual abuse – a fact which we will explore in

much greater detail later. At the less extreme end of the spectrum,

statistics indicate that boys are much less likely then girls to receive

“positive physical contact”[9], and boys are taught from a very early

age that crying and showing “weakness” are unacceptable.[10] This has

direct negative implications, not the least of which is that men live an

average of 7–8 years less then women,[11] at least partly because the

cultural refusal to acknowledge pain or discomfort makes men much less

likely to seek and receive necessary medical care.[12] Taken to a

systemic level, we find a society that systematically desensitizes its

men, renders them incapable of acknowledging their own weakness and

pain, and teaches them to perceive external displays of emotion as signs

of weakness and inferiority. Little wonder then that so many men would

continue to perceive women, who are after all taught to display their

emotions,[13] as inferior. To take an extreme example, in mainstream rap

music the term “bitch” is applied with equal ferocity to “weak” men,

homosexuals, and women; with little differentiation between the three.

This is a useful analogy since, as many of hip hop’s more “conscious”

artists have argued, rap is no more or less sexist or homophobic then

mainstream America, it is just more blunt.

A tangentially related issue is the perception of what is “woman’s work”

and what is “mans work” Statistically, women still do a disproportionate

amount of unpaid reproductive labor; things like raising children,

cleaning the house, and other non-market forms of labor which do not

have a currency value and are thus not perceived as “work” in our

culture – something feminists organizing around welfare issues have long

pointed towards as problematic.[14] The evidence would seem to suggest

that, while men are doing a larger share of such labor, they are nowhere

near parity with their female peers and don’t appear likely to converge

any time soon. Conversely, men are much more likely to work longer hours

(as shown earlier) and find employment in high-stress, dangerous, or

physically demanding fields – from construction to the military. While

the number of women employed in such fields has grown significantly

since the 1960’s, it is still nowhere near reaching parity with men and

– again — does not appear likely to converge any time soon.[15] In other

words, it is not ‘manly’ to change diapers and it is ‘manly’ to be a

soldier, a laborer, or an executive – a fact that should surprise no

one. To put it differently, women are taught to care for their families

by performing unpaid reproductive labor and men are taught to do so by

exposing themselves to personal risk and physical hardship. Whether that

is a working class man working a dangerous construction job or the

highly paid executive working a 60+ hour week and giving himself ulcers

it comes down to the same phenomenon. Bias against men as

homemaker/caregivers even extends into our legal system. Women are far

more likely then men to be awarded primary custody of children in the

event of a divorce, even when there is no evidence of wrongdoing by the

father.[16] Meanwhile, the US military refuses to allow female soldiers

to do combat duty. Each side of the dichotomy reinforces the other, and

we must address both sides if we are serious about creating equality.

Rape and sexual assault are another major set of issues of concern to

feminists that could benefit from the inclusion of a ‘masculinist’

analysis. The ongoing crisis-levels of rape and sexual abuse in America

have rightly concerned and outraged feminists for years. Unfortunately,

that outrage has thus far been fairly one-sided and men have

consistently been portrayed as the villains, ignoring the fact that men

are almost as likely as women to become victims of sexual assault. 1 in

4 American women will be raped or sexually assaulted before she reaches

18 years old[17] — a fact that feminists rightly point to as an

indicator of a society that abuses women. What is forgotten is that 1 in

6 American men suffer the same fate,[18] and that while there are

hundreds of hotlines, help centers, and support groups for female

victims of sexual assault, there are far far fewer that welcome men.

To some degree this is the result of the male archetype discussed

earlier – men are not allowed to show weakness or acknowledge pain in

our culture, a fact that prevents them from seeking help and results in

virtual silence about issues of sexual assault against them.[19] This is

at least partly due to the pop-culture representation of men as

“animals” who cannot say no to sex – the flippant phrase “you can’t rape

the willing”, hides the horrific fact that even if a boy is not a wiling

party to sexual advances by an older woman, he cannot admit that he is

or was unwilling since doing so would undermine his masculinity. Such

assaults thus go almost completely unreported.[20] The rape of young

boys by men is likewise underreported (though not by nearly as wide a

margin), Admitting that one was sexually assaulted by a man can have an

even more traumatic effect because in our homophobic culture male

victims of sexual assault and abuse perpetrated by men are likely to

have their own sexuality questioned.[21] Taken as a whole, this

phenomenon has horrific implications not only for the men themselves,

but for future generations since the many of the perpetrators of such

crimes have themselves been victims.[22]

The virtual silence in our culture regarding sexual assault against men

also has very disturbing racial implications since there are uncounted

thousands of cases of prison rape every year,[23] 62% of America’s

prison population is Black or Latino,[24] and in some states 1 in 10

black men is in jail.[25] The fact that America sends so many low-income

minority men to what amounts to modern gulags wherein they are

systematically dehumanized and raped says quite a bit about our cultures

attitudes towards non-white masculinity. Again, there are no support

groups, no hotlines, and little or no social recognition that prison

rape is even a problem or an issue worth discussing; and is largely

absent from discussions of Rape and Sexual assault. Such deafening

silence is tantamount to complicity, and we cannot allow this silence to

continue.

The common (mis)perception that feminism emasculates men by undermining

their traditional roles is another manifestation of this same dichotomy.

Essentially, the argument is that by encouraging women to take over

Men’s traditional roles, Feminism has unacceptably encroached upon and

eroded what it means to be a man in our society, and assumes as its

basic precursor that there gender role dualities are the result of

“nature”, not “nurture”. In order to adequately address these issues it

is necessary to construct new definitions of masculinity and femininity.

There are a wide range of possible reasons why feminism has thus far

failed to substantially address these issues, not the least of which is

the fact that — even considering the points raised here – women have

historically been much more dramatically and visibly disempowered then

men. One could hardly expect early feminists to have addressed these

issues – they were far too busy trying to deal with their own oppression

to worry about liberating men as well, especially when so many men

opposed their efforts. The question then arises as to why – if the

situation is really so bad — men have not stepped up to the metaphorical

plate and taken action on their own behalf. The answer, or so it seems

to this author, is that since an integral part of masculinity in our

culture is the refusal to acknowledge pain or discomfort, men who raise

these issues risk being portrayed as un-masculine effeminate whiners –

in much the same way feminists have been (and to some degree still are)

depicted as un-feminine. The threat of loss of prestige and peer-group

respect is a powerful motivation for men to keep their mouths shut.

Ironically, the problem seems particularly acute among self-described

“radicals”, attempts on my part to organize mens groups to discuss these

issues within the context of both anarchist and anti-globalization

organizations have been consistantly met with derision, by men and women

both. The common perception is that gender oppression is a function of

men oppressing women and that to suggest that gender norms in and of

themselves are inherently dehumanizing is to distract from the more

important work of combatting the oppression of women by men. If,

however, the arguments presented here are compelling then such

short-sighted refusal actually reinforces the problem.

At it’s core, the problem is one of identity; and is therefore more

difficult to frame and address then traditional feminist demands for an

end to discrimination since the culprit is not a system of legal

discrimination but a set of cultural preconceptions. Activist tactics

such as marches and protests are thus particularly unsuited for such a

project. Addressing these issues will thus require a new type of

movement, rooted in the experience and analysis of Feminism, but

extending that analysis to explore a whole new range of issues and

develop new tactics. The issue is beginning to reach a boiling point and

has already spawned several different attempts to address the issue,

from conservative groups like the Christian “Promise Keepers” which seek

to deal with the crisis by reinforcing traditional gender roles to

New-Age “men’s groups” and drum circles.[26] At this point the question

is not whether these issues will be addressed, but rather how and by

whom, and who will benefit. Feminism has done quite a bit to destabilize

“the west’s” traditional gender system, the question at hand is whether

our society (societies) will take advantage of that destabilization and

the opportunity it presents to redefine our conceptions of gender, or if

we will be caught up in reactionary conservative backlash aimed at

reinforcing older “traditional” norms of behavior. While the results of

any such projected movement are impossible to predict, what we can say

with certainty is that the ends reached will be largely determined by

the ways in which the issues are framed.

To conclude: First of all, the status quo definitions of Masculinity and

Male identity are clearly problematic and untenable since they require

the systematic dehumanization of men and the devaluation of women.

Secondly, the false dichotomies of gender identity are interlocked and

mutually supportive. It is impossible to put to rest negative

stereotypes of women and complete the dismantling of institutional

barriers against them without doing the same for men since as long as

our culture divides different types of labor into “men’s work” and

“women’s work”, individuals attempting to cross that barrier will be

subject to discrimination. Third and finally, dealing with these issues

is critical from a moral standpoint since our failure to do so has

allowed for patterns of systemic violence and sexual assault to continue

unacknowledged and un-addressed. Continuing our current patterns of

neglect is simply not a viable option, for us or for our children.

[1] Wikipedia.org: Radical Feminism.

en.wikipedia.org

. Accessed Nov. 25^(th), 2005.

[2] Greig, Alan. Ending Men’s Violence: Working Paper Series. United

Nations International Research and Training Institute for the

Advancement of Women.

www.uninstraw.org

. Accessed November 29, 2005.

[3] Since one-thing humans generally do not do is embrace things that

they see as running counter to their own self-interests. Refer to the

discussion of Self-Interest in my paper on Anarchism and International

Relations, posted at

library.circlealpha.com

, for more detail on this.

[4] This image is the single constant ideal whether one is looking at

rappers like 50 Cent or the Marlboro Man, and transcends race and class.

[5] Mac-Canty, Colleen Third Wave Feminism and the Need to Re-weave the

Nature/Culture Duality. NWSA Journal, 2004. archived online at

muse.jhu.edu

. Accessed Dec. 1, 2005.

[6] Interestingly, a recent survey shows that while women do an average

of 27 hours of unpaid housework a week compared to 16 by men, men

employed full-time work an average of 14 hours a week more then women

employed full time. (Sacks, Glen. New Survey Shows mend do fair share of

house work.

www.glennsacks.com

. Accessed Dec. 5, 2005.)

[7] Montgomery, Ben. “Dad Boxed with 3 year old, mom says in Murder

trial.” Tampa Bay Tribune. July 13, 2005.

[8] I don’t have an academic source for this, but since, as they say,

the plural of “Anecdotes” is “evidence” I feel like the claim can rest

on its own since I know quite a few men – including my own father – who

grew up in abusive homes and engaged in this type of behavior in a

desperate attempt to “protect” their mothers and younger siblings from

abusive fathers. The influence of masculine programming that teaches men

to sacrifice their own health and safety to defend others could not be

more clear. That programming is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is

relevant to the argument we are making.

[9] Bohmer, Diane. “Raising a happy boy, an interview with Dr. William

Pollock.” FamilyEducation.com.

www.familyeducation.com

. Accessed Dec. 5, 2005.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Census.gov. Women’s History Month: March 1–31.

www.census.gov

- Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features/000781.html. Accessed

Dec. 1, 2005.

[12] Men’s Health Forum.org. “Men Tell us Why they Don’t go to the

Doctor’s.”

www.menshealthforum.org.uk

. Accessed Dec. 1, 2005.

[13]

R. Kelly, Janice and L. Hutson, Sarah. “Gender-Emotion Stereotypes are

context-specific.” Sex Roles: A Journal Of Research. January, 1999.

[14] The “Wages For Housework Campaign”, along with many other Radical

Feminists and Black Feminists, has been particularly vocal about this

issue for over 30 years. Rather then cite a single publication, it seems

to me that readers would gain stronger insight on the issue by simply

visiting their website (

www.globalwomenstrike.net

) and looking at their work in context.

[15] Hirshman, Linda. “America’s Stay-at-home Feminists.” The American

Prospect. November 24^(th), 2005. Archived online at Alternet.org:

www.alternet.org

. Accessed November 28^(th), 2005.

[16]

H. Greenfield, Mace. “Gender Bias Persists in Courts.” Divorcenet.com.

Nov. 14^(th), 2005.

=> http://www.divorcenet.com/states/new_york/gender_bias_persists_in_courts www.divorcenet.com

. Accessed December 8^(th), 2005.

[17] Race and Sexual Abuse Center: Statistics.

www.rasac.org

. Accessed Cec. 1, 2005.

[18] Ibid.

[19] It also results in men being much less likely to seek medical

attention of all kinds, and is one reason why men typically die younger

then women.

[20] RapeVictimAdvocates.org: Children and Sexual Assault.

www.rapevictimadvocates.org

. Accessed Dec. 2, 2005.

[21] Ibid.

[22] Malesurvivor.org: Myths about Male Sexual Victimization.

www.malesurvivor.org

. Accessed Dec. 5, 2005.

[23] Human Rights Watch.org. No Escape: Male Rape in US Prisons.

www.hrw.org

. Accessed Dec. 1, 2005.

[24] HumanRightsWatch.org: US Incarceration Rates reveal Striking Racial

Disparities.

hrw.org

. Accessed Dec. 1, 2005.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Faludi, Susan. Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man. Harper

Collins. New York, NY. 2000. I am summarizing the main argument of the

book so citing specific pages would be pointless.