Education and background knowledge

• Educational programs which promote all aspects of gender awareness are foundational to building sustainable masculinities. As men and boys learn about gender socialization they are able to move beyond the usual defensiveness that often arises when this topic is discussed. The opportunity exists to free themselves from the narrow limited concepts of the old male paradigm and to embrace a more expansive and positive future; embrace their humanity.

• Because educational programs will by their very nature be confronting to many boys and men, they are best conducted by males in a collaborative and non-blaming format. (Flood, Berkowitz)

• Therefore rather than blame men for their conformity to the dominant masculine beliefs, education can build on what already exists in most men. Berkowitz
(2003-4) states that, “The majority of men may already hold attitudes that can be strengthened to prevent and reduce violence and encourage men to intervene with other men.” Read more »

Recently several young women were allegedly harassed by a group of young men at the Southern Oregon University. When a young gay man came to their assistance he was allegedly pursued by the group, spat on and repeatedly taunted and harassed for being gay. The incident has promoted a supportive response from the University and the community.
(PRWEB) June 18, 2005 — The recent ‘hate crimes’ at the Southern Oregon University need to be seen for what they are; a manifestation of a tenacious and powerful programming. Firstly it is important to name the gender responsible. It is not surprising that it was a group of men who allegedly harassed a group of women and then aggressively harassed the young man who came to their defense. Men are responsible for 99% of all rape and sexual assault (this was a sexist harassment) and 90-95% of all other violence.

Secondly there is nothing inherently wrong with men. Most men (75%) are unhappy with how they have been socialized, especially with respect to attitudes about women and gays. For thousands of years one half of humanity has been socialized to dominate the other half. Historically, men acting without equal input from women have been the political and economic leaders and decision makers — the ones who took us to war, the ones who raped and committed domestic violence, the ones who tolerated poverty and hardship. The old forms of masculinity, the dominator forms, if continued, constitute one of the gravest threats to the future of humanity. Read more »

Two white tailed deer grazed contentedly among the wildflowers in a southern Oregon field. Watching them, my friend breathed deeply enjoying the serenity of nature’s perfection, her busy mind soothed by their soft brown eyes, their innocence. Her heart opened, her body relaxed. Read more »

By Michael Flood (Reprinted with permission from the magazine XY: Men, Sex, Politics. PO Box 4026, Ainslie, ACT 2602,

My three year old daughter is, in my unbiased opinion, the smartest little girl in the world. For more than a year, she’s been able to identify the bad guys on TV by listening to the music. Okay, maybe that means we let her watch too much television. It also means she’s learned what most of us have learned over the years: bad guys look, sound, and act in certain recognizable ways…at least on TV. Read more »

The men who make obscene phone calls or harass women aren’t all wearing team colours, says Michael Flood.
When rugby league players sexually harass women in pubs, make obscene phone calls, or have sex with prostitutes, they’re acting just like thousands of other young men around the country. Young women everywhere know that this behaviour is not confined to professional athletes. Read more »

A true story about confronting sexism in whitewater rafting:

I was guiding a group of men on a two-day white water rafting trip on the Upper Klamath River near the Oregon border. This wild, isolated section of the Klamath slices through the rugged Cascade Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California. With its unparalleled wilderness beauty and over 30 major rapids including Hells Corner Gorge, it is one of the west’s finest Class IV-V river trips. I’ve included a paragraph from one of the rafting company’s brochures below. Read more »

My Pink Helmet

I had purchased a pink rafting helmet from an Oregon sports store upon my arrival from Australia. It was the only one left in my size and I needed a helmet the next day for guiding a raft trip. The attendant seemed surprised that I would take it and I remember saying nonchalantly that it was a good as any other color. Well, many years later, my pink helmet has some amazing stories to tell. It has received more uninvited comments from strangers and friends than I could ever have imagined. Hardly a day went by on the river without someone letting me know his opinion. Yes, not surprisingly all of the comments were from men. Read more »