In her last essay on the new politics of masculinity and migration, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, sociology professor at the University of Southern California (USC), wrote that the current presidential election in the US has an extraordinary dynamic, as one of the most important discursive categories is (traditional) masculinity, supported by misogyny and xenophobia, which at certain point dominated Trump’s campaign (Hondagneu-Sotelo 2016). As a critical men and masculinities scholar, I couldn’t agree more, since everything that I’ve read, seen and heard from and about the (American) male electorate in the last few months has led me to the conclusion that Trump’s masculinity is a crucial factor influencing the election results. Continue reading
hegemonic masculinity
Menferencing
As you may have noticed already, it usually takes me a few weeks or even months to reflect on the events that I attend, and my comments mostly refer to the conference/workshop content, as I try to focus on men and masculinities and/or gender issues that are discussed during the event. This time, however, is slightly different because not only did the conference end six days ago, but I am also changing my focus from the content to the interactions that I observed. So let me start with the basics.
Vienesse workshop on migration and masculinities:”Migration und Männlichkeiten. Konstruktionen von Geschlecht und Differenz in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft”
At the beginning of 2017 the Feminist Theory and Gender Research section of Austrian Sociological Association will organise a workshop focused on the timely issue of migration and masculinities. The workshop entitled “Migration and masculinities. Constructing gender and difference in the host society” will take place at the University of Vienna between 19th and 2oth January 2017. More information about the event (in German) can be found here. The workshop’s programme can be found here.
On reactionary social movements, political opportunities and the antifeminist state
In May 2014 I had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop organised at the University of British Columbia by Professor Susan B. Boyd entitled “Men’s Groups: Challenging Feminism”. The main aim of the workshop was to gather international scholars working on issues such as antifeminism, men’s social movements, mothers’ and fathers’ rights in child custody, domestic violence etcetera. During this two-day event, academics from Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, the United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden, and Taiwan analysed contemporary activism and debates and discourses on the resistance to feminism and discussed how to support the advancement of feminist theories and strategies with regard to preventing the development of antifeminist practices, discourses and legislation all around the world.
Play it again, Sam or let’s talk about masculinities
In the last several weeks Göteborgs – Posten, one of the most popular daily newspapers in my city, has become a platform where the issue of the increasing number of male refugees coming to/staying in Sweden has been raised. As a feminist scholar researching men and masculinity issues for almost a decade, I couldn’t be happier to observe this type of gender-sensitive discussion being conducted in one of the leading Gothenburg newspapers. However, as the problem analysed is extremely complex, and the intersections between masculinities, migration processes and violence play a crucial role in it, further discussion should be elaborated and it cannot be limited to the presentation of contradictory statements from social researchers, which is happening at the moment. Continue reading
Dr. K & THE men 