Things worth announcing:
The Radical Women Conference in San Francisco, October 3-6.
Animal Rights 2008 National Conference in Washington D.C., August 14-18, 2008.
Conference on Gender and Missions in Toronto, sponsored by Christians for Biblical Equality, this coming weekend.
National Conference on Men and Masculinity #33 in Salt Lake City, August 21-23, 2008.
I wish I could be at all four, frankly. I don’t know many folks who would feel comfortable at all four, mind you. But it would make me happy if I could mix and mingle with the good people at each of these important events. Alas, I have other commitments for each of these weekends. But if you can, go.
And please support South End Press. One of the great feminist publishing houses, South End (like Seal, another favorite) is an indispensable home for alternative voices. I’ll be using one book from South End in my women’s studies class this fall, but given the current publishing market, it’s not clear how long Southend can survive. (H/T: Miriam at Feministing.) Today, I joined the Community Supported Publishing Club at South End, and invite you to consider doing so as well. And you get books!
I find the conference title, “National Conference on Men and Masculinity”, to be misleading. A better title would be “National Conference of Men against Sexism, Racism, and Heterosexism.”
Janet Saltzman Chafetz, a feminist sociologist, identifies the following areas of masculinity:
Physical — virile, athletic, strong, brave. Unconcerned about appearance and aging;
Functional — breadwinner, provider for family as much as mate
Sexual — sexually aggressive, experienced. Single status acceptable; (do not mind to walk around naked, especially around other guys)
Emotional — unemotional, stoic, for example, the proverb “boys don’t cry”;
Intellectual — logical, intellectual, rational, objective, practical,
Interpersonal — leader, dominating; disciplinarian; independent, free, individualistic; demanding;
Other Personal Characteristics — success-oriented, ambitious, aggressive, proud, egotistical; moral, trustworthy; decisive, competitive, uninhibited, adventurous.
However, on the linked NOMAS website, it states:
“Although progress has been made in recent times in the struggle for gender and social justice, Sexism, Racism, and Heterosexism continue to appear in different guise and are still alive and well in preventing us and our society from reaching our full human potential. Women still do not make salaries equivalent to their male peers; sexual minorities are still denied basic human rights; racial minorities still experience discrimination especially as states try to implement new voting requirements; and men’s violence is still rampant – on individual, community, national and international bases.”
I do not any topics on their website about masculinity.