On Thursday, March 12, TCNJ had the pleasure of listening to anti-sexist activist Jackson Katz! He is an author, filmmaker, cultural theorist and educator who speaks on the issue of gender-based violence, how to prevent it and how it is NOT only a woman’s problem. Jackson Katz is the co-founder of the Mentors in Violence Prevention program, which teaches male college athletes to stand up and be advocates in the prevention of violence against women.
He has also worked with the United States Marine Corps and created their first worldwide domestic and sexual violence prevention program. He has written two books, including “The Macho Paradox: Why Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help” and “Leading Men: The Presidential Campaigns and the Politics of Manhood”.
Gender violence is not a problem that only women need to address, it is also an issue for men and they need to do their part in the fight against it.
Feminism is not a movement by women who hate men. Feminism is a movement that seeks equality for all, and this movement needs more men who are willing to stand up for the cause. Katz spoke of the importance of men in leadership positions taking charge and using their power to make an impact and work towards change. People are so used to immediately assuming the term “gender violence” is synonymous for “women’s issue,” but that is entirely wrong. Yet because of this assumption, men don’t pay attention to this serious problem because they believe that it does not concern them.
Katz then focused on statistics and how they spotlight the subordinate group, stating things like “this many women were raped last year,” rather than focusing on the dominant group and saying “this many men raped last year.” This ties into power and privilege, and how those who are in dominance don’t involve themselves in gender violence because it supposedly does not concern them.
Katz spoke about how we must be careful about how we frame conversations with our peers. We must include men in the conversation about gender violence. For example, we should not say things like “gender violence is violence against women” because missing from that statement is men entirely.
Katz went on to address men in leadership positions, stating that they need to understand how domestic violence intersects with so many other serious issues. Gender based violence needs to be addressed, and men in leadership roles must use their power to help fix the problem.
They can do so by being role models and being advocates for the cause. Katz emphasizes the fact that the solution of how to end domestic and gender violence has been known for approximately 20 years, yet we have lacked leaders who could implement these preventative measures and help end this type of violence against women.
Katz has worked with the Australian military, and showed a video of Lieutenant General David Morrison speaking on behalf of the Australian military and their no tolerance policy for any type of hatred or violence towards women.
The responsibility of leaders is to take a stand and help change the social norms that this society has put in place. Not all rapists are sick sociopaths. Many, if not a majority of them, are normal guys who think that it is okay to take advantage of girls. Girls have grown up being taught preventative measures to stay safe such as never putting their cups down at parties, never walking alone, etc. Instead of focusing on teaching girls risk reduction and how to not be raped, boys must be taught to never take advantage of a girl in any way. No means no, and the absence of a “no” does not mean yes. To do this, we must invite men into conversations on this topic without indicting them as rapists and abusers.
We need change, and one way that Katz is going about this change is through the “Bystander Approach.” Katz stated that everyone is a bystander, and if more bystanders were willing to step up in someone’s time of need, we would see much less violence in this world. Friends of the victims and friends of the attackers were specifically targeted in his discussion. He talked about how not only should friends of the girl be willing to step in when they see something happening, but friends of the attacker should realize what their friend is doing is wrong, and should stop him before he becomes a rapist.
Katz got a roar of applause from the audience when he began talking about how we need to raise our standards for what the definition of a “good” man is. Men shouldn’t get a high five for not beating their girlfriend. They should not be praised for not committing a violent act towards a woman, or for not taking advantage of a drunk girl at a frat party. That should be expected of all men.
Katz went on to conclude that people need to take responsibility and realize that this is everyone’s problem, not just women’s. Bystanders try to justify their detachment through statements like “rape is a big issue, but I’m not a rapist so it isn’t my problem”.
At the end of Jackson Katz’s lecture, we are left with these takeaways:
1. SPEAK UP & ACT when you see injustice; intervene when you know something is wrong
2. Make gender violence a MEN’S ISSUE
3. Raise your standards for what you consider a GOOD man
4. If you are a leader, USE YOU POWER to take a stand
You can listen to Jackson Katz’s TED talk “Violence against women—it’s a men’s issue” here.