Early this year, #MeToo went viral, touching 85 countries within a span of nine days. #MeToo started off as a grassroots movement for women of color who were survivors of sexual assault. On April 3rd, 2018, the Boston University Sexual Assault Response & Prevention Center (SARP) alongside several other student organizations including HerCampus BU, hosted Masculinity and #MeToo. The event explored where masculinity and men can fit into the #MeToo movement.
The event started off with an episode of Zainab Saibi’s show #MeToo, Now What? The episode, Episode 3, focused on the topic of how men react to the #MeToo movement and how they can help women now. She interviewed several men for the show, some of which were pro-#MeToo and some not. They talked about the socialization of the behavior of the alpha-male—the sort of behavior that is expected from a man in a sexual setting due to locker room talk.
Following the show, the event was led on by the three panelists: Max Greenberg, the co-author of Some Men: Feminist Allies and the Movement to End Violence Against Women; Takai Rivera, a playwright whose plays focus on race, masculinity, and sexuality; and LB Moore, a counselor at SARP.
The panelists tackled questions such as what does society define as masculinity, leading us to the concept that within the current society we as people use masculinity in a variety of ways—each of which is tied to a central theme around power. This is seen in communities where there is heavy policing, as Takai mentioned, since in these communities a male who exhibits more “masculine” traits is valued. It’s important to remember that masculinity has a context.
They also talked about how the face of sexual violence is the cis-white-woman. Women who have added layers of marginalized identity, namely women of color or women who are LGBTQ+, or both, have an added probability of being targeted. There is also the more uncommon situation which is men who are survivors of sexual assault, who may feel like they do not have the ability to access the same resources that women do.
Takai closed the panel by talking about how men can help women, and the #MeToo movement. “Get your people,” is what he said, urging the audience to increase the conversation, change the locker-room talk and to listen – actually listen – to women.
Still have questions, or didn’t get your question answered at the event? Tweet them at #BUSAAW.
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