Blog 4

CH. 1: Violence Against Women is a Men's Issue
I like that Katz doesn't fail to acknowledge how far we've come. It's very uplifting that he accredits women for coming so far in the past few decades- he calls it breaking through the historical silence about violence. And mentions that since this issues and social norms are so deeply rooted in structures of gender and power, it will take time. In this first chapter, Katz reminds the reader of how common violence against women is and because of that we are becoming someone desensitized to it. The perpetuation is what keeps it going and as Katz points out, the men and women who stand by are at fault as well. He speaks of how we continue a cycle of producing "physically and emotionally abusive --and sexually dangerous--boys and men each year".

CH. 2: Facing Facts
In this Chapter Katz brings up strong points about the media and how we have become cultured as a society to not relate with what is being reported. We hear the facts of rape and sexual assaults so frequently that it's just everyday talk and we are no longer concerning ourselves with the bigger issue of WHY these acts are happening. Numerous times in his writing Katz challenges us to question why men, since they are carrying out the majority of these violent acts, are acting in such aggressive ways. He knows that we deal with the aftermath of the problem with punishment but if we were to get at the core of why men are compelled to commit crimes like these in the first place we can take steps to prevent them.

CH. 4: Listening to Women
Within this chapter Katz brings up that men who work in the field of gender-violence prevention are often viewed by women in a skeptical way. I hadn't realized this but it's true. More often than not there will be that fear about men's motives and intentions when entering an area like this. Katz states that it is because we fear that men will "perpetuate traditional patters of egocentric male behavior". I found it interesting that hetalked aboutthe marginalization of women's opinions. While men can be ignored just as well, Katz clarifies that for women this happens because when they want to challenge something those with power and who don't like the conclusions these women are reaching simply perfer to shut them down.

CH. 5: Male Bashing?
One section of this chapter, Why Some Women Defend Men, interested me. It discussed how some men have tried to help women out of an abusive relationship but the women refuse to accept the help and get out of the situation. Katz explained that there arecomplexities behind the women's decisions, but even still I have trouble understanding why they would make the man who is intervening for her own good out to be the bad guy. I know that endless circumstances come into play- two main examples being financial security and children- I just think that anyone, male or female who is interfering for aperson's safety should not be criticized. The loyalty factor that was brought up in this part really disturbed me. When belittled and victimized it mustbe hard to know what you want, but to give outsiders the idea that you don't need their assistance or an escape is just confusing. Katz says that the helping men become frustrated and are then turned off of offering their help again. This is a complicated subject, but I enjoyed hearing Katz's analysis and opinions on it, especially since he has been involved with people in these circumstances.

With chapter four I found myself thinking about how I perceive male involvement in gender violence and women's studies in general. In the classroom I am usually relieved to see that some men actually take interest in the subject. A part of me wishes that a class like ourswas required for more college male students but also for females. By just acknowledging the basics, that there is a huge violence problem in our society, there is hope. Because like Katz points out, many of us are hushed at the fact that a lot of it connects back to men, making them responsible. In my experiences I've found that men feel the need to stand up for other men, feeling that the area of women's studies is attacking all men. But Jackson Katz is a man and he is facing the reality and looking for positive change in our thoughts and ways, hoping to help and better other men.

Blog 3

From Pascoe’s written experiences I found it interesting how high schools really put emphasis on heterosexual relations through rituals and traditions- like school dances and other activities. I had never really noticed this before. When she described the Mr. Cougar ceremony as being similar to a wedding I made a similar connection with the homecoming king and queen assemblies held back at my high school. Pascoe points out how high schools often represent a reproduction of larger cultural meanings around gender and sexuality. At River High, Pascoe felt that many of the faculty members didn’t encourage homosexuality and often poked fun at it. She analyzed many different situations when teachers became uncomfortable and used humor as an outlet. While the drama teacher explained how he feels the word “fag” cannot be interchangeably used with “stupid”, he still would use jokes and pick up attempts (about a student dressed in tight, black clothes or the “sweaty men’s basketball team”) that implied he was gay. To me this demonstrated the fragilities of student/teacher relationships. If even the faculty and administrative staff are going to point out and denounce anything feminine or weak about boys then the problem within the student body has no chance of being improved.

In chapter 2, Pascoe clarifies that the existing “distinction between fag as an unmasculine and problematic identity and gay as a possibly masculine, although marginalized, sexual identity is not limited to teenage lexicon; it is reflected in both psychological discourses and gay and lesbian activism". This supports the fact that these cultural discriminations, while present in schooling, are part of the bigger picture. To think that they only exist in high schools is incorrect. Through her writings I also found it interesting that for African American males being white is feminine in itself. So African American boys tease each other differently about homosexuality than white boys. In her chapter “Being a Boy”, Hooks refers to a quote from Raising Cain, which asks our culture to “discard the distorted view of boys that ignore or deny their capacity for feelings”. Hooks is aware that we are only individuals in a culture seeped in traditional male and female roles, but she is still positive with her message in stating that we must begin somewhere. From this reading I gained a better understanding of the development of boys in our society and how isolation and antisocial behavior can deny boys of their sense of value and worth. The family and home environment combined create a large influence on young men and how they grow and create themselves. The root of male problems goes back to childhood.


Through personal experience I have seen how boys taunt each other with homophobic comments and how they constantly try to prove their manliness and dismiss any behavior that could be associated with homosexuality. Pascoe compared the teasing to a game of hot potato- boys are on the defense and ready to push the spot light off themselves and on to someone else. Attending an all girls high school, within the academic environment I wasn’t surrounded by boys. Though, this doesn’t mean that I missed out on their ways/behavior. If anything I feel that the all boys environment of our brother school magnified the homophobic remarks and insults. I’m sure the guys who have attended Saint Augustine would agree with me when I say that whenever a person finds out about a same-sex education, one of the first questions to follow is, “Were you surrounded with gays/lesbians??”. For clarity purposes and to prove themselves to other coed schools the boys were overly sensitive. This came through in different sporting events involving other schools and in other social situations. It’s strange to me that while the boys struggled with this as a girl, I never experienced anything remotely similar. Also, as Pascoe recorded in her study, females aren’t usually the ones putting this off on guys. More often than not it’s men doing the harm to other men. It’s as if they’re keeping each other in check, reminding each other of what’s appropriate for the male gender and what isn’t. But if this is hurtful and confining for them, you’d think they’d just stop doing this to one another.