Weaponized Masculinity And Schooling
"Many of the rites of
passage, those rituals of growing up found in our society, are in the form of
such comic, practical joking affairs which we ignore in the belief that they
possess no deeper significance. Yet it is precisely in their being regarded as
unimportant that they take on importance. For in them we ritualize and
dramatize attitudes which contradict and often embarrass the sacred values
which we proclaim through our solemn ceremonies and rituals of nationhood.”-
Ralph Ellison
One of the many pitfalls of manhood and masculinity especially in the Western world is the absence of a Rites of Passage for our boys. This transitional phase from boyhood to manhood can be traumatic for many. This process is made more complicated by an absence of any official ceremony to mark this significant and important moment in the development of a male. Manhood is as much a process as it is a state of growth, but this progression is often not recognized, nor is it celebrated. This journey is personal and the passage for each boy is different. We have been schooled and socialized to think that all things African is bad and backward. Yet on the mother continent of Africa from where our ancestors were taken and enslaved there exits rich and often elaborate rituals associated with Rites of Passage for boys. Rituals are important and are needed in the expansion of human development. Rituals serve as a marker or reference point in any society from which a person can use to judge their growth and state of maturity. It is this absence of a Rite of Passage in the Jamaican context why masculinity has become so toxic and indeed weaponized. This weaponized masculinity to which I speak is very evident in many societies by the increase in the number of gender-based violence incidents. Disturbingly, this weaponized strand of masculinity is fast becoming the hegemonic or dominant strand and this is problematic.
Dysfunctional Family
Caribbean families for the most part tend to be matrifocal. The absence of our men from the lives of their children and their families is problematic and needs to be remedied sooner than later. It is no secret that more and more of our families are dysfunctional. The state of our families is characterized by brokenness, chaos, infidelity and unforgiveness. The stress to maintain a family especially with the rise of single parent female headed household takes a toll on all the members. This weaponized view of masculinity clearly has implications for the family and indeed the wider society. Does it mean that we should expect to see more incidents of domestic partner violence in which men attack and beat up on their women folk and children? Unfortunately, we have all heard of the increase in the number of murder-suicide among couples. In some instances these situations are very close to our homes and our families. In many of the instances the male kills his spouse and then takes his life. Many men are not secured in their masculinity. This sense of insecurity often plays out in a negative and sometimes in a deadly way. We cannot continue along this path and the time for intervention is now. Additionally, the society ridicules a male who seeks help and attaches a myriad of negatives terms to his personhood if he is brave enough to ask for help.
Rites of Passage
According to Moore and Habel, a Rite of Passage is a ritual action through which the initiate is separated “from one world” and taken into another. Rites of Passage are performed on special occasions and mainly deal with entering a new phase of life. In many cultures it’s common to have birth, puberty, marriage and death rituals. French ethnographer, Arnold Van Gennep is famous for his study of rites of passage. In his book Les Rites de Passage, he argues that rites of passage comprise of three ritual stages; separation, transition and reincorporation. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary Rites of Passage celebrate the social movement of individuals into and out of groups or into or out of statuses of critical importance to the individual and to the community. My colleague, Errol Douglas, a New Jersey based educator shared with me some aspects of a Rites of Passage ceremony he observed on a visit to The Gambia, A West African Nation. In response to the previous blog, Masculinity and Manhood: Is There A Crisis? Mr. Douglas commented, “Along with mentoring, I would also recommend a curriculum that encompasses a Rites of Passage for boys. He added that we can reference our past or examine other ethnic groups, such as The Jews and a plethora of African cultures to see how deliberate efforts are taken to transition boys to men. He further conveyed that he was privileged in his travels to see the execution of such celebration and teaching in The Gambia.” Errol went on to describe what he observed. “While strolling the beach one early morning I saw a group of boys all dressed in white, loose fitting dashiki like garbs without pants being led by the elders of the village as they sang, splashed in the Atlantic Ocean. Then in unison they walked back to the village following a guy dressed in mask similar to what you see at Junkanoo. Errol continued, “Being a curious witness to this spectacle, I asked one of the elders what was going on.” Errol said the elder explained to him that it was the third day their Rites of Passage and the boys are taken from their mothers for several weeks to go through their extensive rituals whereby they learn about their culture and their role and responsibilities as men in their lives ahead. Errol concluded that every boy could benefit from a Rites of Passage exercise especially boys who are raised by a single mother. In order to navigate manhood and masculinity a Rites of Passage is beneficial. We should not discount the psychological impact of a Rites of Passage on the initiate. The implementation of such an exercise would remove the surprises which can accompany this journey from boy to manhood. In fairness many men did not have that coaching and mentoring as boys to prepare them for this phase of their lives. Many of us brothers do not know our fathers and this makes the burden even more burdensome in crossing over from boyhood to manhood. As a result many men become dead beat dads who shamelessly allow their spouses to take on the bulk of the responsibilities at home while they twiddle their thumbs. Too many men are angry and hurting. The fatherlessness state which affects so many families can have irreparable damage to one state of being, sadly, this has happened to an entire generation. Perhaps, the construction of Jamaican masculinity needs to be interrogated. Jamaican masculinity for a significant number of men is grounded in the smoking of marijuana and the indulgence of risky sexual practices. Too many men live purposeless lives, drifting from one relationship to another and in the process fathering many children. The time has come for us to have a conversation with all stakeholders on the state of masculinity in the society. Our education system is not as responsive as it ought to be. Our schools are among the primary agents of the socialization process. Schooling therefore serves as a barrier to weaponized masculinity and as such we need to ensure that the education system becomes more responsive to the needs of our boys. In order to have a better society we need to pay some attention to our boys. This can be achieved through the education system and the process of schooling. We need to revisit our education system. We need to have a structured Rites of Passage programme for our boys incorporated into the National Standards Curriculum in order to provide that foundation necessary for our boys to make the transition to become productive men. Now is the time to rewrite this narrative.
One of the many pitfalls of manhood and masculinity especially in the Western world is the absence of a Rites of Passage for our boys. This transitional phase from boyhood to manhood can be traumatic for many. This process is made more complicated by an absence of any official ceremony to mark this significant and important moment in the development of a male. Manhood is as much a process as it is a state of growth, but this progression is often not recognized, nor is it celebrated. This journey is personal and the passage for each boy is different. We have been schooled and socialized to think that all things African is bad and backward. Yet on the mother continent of Africa from where our ancestors were taken and enslaved there exits rich and often elaborate rituals associated with Rites of Passage for boys. Rituals are important and are needed in the expansion of human development. Rituals serve as a marker or reference point in any society from which a person can use to judge their growth and state of maturity. It is this absence of a Rite of Passage in the Jamaican context why masculinity has become so toxic and indeed weaponized. This weaponized masculinity to which I speak is very evident in many societies by the increase in the number of gender-based violence incidents. Disturbingly, this weaponized strand of masculinity is fast becoming the hegemonic or dominant strand and this is problematic.
Dysfunctional Family
Caribbean families for the most part tend to be matrifocal. The absence of our men from the lives of their children and their families is problematic and needs to be remedied sooner than later. It is no secret that more and more of our families are dysfunctional. The state of our families is characterized by brokenness, chaos, infidelity and unforgiveness. The stress to maintain a family especially with the rise of single parent female headed household takes a toll on all the members. This weaponized view of masculinity clearly has implications for the family and indeed the wider society. Does it mean that we should expect to see more incidents of domestic partner violence in which men attack and beat up on their women folk and children? Unfortunately, we have all heard of the increase in the number of murder-suicide among couples. In some instances these situations are very close to our homes and our families. In many of the instances the male kills his spouse and then takes his life. Many men are not secured in their masculinity. This sense of insecurity often plays out in a negative and sometimes in a deadly way. We cannot continue along this path and the time for intervention is now. Additionally, the society ridicules a male who seeks help and attaches a myriad of negatives terms to his personhood if he is brave enough to ask for help.
Rites of Passage
According to Moore and Habel, a Rite of Passage is a ritual action through which the initiate is separated “from one world” and taken into another. Rites of Passage are performed on special occasions and mainly deal with entering a new phase of life. In many cultures it’s common to have birth, puberty, marriage and death rituals. French ethnographer, Arnold Van Gennep is famous for his study of rites of passage. In his book Les Rites de Passage, he argues that rites of passage comprise of three ritual stages; separation, transition and reincorporation. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary Rites of Passage celebrate the social movement of individuals into and out of groups or into or out of statuses of critical importance to the individual and to the community. My colleague, Errol Douglas, a New Jersey based educator shared with me some aspects of a Rites of Passage ceremony he observed on a visit to The Gambia, A West African Nation. In response to the previous blog, Masculinity and Manhood: Is There A Crisis? Mr. Douglas commented, “Along with mentoring, I would also recommend a curriculum that encompasses a Rites of Passage for boys. He added that we can reference our past or examine other ethnic groups, such as The Jews and a plethora of African cultures to see how deliberate efforts are taken to transition boys to men. He further conveyed that he was privileged in his travels to see the execution of such celebration and teaching in The Gambia.” Errol went on to describe what he observed. “While strolling the beach one early morning I saw a group of boys all dressed in white, loose fitting dashiki like garbs without pants being led by the elders of the village as they sang, splashed in the Atlantic Ocean. Then in unison they walked back to the village following a guy dressed in mask similar to what you see at Junkanoo. Errol continued, “Being a curious witness to this spectacle, I asked one of the elders what was going on.” Errol said the elder explained to him that it was the third day their Rites of Passage and the boys are taken from their mothers for several weeks to go through their extensive rituals whereby they learn about their culture and their role and responsibilities as men in their lives ahead. Errol concluded that every boy could benefit from a Rites of Passage exercise especially boys who are raised by a single mother. In order to navigate manhood and masculinity a Rites of Passage is beneficial. We should not discount the psychological impact of a Rites of Passage on the initiate. The implementation of such an exercise would remove the surprises which can accompany this journey from boy to manhood. In fairness many men did not have that coaching and mentoring as boys to prepare them for this phase of their lives. Many of us brothers do not know our fathers and this makes the burden even more burdensome in crossing over from boyhood to manhood. As a result many men become dead beat dads who shamelessly allow their spouses to take on the bulk of the responsibilities at home while they twiddle their thumbs. Too many men are angry and hurting. The fatherlessness state which affects so many families can have irreparable damage to one state of being, sadly, this has happened to an entire generation. Perhaps, the construction of Jamaican masculinity needs to be interrogated. Jamaican masculinity for a significant number of men is grounded in the smoking of marijuana and the indulgence of risky sexual practices. Too many men live purposeless lives, drifting from one relationship to another and in the process fathering many children. The time has come for us to have a conversation with all stakeholders on the state of masculinity in the society. Our education system is not as responsive as it ought to be. Our schools are among the primary agents of the socialization process. Schooling therefore serves as a barrier to weaponized masculinity and as such we need to ensure that the education system becomes more responsive to the needs of our boys. In order to have a better society we need to pay some attention to our boys. This can be achieved through the education system and the process of schooling. We need to revisit our education system. We need to have a structured Rites of Passage programme for our boys incorporated into the National Standards Curriculum in order to provide that foundation necessary for our boys to make the transition to become productive men. Now is the time to rewrite this narrative.
In the words of Sylvester
Stallone, there aren’t a lot of opportunities for that rite of passage that
makes you a man. War is one of them, and violent sports are another.
Wayne Campbell is an
educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as
they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com,
Errol
Douglas can be reached at erroldouglas@yahoo.com
#Jamaica #masculinity
#schooling #manhood #socialization #education #family #gender #culture
#ritesofpassage
©
This is a very powerful truth that is missing in the black culture. Every other nation has a rite of passage for their young men except western blacks. When our forefathers were dragged out of Africa in chains and separated from their families it left a giant traumatic imprint on our males and sadly that systematic targeting to destroy the black family has been achieved because without a father to head the family all hell breaks loose in the minds and lives of the young men that is left without a father figure to emulate what it means to be a man. We have been targeted with guns, drugs, sex, and jail since slavery ended and we need to focus on the elephant in the room before any real change can be accomplished for our young black men and their future. We need to get back to our roots and culture and not conform to this Babylonian system that God warned us about. You can see the effects on the world stage on how all the other nations perceive black men. We are labeled as drug dealers, gun slingers with our pants below our asses, killers of man, women and children, no education losers that can't find work. When will the truth about how powerful a people we are and were before slavery. There is no narrative that one can look back to to see our dynasties as kings and queens and how we have positively impacted this world that all other nations have benefited from. We need to rise up from our sleep and slumber our our nation will perish. To quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. We have lost our knowledge of who our God is and our rites of passage and culture. I pray our people will wake up to this truth so we can become the leaders and men that God created us to be.
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