Re-engaging Masculinity For Sustainable Development
“Black men struggle with
masculinity so much. The idea that we must always be strong really presses us all
down, it keeps us from growing.”- Donald Glover
Our males are in a crisis. It appears we have seen this headline before. Indeed we have, however, not much have been done to provide our boys and young men with the necessary tools to equip them to become contributing members of the society. Already the society is reaping the negative consequences. Sadly, this lack of empowerment of our boys and young men continue to have negative and debilitating consequences to the Jamaican society. Perhaps, now is a good time to ask the question whose responsibility it is to save our young males from the crisis they find themselves? Is this the responsibility of the family? The Jamaican family for the most part is also in a crisis. The society continues to witness a high percentage of single female-headed households. The narrative is getting old but; the men have abandoned their roles and responsibilities. Even in some instances where the men stick around, the females are the ones who organize, take charge of business and ensure the family stays afloat. This is a sad commentary on the state of manhood not only in Jamaica, but in the Caribbean as well and in many African American families. In other words, the Jamaican family is dysfunctional. The family itself is seeking redemption. Undoubtedly, it is challenging to raise boys. Edith Roosevelt says is best, one cannot bring up boys to eagles and then expect them to be sparrows. In the absence of male role models our boys have incorporated a toxic version of masculinity which says among other things that a woman’s body is mine. This view of manhood is often derived from the thugs who have made the street corners their homes. The innocence of boys and young men is readily snuffed out once those boys and young men begin to hang around the weed smoking, no job thugs who wear their sweat pants well below their knees exposing their white draws. Once the initiation begins the young male may even start to question the reason for school and might drop out becoming yet another statistics. Juvenile delinquency is real and many Jamaica families struggle with this social ill. Our penal institutions consist mainly of males, so too are the bars and morgues. Statistics from the police indicate that the victims and perpetrators of crime and violence are overwhelmingly males. The male crisis is real and deepening. These broken men usually have difficulty establishing and maintaining a relationship. Our women are no longer putting up with crap. In some instances our women have adopted a get your black ass through the door policy. Can you blame them? An article published by the American Journal on Preventative Medicine stated that teenage boys with more progressive views of gender are half as likely to engage in violent behaviour as their peers with rigid views about masculinity and gender. The research, which was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine Friday, also found that boys who witnessed their peers engaging in two or more verbally, physically or sexually abusive behaviors, such as making disrespectful comments about a girl's body or makeup were two to five times more likely to engage in violent behaviors themselves. There is common saying that violence begets violence. In order words children who live in a violent space will themselves become an abuser. This result is not new. Globally, we have enough research done on the toxicity of masculinity which is sitting on the shelves of libraries gathering dust. Regrettably, what we are short on are solutions to our problems.
Manhood and Masculinity
According to Zilbergeld (1992), by the age of six or seven most of the important lessons in male socialization have been learned; hence the urgency to act. What boys learn about sex and manhood becomes a critical treatment concern when they reach adulthood and are faced with sexual dysfunction resulting from a disability or illness. According to Zilbergeld (1992), boys learn that their manhood is tied to their penis, and having and using erections has something to do with masculinity: "before having sex with partners or even themselves, boys know that sexual interest and prowess are crucial to being a man...Since sexuality is such a crucial component of masculinity, males feel pressured to act interested in sex whether or not they really are.” Perhaps the time is now to have a conversation surrounding what is masculinity. The construction of a Jamaican masculinity is more than rigidity of the phallus. This message is difficult to get across in the Jamaican space. One just has to listen to the lyrics of the popular deejays who are running the dancehall and spreading their version of masculinity and manhood. There has been a shift to a “thuggy thuggy” based masculinity which is a counter to the clean; Sunday school version of masculinity which continues to be resisted. We need to move away from the men do not cry subculture. If males are hurting, what else must they do? We continue to push across this to our boys and young men. In the interim we have created a species of males who are incapable to express their emotions. We need to infuse Conflict Resolution in the National Standards Curriculum (NSC) in order to provide our boys with the necessary skill sets to cope with conflicts. Our young men need to learn from early that walking away from a relationship which is not working out is the right thing to do. There needs to be more spaces for males to vent and support each other in times of crisis. The State machinery has a responsibility to spearhead these initiatives. It appears that in an attempt to protect our girls and women we have forgotten about our boys and young men and the society is paying dearly for this. There are those who would like us to believe that all men are privileged; however, many of our men fall into the category of marginalized masculinity. We need to have more open discussion on masculinity and gender. Not many of us are aware that there are different strands of masculinities. Too many of us assume that one toxic type of masculinity exists. Additionally, some young men are slapped in the face when they act as gentlemen. It’s sad and twisted that even some females will question their sexual orientation. What is wrong with us’? There is an urgent need to incorporate the teaching of gender and development from as early as the primary level of the education system. We need to expose our students, mainly boys to a more holistic view of masculinity and gender. The only way this can be done is through the education system which touches the lives of most Jamaicans. Successive governments have failed at adequately addressing men’s rights. The United Nations has seventeen Sustainable Development Goals one of which is gender equality. However, it appears that gender equality continues to be elusive. There needs to be more public education campaigns which address the issues which men and boys grapple with. We are all aware that our popular culture, namely the genre of dancehall music continues to spew a divisive and toxic brand of masculinity and as such this message must be countered. It appears that has been a wave of misogynistic lyrics sweeping Jamaica’s dancehall music. We need to move away from this gunman in her hole, she like dat culture towards a culture in which everyone is respected. The truth is popular culture is responsible for the socialization of many of our boys. Disturbingly, the church does not play such a dominant role in the lives of our boys and young men as before. There lies the problem. It is problematic that in the Jamaican society there are not enough avenues available to counter the undesirable version of masculinity; which has become the hegemonic model a significant number of men subscribe to. Unfortunately, the society simply does not have adequate space for men to discuss matters concerning and impacting them.
A Change is Emerging
However, all is not lost. We are seeing more and more young men assuming their roles as fathers. The time has come for the society to reengage masculinity in order to build stronger families. In the words of Barack Obama, change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
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
@WayneCamo
©
Our males are in a crisis. It appears we have seen this headline before. Indeed we have, however, not much have been done to provide our boys and young men with the necessary tools to equip them to become contributing members of the society. Already the society is reaping the negative consequences. Sadly, this lack of empowerment of our boys and young men continue to have negative and debilitating consequences to the Jamaican society. Perhaps, now is a good time to ask the question whose responsibility it is to save our young males from the crisis they find themselves? Is this the responsibility of the family? The Jamaican family for the most part is also in a crisis. The society continues to witness a high percentage of single female-headed households. The narrative is getting old but; the men have abandoned their roles and responsibilities. Even in some instances where the men stick around, the females are the ones who organize, take charge of business and ensure the family stays afloat. This is a sad commentary on the state of manhood not only in Jamaica, but in the Caribbean as well and in many African American families. In other words, the Jamaican family is dysfunctional. The family itself is seeking redemption. Undoubtedly, it is challenging to raise boys. Edith Roosevelt says is best, one cannot bring up boys to eagles and then expect them to be sparrows. In the absence of male role models our boys have incorporated a toxic version of masculinity which says among other things that a woman’s body is mine. This view of manhood is often derived from the thugs who have made the street corners their homes. The innocence of boys and young men is readily snuffed out once those boys and young men begin to hang around the weed smoking, no job thugs who wear their sweat pants well below their knees exposing their white draws. Once the initiation begins the young male may even start to question the reason for school and might drop out becoming yet another statistics. Juvenile delinquency is real and many Jamaica families struggle with this social ill. Our penal institutions consist mainly of males, so too are the bars and morgues. Statistics from the police indicate that the victims and perpetrators of crime and violence are overwhelmingly males. The male crisis is real and deepening. These broken men usually have difficulty establishing and maintaining a relationship. Our women are no longer putting up with crap. In some instances our women have adopted a get your black ass through the door policy. Can you blame them? An article published by the American Journal on Preventative Medicine stated that teenage boys with more progressive views of gender are half as likely to engage in violent behaviour as their peers with rigid views about masculinity and gender. The research, which was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine Friday, also found that boys who witnessed their peers engaging in two or more verbally, physically or sexually abusive behaviors, such as making disrespectful comments about a girl's body or makeup were two to five times more likely to engage in violent behaviors themselves. There is common saying that violence begets violence. In order words children who live in a violent space will themselves become an abuser. This result is not new. Globally, we have enough research done on the toxicity of masculinity which is sitting on the shelves of libraries gathering dust. Regrettably, what we are short on are solutions to our problems.
Manhood and Masculinity
According to Zilbergeld (1992), by the age of six or seven most of the important lessons in male socialization have been learned; hence the urgency to act. What boys learn about sex and manhood becomes a critical treatment concern when they reach adulthood and are faced with sexual dysfunction resulting from a disability or illness. According to Zilbergeld (1992), boys learn that their manhood is tied to their penis, and having and using erections has something to do with masculinity: "before having sex with partners or even themselves, boys know that sexual interest and prowess are crucial to being a man...Since sexuality is such a crucial component of masculinity, males feel pressured to act interested in sex whether or not they really are.” Perhaps the time is now to have a conversation surrounding what is masculinity. The construction of a Jamaican masculinity is more than rigidity of the phallus. This message is difficult to get across in the Jamaican space. One just has to listen to the lyrics of the popular deejays who are running the dancehall and spreading their version of masculinity and manhood. There has been a shift to a “thuggy thuggy” based masculinity which is a counter to the clean; Sunday school version of masculinity which continues to be resisted. We need to move away from the men do not cry subculture. If males are hurting, what else must they do? We continue to push across this to our boys and young men. In the interim we have created a species of males who are incapable to express their emotions. We need to infuse Conflict Resolution in the National Standards Curriculum (NSC) in order to provide our boys with the necessary skill sets to cope with conflicts. Our young men need to learn from early that walking away from a relationship which is not working out is the right thing to do. There needs to be more spaces for males to vent and support each other in times of crisis. The State machinery has a responsibility to spearhead these initiatives. It appears that in an attempt to protect our girls and women we have forgotten about our boys and young men and the society is paying dearly for this. There are those who would like us to believe that all men are privileged; however, many of our men fall into the category of marginalized masculinity. We need to have more open discussion on masculinity and gender. Not many of us are aware that there are different strands of masculinities. Too many of us assume that one toxic type of masculinity exists. Additionally, some young men are slapped in the face when they act as gentlemen. It’s sad and twisted that even some females will question their sexual orientation. What is wrong with us’? There is an urgent need to incorporate the teaching of gender and development from as early as the primary level of the education system. We need to expose our students, mainly boys to a more holistic view of masculinity and gender. The only way this can be done is through the education system which touches the lives of most Jamaicans. Successive governments have failed at adequately addressing men’s rights. The United Nations has seventeen Sustainable Development Goals one of which is gender equality. However, it appears that gender equality continues to be elusive. There needs to be more public education campaigns which address the issues which men and boys grapple with. We are all aware that our popular culture, namely the genre of dancehall music continues to spew a divisive and toxic brand of masculinity and as such this message must be countered. It appears that has been a wave of misogynistic lyrics sweeping Jamaica’s dancehall music. We need to move away from this gunman in her hole, she like dat culture towards a culture in which everyone is respected. The truth is popular culture is responsible for the socialization of many of our boys. Disturbingly, the church does not play such a dominant role in the lives of our boys and young men as before. There lies the problem. It is problematic that in the Jamaican society there are not enough avenues available to counter the undesirable version of masculinity; which has become the hegemonic model a significant number of men subscribe to. Unfortunately, the society simply does not have adequate space for men to discuss matters concerning and impacting them.
A Change is Emerging
However, all is not lost. We are seeing more and more young men assuming their roles as fathers. The time has come for the society to reengage masculinity in order to build stronger families. In the words of Barack Obama, change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
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
@WayneCamo
©
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