tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/male-role-models-12199/articlesMale role models – The Conversation2018-01-09T11:20:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/888992018-01-09T11:20:59Z2018-01-09T11:20:59ZFrom cowboys to commandos: Connecting sexual and gun violence with media archetypes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200754/original/file-20180103-26169-ze7nnz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stars of TV Westerns embodied a Cowboy Code.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warner_Brothers_television_westerns_stars_1959.JPG">ABC Television</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you feel as if there’s been an uptick in the frequency and lethality of mass shootings in recent years, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-mass-shootings-20171120-story.html">you’re not imagining it</a>. The time between mass shootings (involving four or more casualties) in the U.S. <a href="https://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/mass-shootings-and-the-future-update/">has been shrinking</a> since the 1990s, and the death rate in these massacres has almost tripled since 2000.</p>
<p>And if it also seems that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-way-we-tell-the-story-of-hollywood-sexual-assault-and-harassment-matters-85658">reports of sexual assault</a> on the part of celebrities, politicians and journalists are coming in almost daily, you are, once again, not mistaken. It is probably not coincidental that the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network reports “a record number of survivors [who] turned to RAINN for help,” with a <a href="https://www.rainn.org/news/2017-review-rainn-supports-record-numbers">26 percent increase in hotline traffic in November</a> alone. </p>
<p>No, I’m not equating sexual assault and mass murder. But as a psychiatrist, I think there is an indirect connection between the rising rates of each. To understand why, we need to explore the shifting media role models to which young American males have been exposed since the 1950s and ‘60s. As sociologist Daniel Rios Pineda has observed, the <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4310/2eed1693252e79c0da7af58cb5aa13f49613.pdf">influence of the mass media</a> begins at a very early age. Based on my own cultural observations, I believe that the emergence of a more violent male “archetype” in the media has been internalized by many young men, and may be one factor contributing to increased sexual and gun-related violence.</p>
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<span class="caption">Emulating cowboys meant trying to embody certain ideals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/charliedave/3127723951">Charlie Dave</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>The cowboy’s code</h2>
<p>Once upon a time, the archetype of the cowboy stood tall in the American male psyche. Growing up in the 1950s, my friends and I had plenty of admirable cowboy role models, drawn from TV Westerns like “Gunsmoke,” “The Rifleman” and “The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp.” Broadly speaking, the heroes of these shows were decent, honorable and law-abiding individuals, trying to survive in dangerous times. Early TV Westerns <a href="https://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/12/01/tv-westerns-1950s-and-60s">aimed to teach the values</a> of honesty, integrity, hard work, racial tolerance and justice for all.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to claim that the cowboy archetype is totally supportive of today’s progressive values. For many Native Americans, the term “cowboy” probably evokes distasteful images. For some feminists, the archetype may seem exclusionary and patriarchal, representing an idealized (and violent) male vision of the “Old West.” </p>
<p>Nevertheless, the real American West reflected some progressive ideals, often enshrined in law. For example, in contrast to today’s clamor for unrestricted “gun rights,” pioneers in the American West established many <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-winkler/did-the-wild-west-have-mo_b_956035.html">regulations designed to reduce gun violence</a>. According to <a href="https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/%7Ercollins/scholarship/guns.html">historian Ross Collins</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Pioneer publications show Old West leaders repeatedly arguing in favor of gun control. City leaders in the old cattle towns knew from experience what some Americans today don’t want to believe: a town which allows easy access to guns invites trouble.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Old West also had an unwritten <a href="https://montanapioneer.com/the-code-of-the-west/">code of ethics</a>, sometimes called “the cowboy code.” Historian Ramon Adams, in his 1969 book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cowman-His-Code-Ethics/dp/B0043K2K10">The Cowman and His Code of Ethics</a>” noted that one of the strictest codes of the West was “respect of womanhood.”</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gene Autry advocated respect.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gene_Autry_1950.jpg">CBS/Columbia Broadcasting System</a></span>
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<p>In the 1940s, famous cowboy <a href="http://www.autry.com/geneautry/geneautry_cowboycode-code.html">Gene Autry developed his own version</a> of the cowboy code, which included this notable commandment: “[The cowboy] must respect women, parents and his nation’s laws.” Though not explicitly aimed at a young audience, Autry’s code had a natural affinity with, for example, <a href="https://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/boyscouts/thebuildingblocksofscouting/values.aspx">values promoted by the Boy Scouts of America</a>.</p>
<p>In short, peaceable and law-abiding behavior – including respect for women – were integral parts of the early American West’s “cowboy ethos,” which many American boys of the mid-20th century tried to emulate as it reached them via Hollywood. As the Museum of Western Film History puts it, early TV Westerns “<a href="https://www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org/articles-with-out-menu-items/tv-westerns">offered morality plays for the juvenile audience</a>.”</p>
<h2>Commandos and pseudocommando killers</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, as the cowboy receded into the sunset, he was gradually displaced in the 1980s – not long after the Vietnam War – by the far more violent figure of the commando. Enter John Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone) and John Matrix (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie, “Commando”). As <a href="http://www.dvdmg.com/commandobr.shtml">one reviewer put it</a>, “Matrix just kills, kills, kills… If you look up 'gratuitous violence’ in the dictionary, you’ll see a link to ‘Commando.’”</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">John Matrix has a different m.o.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.talkfilmsociety.com/articles/the-rampage-is-a-force-of-nature-unstoppable-protagonists-on-film">'Commando'</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Though the relationship between media violence and childhood aggression is controversial, child psychiatrist Eugene Beresin has observed that <a href="http://www.aacap.org/aacap/Medical_Students_and_Residents/Mentorship_Matters/DevelopMentor/The_Impact_of_Media_Violence_on_Children_and_Adolescents_Opportunities_for_Clinical_Interventions.aspx">violent heroes become role models for youth</a>. Psychologist and former Army Ranger Lt. Col. Dave Grossman <a href="https://openroadmedia.com/ebook/on-killing/9781497629202">sees a direct link</a> between today’s violent and vengeful movie “heroes” and the mass killings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech.</p>
<p>Indeed, I believe there’s a link between the cinematic archetype of the “commando” and the recent spate of “pseudocommando” killings in the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/machiavellians-gulling-the-rubes/201510/profile-oregons-pseudocommando-killer">real</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-did-texas-shooter-devin-kelley-die-2017-11">world</a>. According to my colleague, <a href="http://jaapl.org/content/38/1/87">forensic psychiatrist James L. Knoll IV</a>, the pseudocommando often kills indiscriminately; comes prepared with a powerful arsenal of weapons; has no escape plan; and harbors strong feelings of anger and resentment. </p>
<p>Psychologists believe the pseudocommando’s rage is fueled by a quest for power – usually in a desperate attempt to redress his deep-seated sense of powerlessness.</p>
<p>And herein lies the nexus with individuals who engage in sexual assault. These aggressive acts are fundamentally <a href="https://sapac.umich.edu/article/52">about power and control</a>.</p>
<h2>Link between sexual and gun-related violence</h2>
<p>A number of studies support the view that most mass shootings in the U.S. are <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-mass-killers-are-men-who-have-also-attacked-family-87230">preceded by domestic or family violence</a> – often directed against women. For example, both the Orlando Pulse club shooter and the Virginia Tech shooter had a <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/we-need-to-talk-the-link-between-sexual-violence-and_us_59fb6146e4b09afdf01c412c">history of abusing or harassing females</a> prior to carrying out mass murder. The nonprofit group Everytown for Gun Safety analyzed mass shootings between 2009 and 2016 and found that in <a href="https://everytownresearch.org/reports/mass-shootings-analysis">54 percent of cases</a>, the shooters killed intimate partners or other family members. </p>
<p>It must be said that <a href="https://sapac.umich.edu/article/52">men, too, may be victims of sexual violence</a>, at the hands of either males or females. However, mass shootings are carried out <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-mass-killers-are-men-who-have-also-attacked-family-87230">almost entirely by men</a>. </p>
<p>There are compelling reasons to believe that sexual and gun-related violence spring from the same cultural roots – a culture that <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/we-need-to-talk-the-link-between-sexual-violence-and_us_59fb6146e4b09afdf01c412c">lionizes and glorifies male aggression</a>. </p>
<p>Thus, Charles M. Blow, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/19/opinion/sexual-harassment-men-.html">in a recent New York Times op-ed</a>, alluded to the “toxic, privileged, encroaching masculinity” that pervades American culture. He argued that our society has fostered the dangerous notion that aggression is a prized part of male sexuality. In effect, boys are encouraged to be aggressive, while girls become their victims. </p>
<h2>Some caveats and qualifications</h2>
<p>The causes of violence are complex and overdetermined. The two archetypes I’ve described are expressions of the zeitgeist of their respective eras, as much as they are forces that shape men’s psychological development. Furthermore, young males today are faced with many <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44293/">risk factors for violence</a>, including abusive parents, bullying in school, and the allure of gangs. Psychologists believe that “<a href="http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/08/violent-video-games.aspx">no single risk factor</a> consistently leads a person to act aggressively or violently.” </p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The #MeToo moment is confronting the culture that accepts sexual aggression.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/PGroup-Faye-Sadou-MediaPunch-IPx-A-ENT-IPX-MeT-/9ba7acf9ea8141b3bd90f4a2120ce536/10/0">Faye Sadou/MediaPunch/IPX</a></span>
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<p>Nevertheless, I suggest that the confluence of the commando mentality and our culture’s way of raising boys and young men has contributed to an uptick in sexual and gun-related violence. Too often, young men learn that macho is cool and that you can get away with anything you want. And as the <a href="https://metoomvmt.org/">#MeToo movement</a> demonstrates, these attitudes have infected men’s behavior at the highest levels. </p>
<p>The cowboy code may no longer be suited to our modern needs. But it is not too late to renounce the commando mentality, and to raise boys – as Gene Autry would have it – to respect both women and the nation’s laws.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88899/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronald W. Pies does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With mass shootings and sexual harassment reports on the rise, a psychologist reflects on how the evolving nature of male role models in the media may be contributing.Ronald W. Pies, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Lecturer on Bioethics & Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/759522017-05-16T15:06:21Z2017-05-16T15:06:21ZWhy working with men could help efforts to combat violence against women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169318/original/file-20170515-7005-e43ai9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Men march against
violence against women and children in Cape Town, South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Numerous <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2017/05/15/Shocking-stats-show-one-in-five-SA-women-experience-domestic-violence">studies</a> have noted that South Africa is an extremely violent country with high rates of interpersonal violence and <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf">homicide</a>. Along with this, the rates of sexual violence are high, with a report by the Medical Research Council showing that 25% of women in their <a href="http://www.mrc.ac.za/gender/gbvthewar.pdf">study</a> had been raped in their lifetime.</p>
<p>Although the rates of violence are extremely high in South Africa, the ways in which it plays out are similar in many ways to other countries. Around the world most violence is perpetrated by men, often against women, but to an even greater extent <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-05-10-analysis-how-south-africas-violent-notion-of-masculinity-harms-us-all/">against other men</a>.</p>
<p>Despite this knowledge, most interventions to combat violence tend to focus on women. Typically they provide support to women after they’ve been attacked, or they suggest ways to avoid or prevent violence by changing their behaviour or the clothes they wear.</p>
<p>These interventions have had little impact on the levels of violence in South Africa which suggests that alternatives need to be investigated. One possibility would be to specifically work with men as a form of violence prevention. </p>
<p>This was the focus of my recent <a href="http://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/101057">doctoral study</a> which primarily looked at the effect of working with men. </p>
<h2>Tackling masculinities differently</h2>
<p>My study drew on a growing <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Against_our_will.html?id=3jF6EIp8sUwC&redir_esc=y">body of research</a>, which suggests that focusing on <a href="http://www.raewynconnell.net/p/masculinities_20.html">masculinities</a> – the societal norms men are expected to achieve in order to “prove” their manhood – can help in reducing men’s use of violence in the future. </p>
<p>Masculinities include aspects such as men being financial providers in a relationship or family. Others are that men “need” more sex than women, and the notion that men are more aggressive. </p>
<p>While some consider these norms to be biological, or as something inherent to men, research <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070500493845">suggests</a> this isn’t always the case. A number of organisations in South Africa and globally have begun to focus on the societal norms surrounding men as they grow up. My study focused on a South African NGO implementing this kind of workshop. </p>
<p>Organisations like the one I focused on typically use workshops to question whether aggression is something men are born with, or merely something that they are encouraged to use. </p>
<p>Results from studies of these interventions have been quite positive. They show that men who take part in them often report using less violence after completing the workshops. They also tend to report a greater respect for women and their rights. </p>
<p>This has been shown in South Africa, as well as countries like <a href="http://www.leftvoice.org/Organizing-Against-Rape-Culture-Lessons-from-Brazil">Brazil</a>
and <a href="http://menengage.org/resources/reviewing-responsibilities-renewing-relationships-intervention-men-violence-women-india/">India</a>, where similar interventions have been implemented.</p>
<h2>Changing behaviour</h2>
<p>My own study found that a primary part of this success comes from the structure of the workshops that organisations facilitate. The participants report that creating a supportive peer group through the process is incredibly important in encouraging them to maintain lower levels of violence.</p>
<p>Along with this, the workshop facilitators – predominantly men – act as positive role models for the alternative notions of manhood that get discussed in the workshops. These positive role models were mentioned repeatedly by men who participated as being one of the most important aspects in helping them to change their behaviour in terms of violence or discrimination against women.</p>
<p>In my study, I found that a shortcoming of the workshops is that while they have an effect on specific behaviours, they don’t seem to have an impact on underlying attitudes which often drive these behaviours. For example, men might agree that using physical violence against their own partner is wrong, but not that gender inequality itself is an issue.</p>
<p>Similarly, they may assert that they themselves will not rape a woman, but still maintain that women’s clothing or behaviour is the cause of rape. Thus, certain behaviours were highlighted as problematic, but the fact that men are encouraged to use violence was seen as less of an issue.</p>
<h2>Shifting mindsets</h2>
<p>Overall, the findings suggest that workshops which specifically focus on men can play a role in lowering the rates of certain forms of violence. Along with this, involving men in efforts to lower violence is an important step, as it moves the conversation away from simply blaming men for violence, enabling them to become part of the solution instead. </p>
<p>It also questions the notion that men have no control over their use of violence, preferring to see them as active participants in efforts to reduce violence. While the impact is still quite limited - workshops usually only have space for 10-20 men at a time - the fact that this approach has the potential to reduce men’s use of violence is promising.</p>
<p>But some adjustments still need to be made to the workshops to focus more on the underlying attitudes of gender inequality that seem to be more resistant to change. Limiting certain forms of violence is definitely a positive step, but a shift in the mindset which underlies that violence could enable a much larger reduction in violence and gender-based violence as a whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75952/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Graaff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While men regard the social norm of ‘proving’ their manhood as normal, research shows otherwise. Combating these misconceptions can help reduce male violence.Karen Graaff, Lecturer in Sociology, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/352652014-12-10T09:45:11Z2014-12-10T09:45:11ZTo stop violence against women, we need to get men to help change social norms<p>A series of research projects is to take place in countries including Afghanistan, Palestine and South Africa to address our significant lack of knowledge about how to prevent physical and sexual violence against women.</p>
<p>A total of <a href="http://www.svri.org/WhatWorks.htm">18 projects</a> will be funded by the UK government, it has been announced. While awareness about violence against women is growing, we still lack good evidence about what actually stops it from happenening and these projects aim to contribute to filling that gap. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.genderjustice.org.za/one-man-can/">One Man Can</a> project in South Africa, for example, will engage men and boys to challenge traditional models of masculinity. Another in the Democratic Republic of Congo will work with faith leaders to change the social norms that enable violence to continue, and in Afghanistan, boys and girls will work together on peace programmes in schools. Male leaders and families will also be involved in projects that aim to promote an understanding of women’s rights, and build healthy relationship skills based on peaceful conflict resolution.</p>
<p>Another project will link international buyers and their supplier factories in Bangladesh with local NGOs to address sexual harassment in garment factories and a national media campaign will be rolled out across the Occupied Palestinian Territories to challenge the acceptability of violence against women.</p>
<h2>Wrong target?</h2>
<p>In recent years, attention has turned to engaging men and boys rather than talking to women about how to avoid violence. This approach started with programmes that focused on perpetrators of violence against women. But many women’s rights activists were sceptical. Some were concerned that projects like these would divert limited resources away from women’s programmes and others warned that they have the potential to further reassert male power, framing men as the protectors and saviours of women.</p>
<p>Now The UN’s high-profile <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/">He For She</a> campaign is just one example of the projects emerging that call on all men – not just those who are violent – to be part of the solution. They are asked to stand in solidarity with women and make equality one of their own personal missions.</p>
<p>Other projects include lectures and workshops for men to help them redefine what it means to be a man and to have non-violent, egalitarian relationships. Others engage men as bystanders – encouraging them to intervene when they witness other men being aggressive or sexist.</p>
<p>But for all these, the evidence about whether they actually work is limited.</p>
<h2>New ground</h2>
<p>It is being increasingly recognised that violence against women and girls is not just about individually violent men. It is a much larger systemic issue. Violence is caused by gender inequality and related to ideas about men needing to be strong and in control.</p>
<p>That means we can’t work with men and boys in isolation from the realities of the wider world. To stop violence against women, we need to change the norms and structural gender inequalities in society.</p>
<p>This may include work to change social norms in villages and societies, therapeutic interventions for boys and men who have themselves experienced violence or school programmes about healthy, equal relationships. It might even mean marketing and media campaigns to promote new models of masculinity.</p>
<p>The point is we don’t know which stands a chance of having an impact and which wouldn’t. These 18 projects can’t answer all the questions but they could give us a better idea about what works to bring down rates of violence – and indeed what doesn’t. </p>
<p>Through these projects and others we can start to learn more about what works to prevent violence, so that the work to engage men and boys, along with women and girls, can be driven by rigorous evidence. We will all benefit from that.</p>
<p><em>Emma Fulu also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lori Heise receives funding from UK AID as part of the What Works to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls global programme. </span></em></p>A series of research projects is to take place in countries including Afghanistan, Palestine and South Africa to address our significant lack of knowledge about how to prevent physical and sexual violence…Lori Heise, Senior Lecturer in Social Epidemiology and Co-Research Director of STRIVE, London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/321532014-09-25T06:32:29Z2014-09-25T06:32:29Z126,000 reasons why the Emma Watson hoax isn’t all bad news<p>In less than a week since actor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Watson">Emma Watson</a>’s stirring United Nations speech on gender inequality, two big things have happened – but you’ve probably only heard about one of them.</p>
<p>The first, which has driven days of global headlines, is that the 24-year-old actor (best known for her role in Harry Potter films) soon copped a backlash, including what appeared to be an online threat to publish naked photos of her. That’s now been shown to be a complicated hoax; more on that and what it has revealed shortly. </p>
<p>The other big thing that’s happened has received far less attention, but it’s much more heartening. </p>
<p>In only a few days, more than 126,000 men and boys have pledged their support for the new <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/">HeforShe campaign</a> to end gender inequality – beating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeForShe">the original target of 100,000 supporters</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The map of global #HeforShe supporters as of Thursday 25 September 2014, 4:15pm AEST.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">http://HeforShe.org/</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You can see how many have signed up <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/">in your country on the site’s interactive map</a>. The campaign’s <a href="http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/09/24/celeb-feminists?cmpid=tp-twtr">male supporters</a> include fellow actors Matt Damon, Patrick Stewart, Russell Crowe and Keifer Sutherland, and now thousands more from around the world.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p-iFl4qhBsE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Watson’s passionate and moving speech at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, above, has already been viewed more than 4 million times on YouTube. You can <a href="http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too">read it in full here</a>, but highlights include:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I started questioning gender-based assumptions when at eight I was confused at being called ‘bossy’, because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for our parents—but the boys were not. When I was 14, I started being sexualised by certain elements of the press. When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not limiting the speech to gender difficulties faced by only women, Watson described how gender stereotypes hurt men and boys too:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness unable to ask for help for fear it would make them look less ‘macho’. In fact, in the UK suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20-49; eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality either.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Watson’s speech won a standing ovation inside the UN and even greater applause beyond. But it wasn’t long before her strong stand on gender equality triggered a backlash.</p>
<h2>A double hoax</h2>
<p>Only a day after her speech, a mysterious website and a blog’s “news” story speculated that a hacker was about to publish naked photographs of Watson, just as happened recently to stars including <a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-leaked-hacker-posts-explicit-pics/story-fn907478-1227043406704">Jennifer Lawrence</a>.</p>
<p>That sparked a media frenzy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A hoax “news story”, now removed from the internet, which sparked the global controversy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">via Business Insider</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The world watched as the website www.emmayouarenext.com counted down the hours to when purportedly private photos would be released. Just as disturbing as the website itself were many of the comments about it, including “That feminist bitch Emma is going to show the world she is as much of a whore as any woman”, and “She makes stupid feminist speeches at UN, and now her nudes will be online, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH”.</p>
<p>Instead of talking about the content of her speech, social media was ablaze with outrage at hackers, particularly the image-based website <a href="http://www.4chan.org/">4chan</a>, which appeared to be linked to the Watson attack site.</p>
<p>Finally, on Wednesday September 24, the countdown was supposedly over – but there were no naked photos. Instead, users were directed to rantic.com, a webpage claiming to be devoted to shutting down 4Chan, complete with a petition to US President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>And as if it couldn’t get any weirder, it now appears that even that “advertising company” rantic.com is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/emma-watson-naked-photo-countdown-hoax-2014-9">actually a fake</a>, and the whole thing is the work of a group of serial internet hoaxers known as <a href="http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/emma-watson-nude-countdown-socialvevo-4chan/">socialVEVO</a>.</p>
<p>So what have we learnt from this elaborate hoax, which duped millions of people including many in the global news media?</p>
<h2>Easy targets</h2>
<p>Why was it so easy to believe that anonymous, angry internet “trolls” would immediately recoil at Emma’s suggestion of gender equality, and attack her privacy by publishing naked photos? (If any actually exist, that is.)</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60001/original/6hfjpdb9-1411621136.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60001/original/6hfjpdb9-1411621136.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60001/original/6hfjpdb9-1411621136.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60001/original/6hfjpdb9-1411621136.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60001/original/6hfjpdb9-1411621136.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60001/original/6hfjpdb9-1411621136.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60001/original/6hfjpdb9-1411621136.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60001/original/6hfjpdb9-1411621136.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, it was easy to believe because too often women <em>are</em> victimised online, particularly in sexualised ways, and particularly when they take a stand on gender equality as Watson did.</p>
<p>It is ironic that in her speech, Watson declared:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is the exact sentiment that was threatened. The fact that this threat was just a hoax – the motives for which are still unclear – does not excuse the manipulation used to generate this attention. </p>
<p>Whether intended or not, the message to women that’s been reinforced over the past few days have been all too clear: speak out and you will be targeted. </p>
<p>And even if the website was a fake, the public response to it – which included vicious and perverse comments about Watson being a whore – were sadly all too real.</p>
<p>But if there is one glimmer of good news out of all this, it’s that the extra attention garnered by the controversy has driven more people – particularly men and boys – to back the <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/">HeforShe campaign</a>, on its website and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/heforshe">on social media</a>. These are just some of the thousands so far.</p>
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<p>But amid so much focus on nude photos and hoaxes, we shouldn’t forget what Watson’s speech was all about: gender inequality.</p>
<p>Too many men and women around the world still live with emotional and social restrictions because of gender stereotypes – and that has to end. </p>
<p>The last word should go to Watson, who answered her critics and her own self-doubts in her speech.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You might be thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing up on stage at the UN? It’s a good question and trust me, I have been asking myself the same thing. I don’t know if I am qualified to be here. All I know is that I care about this problem. And I want to make it better … English Statesman Edmund Burke said: ‘All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.’ In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt I’ve told myself firmly — if not me, who? If not now, when?</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32153/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evita March does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In less than a week since actor Emma Watson’s stirring United Nations speech on gender inequality, two big things have happened – but you’ve probably only heard about one of them. The first, which has…Evita March, Lecturer of Psychology, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/311702014-09-05T02:08:13Z2014-09-05T02:08:13ZFor Father’s Day, give us men who aren’t shown as fools and clowns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58100/original/tsww9fvg-1409719021.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If this man had half a brain, he wouldn't have needed his partner to tell him how to find the best hotel deal without staying up all night.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW2gRl0xQNc">Youtube/Hotels Combined Commercial, Australia, 2013, Cole Rintoul</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“<a href="http://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/getyourhandoffit.html">Get your hand off it</a>,” says the girl in the ad. Here is a cowgirl type telling men not to play with anything while driving. It’s the mobile that she means, ha ha.</p>
<p>Why should we be concerned? Because yet again, here’s an ad showing men as fools, clowns or rogues. Time and again we’ll be shown someone doing the wrong thing, then told off. It always seems to be the man doing the wrong thing, and a woman ridiculing him.</p>
<p>I see ads about littering on suburban litter bins. Here’s a man shown dropping a wrapper. And here’s a woman frowning at him, unimpressed and thus no longer seeing the man as desirable. Dumb men, wanting the affection of women who don’t welcome their interest.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BdFCsRdQmI0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The ‘country’ version of the NSW road safety campaign.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Think of some well-known men in the TV comedies you watch. There are many dumb males in The Simpsons and the worst is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_Simpson">Homer</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Husbands">Househusbands</a> has a clutch of guys struggling manfully (if that’s the word) trying to manage a few kids while earning money. They don’t seem to make a very successful go of it, either.</p>
<p>And the men on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_and_Away">Home and Away</a> always seem to be getting into fights, mischief and trouble. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Nine-Nine">Brooklyn 99</a> is a new show on SBS. It’s fun, but the male cops are all lazy, work-shy and trying to impress, mostly unsuccessfully.</p>
<p>Once we held men up for boys and girls to admire. There were Galileo, Cook the brilliant navigator, St Patrick who converted Ireland, and tons of other saints, martyrs and heroes. </p>
<p>Today the only males held up for our admiration are young men with amazing bodies or superhuman powers. Think of <a href="http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-bachelor">The Bachelor</a> or the movie <a href="http://www.mightyhercules.com/index_splash.php">Hercules</a>.
Clearly, these are exceptions to the rule that most men shown in the media are fools and clowns. Sorry, most of us can’t look like these musclemen or do all those superhuman tricks. </p>
<p>Why does all this matter? Vast sums are spent on advertising. We’re told that Tony Abbott employs <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/army-of-1900-spin-doctors-costs-taxpayers-millions-20140325-35gqv.html">large teams of people</a> to promote the good news about all his government’s achievements.</p>
<p>Propaganda supporting the current war has been with us for centuries, certainly since the first world war. Advertising and images in the media change people’s behaviour.</p>
<p>Jim Macnamara analysed images of men in the Australian media in a doctoral thesis, later published as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Media-Male-Identity-Making-Remaking/dp/023000167X">Media and Male Identity</a>. He found that overwhelmingly, Australian men are confronted by:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a misandric world that demonises, marginalises and objectifies men and tries to change them.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lHAEeRbnpe0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The list of ‘male-bashing’ ads is a long one.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>It’s not just advertisers but educators too</h2>
<p>The discourse of the “flawed male” in the media echoes that in many educational institutions. The doctrine of “most men are bad” is reported by male students in university subjects in sociology, history and education. And nasty images of men in the media reinforce the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/concern-over-stifled-debate-on-male-studies/story-e6frgcjx-1226807161232">negative views of men</a> current in many sectors of education.</p>
<p>The effect of all the negativity is that men bunker down. They say, “Oh well, here’s another attack”. It doesn’t offer much hope to young males who are already searching for an acceptable masculinity.</p>
<p>Perhaps many women would like men who are more sensitive, who listen more attentively and commit more easily. But if we change men too much they won’t be recognisable as men. </p>
<p>When there’s a natural disaster such as a cyclone or bushfire, we expect men will come and help out. If Australia commits itself to war in the Middle East, it will be mainly men who are expected to fight.</p>
<h2>How does this affect boys and young men?</h2>
<p>Young men are affected by what they see on TV and in social media. Just this week, the boys next door were throwing <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ice-bucket-challenge-and-social-media-virality-30821">buckets of cold water</a> on each other. It was another example of boys imitating what they see around them.</p>
<p>We often hear that boys are trouble. As <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/18/1063625153160.html?from=storyrhs">John Marsden says</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Teenage boys are among the most maligned groups in society.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They are called drug addicts, semi-illiterate, hopeless communicators and a leading group among school failures.</p>
<p>Young men on the street are depicted as sources of trouble, with endless arguments about how to stop their violence. The sins of a few are visited on all. Young <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/low-pay-social-norms-push-men-from-classrooms-20130320-2gg2e.html">men aren’t choosing teaching</a> as a career and the only role models we offer are poor ones.</p>
<p>Do parents want their sons growing up in an atmosphere of such constant criticism of males, as males? Where is the scope for their ideas and ideals? </p>
<p>How can we give boys a lead and show them how to make a better world, if all they see is a relentless ridiculing of their sex? Boys are, after all, bound to turn into men.</p>
<p>So for this Father’s Day, I’d like to give males more hope. Let’s insist that advertisers present us with more positive images of men as well as of women. For the sake of all our dads. And the sons who will be dads, soon enough.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter West does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>“Get your hand off it,” says the girl in the ad. Here is a cowgirl type telling men not to play with anything while driving. It’s the mobile that she means, ha ha. Why should we be concerned? Because yet…Peter West, Lecturer in Education, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.