St. John's Conference

        I just returned from St. John's University conference on gender equality and anti-violence. The take home message for me was that we need to get organized. There are too many other groups willing to hijack message boards and destroy any attempts at rational conversations about privilege, sexism or equality. Our opening panel called for an increased online presence. So besides attempting to blog for the first time, I am considering my place in this movement.

        We have wonderful women and men in the field with decades of experience. However, for me, there is no current face of the movement for young college men. What does a college male activist/anti-violent/feminist look like? Many young men turn to the current female face of feminism for answers. We read feministing.com and we learn a lot. We take feminisim and gender studies courses taught by women, made up of mostly women. We've learned enough to know that we care about these issues but we are not taught how to navigate them. We are also met with suspicion and distrust, often for good reasons. In an attempt to fit in and experience as little resistance as possible, many of us eschew everything "traditionally" masculine and nod a lot, often disappearing into the background. Or we enact our traditional masculinity by entering women centers and movements and taking up too much space. We talk too much and listen too little. We charge forward with "new and improved" ideas and zeal, often with good intentions, but without putting in the work of learning from those who came before us and listening to those who are our potential allies. Some expect the suspicion and work hard to prove ourselves. Others balk at the idea and demand acceptance. Either way, young men are showing up. But without a leader, we often end up standing around. Thoughts?