Masculinities & the world’s political, economic and social crises: Video Discussion Series

The series was part of the MenEngage Ubuntu Symposium. Click here for all 6 parts on the MenEngage YouTube Channel.

The discussion series builds on the paper, Contexts and Challenges for Gender Transformative Work with Men and Boys. The series looks at the ways the world is being profoundly shaped by ideas and attitudes around being a man.

Each session under the series focused on a significant trend in the world today. 25 expert speakers took part in the series.

The series is part of deeper discussions across MenEngage Alliance around supporting a feminist systems change agenda.

Who will find this video series useful?

This series is a great starting point for anyone interested in a deeper exploration of the current challenges around gender-transformative work with men and boys. It is useful for all kinds of people and organizations, whether you are running workshops, advocating for policy change, or doing research.

Watch the sessions below:

PART 1: Masculinities and gender justice: The need for systems change

This session looks at the a need for a radical systems change. It explores the importance of naming and understanding forces blocking change. It asks how work to transform masculinities contributes to movements and agendas for radical systems change.

PART 2: Political Contexts: Authoritarianism, Ethnonationalism and Militarism

This discussion looks at the worrying trends of authoritarianism, militarism and ethnonationalism. It looks at how backlash against feminist movements appears in politics around the world with the rise of openly misogynistic, patriarchal and authoritarian regimes in a number of countries.

PART 3: Economic Contexts: Neoliberalism, Climate Crisis and Care Economies

This third part of the series examines neoliberalism, climate crises and care economies. It explores the links between gender injustice and economic injustice and the potential ways in which we can build solidarity across gender and class differences for radical systems change.

PART 4: Social Contexts: Anti-Feminism, Normalized Violence and Politicized Religion

This discussion explores various social contexts and their relationships to patriarchal anti-feminist backlash. Social contexts examined include: social attitudes on women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights, normalized gender-based violence, and politicized religion and patriarchal backlash.

PART 5: Digital Contexts: Media, Attention Economies and the Manosphere

In this session, we explore ways in which patriarchal masculinities are built into digital technologies. Key questions shaping the discussion include: how are our social, political, and economic lives shaped by media? How do different online platforms influence anti-feminist backlash through content they create, share, distribute and censor to get more attention? What are the implications of such digital contexts for movement building work for gender justice?

PART 6: Operational Contexts: Rationale, Accountability and Social Change

This session looks into what accountability standards and practices look like in the masculinities field. It is therefore a useful discussion for people wanting to explore how engaging men and boys can move from focusing too much on individual-level change to also working towards structural change.