Join Us! Men Against Patriarchy Assembly Sunday, January 27

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On August 22, 2012, in Steubenville, Ohio, a sixteen-year-old girl was
raped multiple times and urinated on by members of the Steubenville High
School football team.  Coaches, school administrators, and law enforcement
officers have tried to shield the rapists and their accomplices from
exposure.  (You can find out more about the case by following this
link<http://truth-out.org/news/item/13878-how-anonymous-hacking-exposed-steubenville-high-school-rape-case>.)
This is not an isolated incident.  It can be argued that rape is worse than
murder, and it happens to women many thousands of times without the
attention of the press.  Only because of the work of the hacktivists called
Anonymous, is the Steubenville case now being discussed around the world.  They
were not yet able to draw international attention to the 2009 Richmond (CA)
High School gang-rape incident, and Occupy Oakland had not yet come into
existence.  Now, if radical women are to feel safe working closely with
radical men, we must cry out against social institutions that protect
rapists.  Even though such a vile and publicized act of misogyny has not
occurred in Oakland in the time of Occupy, we know it can.

Men!  Come together at the GA Sunday, January 27, to make radical
women feel safe among us in response to the Steubenville, Ohio rape case,
its patriarchal cover-up and the defense of the participants.  If we turn a
blind eye to these heinous actions, we sustain women’s feelings of being in
danger as they try to work with us.  Come together to take a stand against
sexual assault and to deconstruct the system of patriarchy that is so
deeply entrenched in our society.  This is a principal item on the agenda
for our movement, and avoiding action against patriarchy, which is the root
of capitalism and state bureaucracy, obliterates our chances of success.  Come
together to form the Men Against Patriarchy Assembly Sunday, January 27, at the
Occupy Oakland GA, 19th St. and Telegraph Ave., Oakland, 2:00PM.
46253

2 Responses to “Join Us! Men Against Patriarchy Assembly Sunday, January 27”

  1. Todd Elkin

    I support this gathering! That said, I want to call attention to some problematic aspects of the wording. The repeated stated goal of “making radical women feel safe” is at the very least awkwardly worded and on its face has a patronizing ring to it.

    Language matters! and in fact poorly chosen words often reveal all kinds of assumptions and underlying attitudes.

    I think a key element of this work is going to be taking a hard unflinching look at the ways we men OURSELVES are conditioned and how we wittingly and unwittingly perpetuate the damaging dynamics of patriarchy.

    In order for this to have a chance to effect positive change, we have to at minimum, drop defensiveness and be willing to look at our own patriarchal stuff (and while we’re at it, other kinds of privilege we might possibly benefit from). I am down to do this.

  2. Kerie Campbell

    A couple of things. This is a great start. Men should be in men’s spaces dismantling patriarchy and making room for feminist spaces.

    However, the wording in this, while well-intended, has some pretty glaringly paternalistic messages.

    For instance: “make radical women feel safe among us.”

    We don’t want YOU to make ANYTHING for us. We want YOU to work on YOUR shit and we’ll decide when and if we feel safe.

    Not really hostility meant; just pointing out that the tone of this is still kinda patriarchal. But I still think it’s about damn time you guys got to work on this shit and here’s hoping you be more mindful of your language and look a little deeper at your privilege while conducting this endeavor.

    I really wish you well in this.