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At the Center of Santa Barbara’s Cultural Conversation | www.VoiceSB.com
October 4, 2019
The Many Sides of Masculinity
New series mixes lectures and performances to explore what it means to be a man in 21st-century America have mass shootings the way we do in the United States. HE SEARCH FOR A MORE “So there are two questions: Why INCLUSIVE DEFINITION OF is it that men commit these crimes in MASCULINITY is not new: Robert disproportionate numbers compared to Bly attempted to redefine the term in women, and why is this particularly true of his 1990 best-seller Iron John. But given the American men? In part, it’s about gun culture recent revelations of predatory behavior — what guns mean in the U.S., and how among entitled men — think Jeffrey Epstein, those meanings are tied to masculinity.” Harvey Weinstein, and Charlie Rose — the The connection between masculinity issue feels particularly urgent today. and violence is the subject of the series’ Exploring and challenging our oftenfirst event: A talk by journalist and author destructive notions of what it means to be Thomas Page McBee a man is the focus entitled “Am I a Real Man?” of “Masculinity in The first transgender man America,” UC Santa to box in Madison Square Barbara’s 2019 Critical Garden, McBee will provide Issues in America a unique perspective series. Kicking off on gender stereotypes, October 7th, it will testosterone, and physical continue through aggression. the spring with a “Dominance-based, mix of lectures and ‘typical’ masculine performances. Unless behaviors are generally otherwise noted, events seen by experts I’ve spoken are free and open to the to as (a) encouraged and public. Tristan Bridges controlled for via our “Everything cultural socialization of feels connected with “Everything feels boys ... and (b) damaging masculinity right now, to all involved including connected with from mass shootings to men themselves,” said the #metoo movement masculinity right now, McBee, who will speak at to the resurgence of from mass shootings to 1:30pm on October 7th in a white supremacist the campus’s MultiCultural the #metoo movement movement in the U.S.,” Center Theatre. said Tristan Bridges, an to the resurgence of “We have educated assistant professor of a white supremacist children into a gender sociology and organizer fundamentalism that’s movement in the U.S.,” of the series. “So it’s primary purpose is to an important moment said Tristan Bridges, an uphold a political system to have conversations assistant professor of where not just men, but a about this. Some of them are going to be sociology and organizer certain kind of masculinity, reigns supreme, as that uncomfortable. But of the series. “So it’s is how our entire culture these moments are is organized. In fact, an important moment productive.” embedded in how we all Bridges, whose to have conversations learn masculinity is the research focuses about this. Some of notion that questioning on masculinity and it somehow makes one gender, as well as sexual them are going to be a ‘failure’ or “not a ‘real’ identity and inequality, uncomfortable. But man.’” noted that for all the Determined to make discussion provoked by these moments are the series “ferociously productive.” America’s recent spate interdisciplinary, ” Bridges of gun violence, one – Tristan Bridges is following up that talk of the most obvious with two performances common denominators pieces. At 1pm, October 14th in the of the perpetrators goes largely unmentioned. MultiCultural Center Theatre, performance “Virtually all mass shootings are artist Alex Luu will present his Three Lives, an committed by men,” he said. “Other societies autobiographical one-man show about three have high rates of gun ownership, but do not generations of Vietnamese men and their By Tom Jacobs / The UC Santa Barbara Current
Courtesy Photo. UCSB Current
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experiences immigrating to the U.S. That event, which was organized by Kip Fulbeck of the College of Creative studies, deals with family violence and trauma, according to Bridges. “Afterward the audience will be invited to stay for a workshop led by Luu, in which they will be invited to access some of their own emotions surrounding these issues,” he said. Then, at 8pm October 24th, 25th, and 26th, the Department of Theatre and Dance will present Boys Like Us, a work by UC Santa Barbara professor of dance Brandon Whited. “It’s a coming of age story of a young gay boy, and how his relationships with himself and other people are changed in the course of this process,” Bridges said. “I’m excited by the idea of putting people into the audience of a dance performance who don’t traditionally come to dance performances,” he added. “I think these kinds of inter-campus conversations are really vital. One of the things I want to use the series for is to make new connections between groups interested in similar issues and ideas, but who are less often in conversation because of disciplinary boundaries. Many of us are doing similar work along similar ideas.” Tickets for Boys Like Us are $17 to $19 general admission, and $13 to $15 for UC Santa Barbara faculty, staff, and students. The fall segment of the series concludes with two lectures. At 1pm November 4th in the McCune Conference Room, Michela Musto, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, will discuss her research into
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white male entitlement among middle school students. In a three-year study, she explored how teachers and students come to identify certain students as exceptionally gifted, and found that label gradually got attached to “a small collection of white boys.” Finally, at 1pm Novebmer 18th in the McCune Conference Room, Washington University sociologist Adia Harvey Wingfield will talk about her research into the ways men tend to rise to the top of femaledominated professions such as health care, and how black men’s experiences generally do not follow that pattern. Bridges is well aware that many men are reluctant to question a system that gives them some clear advantages (along with burdensome expectations). But he is optimistic that this series may open some minds. “Sometimes I think men just need permission to have these kinds of conversations,” he said. “Hopefully, with this series, we provide permission in a variety of different forms.” The annual Critical Issues in America series is sponsored by the College of Letters and Science. It is co-sponsored by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, the Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Equity, and the Academic Senate. More information about this year’s series, including a more detailed calendar of events visit https://www.criticalissues.ucsb.edu/current. Printed with permission of UCSB Office of Public Affairs and Communications
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