Men and Masculinities

Men and Masculinities

The purpose of the Men & Masculinities Knowledge Community (MMKC) is to provide a venue for discussion, research, and the distribution of information about men’s gender identity development, in the context of college campuses.

Message from the Chair and Vice Chair

"Welcome to the MMKC! I hope that you’ll find our resources to be helpful as you assist your students in understanding issues surrounding men and masculinity. Please know that each member of our leadership team is truly dedicated to our purpose; don’t hesitate to contact anyone for anything you need."

About

Mission

The purpose of the Men and Masculinities Knowledge Community is to provide a venue for discussion, research, and the distribution of information about men’s gender identity development in the context of college campuses.

Goals

  • To make gender identity(ies) a salient lens for viewing and working with male staff and students.
  • To develop and distribute resources that will enhance student affairs professionals' ability to respond to the needs of male students.
  • To inform the profession about new research and practices regarding the development of masculine identities as manifested in people in general, and men in particular (e.g. inclusive of masculinities performed by Trans/Queer, women).
  • To offer technical and creative assistance to colleagues as they develop programs and services for male students.
  • To assist Student Affairs professionals in nevigating the tensions between male privilege and men's personal needs (e.g. challenge and support), including support through the professionals' personal frustrations in this regard.
  • To create guides to best practices in teaching male students about diversity, gender identity, and other critical issues affecting their personal growth.
  • To promulgate and/or distribute men's issues and development scholarship for use in graduate preparation programs.
  • This KC was founded upon a pro-feminist, anti-racist, gay-affirmative agenda with the hope of providing resources to increase multi-cultural competence among male students by providing the NASPA membership with tools to invite and engage men into this process. The underlying assumption is that men in general are interested in social justice, capable of enacting it, and that they need language and a connection to the process.

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Events

One of the best resources available to you is the wide range of professional development opportunities. This list contains both our “Hosted Events,” workshops and webinars that we plan and manage, and some “Related Events,” hosted by the NASPA Central Office or other NASPA Constituent Groups. To see a full listing of NASPA events, please see the Events page.

Leadership Team

Knowledge Community leaders are NASPA volunteers who have generously devoted their time to their Knowledge Community. Chairs are elected by the Knowledge Community members while Regional representatives are selected from within the Region. Additional roles are selected by the Knowledge Community.

Newsletter

Resources

Find great resources related to Masculinity work here!

General Resources:

Internet Resources:

  • Phallacies Traditional notions of masculinity create confusion for many men about what it means to be a man and can funnel men into having insufficient knowledge about health, to take great risks with their health, and to engage in violent and abusive behaviors.  Phallacies is predicated on the notion that since individual and community health and safety are negatively impacted by acceptance of traditional masculinity, individual and community health and safety can be improved by challenging and dismantling that acceptance and supporting the acceptance and expression of multiple masculinities, and that men need to be active participants in that process.
  • Gender Spectrum
    • Gender Spectrum Education and Training is committed to creating a more supportive world for people of all genders. We do this by increasing awareness and understanding of the normal range of gender variations found in everyone.
  • I Am a Man: Black Masculinity in American (Byron Hurt)
    This award-winning documentary links everyday black men from various socioeconomic backgrounds with some of Black America's most progressive academics, social critics and authors to provide an engaging, candid dialogue on black masculine identity in American culture. Featuring interviews with bell hooks, Michael Eric Dyson, John Henrick Clarke, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, MC Hammer, and others.
  • The Men's Bibliography
    A comprehensive bibliography of writing on men, masculinities, gender, and sexualities (14th edition). Compiled by Michael Flood and first published in 1992.
  • MenStuff
    Menstuff.org is astarting point for information for and about men on the web. Menstuff is an educational nonprofit volunteer web site which serves a diverse men's community (men's rights, mythopoetic, pro-feminist, recovery, re-evaluation counseling, and spiritual). Menstuff® was developed and is maintained by The National Men's Resource Center which maintains several population-specific web sites, linked from this one.
  • XY: men, masculinities, and gender politics
    XY is a website focused on men, masculinities, and gender politics. XY is a space for the exploration of issues of gender and sexuality, the daily issues of men's and women's lives, and practical discussion of personal and social change.

Professional/Scholarly Associations:

  • American Men's Studies Association
    • Although AMSA is a relatively young organization, founded in 1991, its philosophical roots reach back to the early 1980's (circa 1982) and the work of a small number of men's studies scholars. As NOM renamed itself the [National] Organization for Changing Men (NOCM) and finally the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS), MSTG became the Men's Studies Association (MSA).
  • American Psychological Association-Division 51 (Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity)
    Division 51 - Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity advances knowledge in the new psychology of men through research, education, training, public policy, and improved clinical services for men. SPSMM provides a forum for members to discuss the critical issues facing men of all races, classes, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and nationalities.
  • ACPA
    The ACPA Standing Committee For Men serves members of the ACPA College Student Educators International as one of six ACPA Standing Committees with the broad aim of supporting men's development.

Awards