Caribbean Male Action Network Blog

To engage Caribbean men in the examination of existing beliefs and norms, the promotion of respect for diversity and the development of new paradigms and competencies, thus creating opportunities to negotiate new relationships in order to achieve gender justice, social harmony and peaceful partnerships.

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"In spite of the impressive reports on the status of women, in 2011 the Times of India which is a relatively credible newspaper reported that 57 per cent of the Indian men between the ages of 17-25 thought that wife beating is quite acceptable." Glenda P. Simms PhD

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130106/focus/focus6.html#.UOnhSY9uZgE.facebook

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Hard-working CariMAN partners!!

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CariMAN Group photo at the lake in Dominica

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The Nature Island and issues raised

Beautiful Dominica - The Nature Island is the site of our men's workshop this week. The hospitality of the Dominicans in general and of our CariMAN Dominica partners has been well received. Being able to go up into the hills to the Retreat House each day has provided us with an excellent setting. Some of our partners from Guyana and the Bahamas were pretty amazed at the winding roads and lush scenery. The rides in the "maxi" have also been spaces for stimulating and sometimes hilarious post-forum discussions on a wide variety of topics! Of course its not surprising that in the "Nature island" a major topic in our discussions recently has been deciding what is natural and what is un-natural. Both the men in our fora and my psychology students have explored this topic recently. For some there was much confusion about what is natural and what is un-natural. Is telling a lie natural? Is masturbation un-natural? Is believing in (a) god natural? Is monogamy un-natural? Is homosexuality natural? Is incest natural? The discussion got even more confusing when they began to discuss what is normal and what is abnormal. Is this the same as natural and un-natural? Is it normal for men to enjoy sex more than women? Is it normal for a man to hit a woman? Is it normal for a woman to be the primary caretaker and nurturer? Is it normal for the man to be the main breadwinner? Is it normal for men to hide their emotions? Is it normal for women to be less aggressive than men? And of course if something is natural and normal does this automatically mean that it is desirable!! Is it nice or could it be naughty? Or both?! Needless to say the latter issues have come up frequently in the discussions taking place in this space shared by UNWomen and CariMAN. Hopefully some of our participants will share there views and so I won't pre-empt their comments. Let's hear from them and you.

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CariMAN Men's workshop

CariMAN Men's workshop in Dominica As we look forward to engaging the hearts and minds of the men who are participants in this forum we must consider the diversity that is likely to be represented. I share some thoughts on the mindsets we will probably have in the room: Men who have not examined their personal views re masculinity beyond the superficial Men who are suspicious of women and their agenda for engaging men Men who are volunteers with CariMAN but have had varying degrees of success with their tasks Men who are very patriarchal but would never condone violence towards women Men who want to be involved but do not understand what it takes Men who have not engaged and so do not know how to get other men to engage in this aspect of social justice change Men who have abused women Men who have been working hard to achieve gender equality in their societies and are now frustrated Men who are just along for the ride/ free trip Men who don't understand the difference between normal and natural and nature and nurture Men who work for "women's" agencies Men who have been abused especially verbally/emotionally by women Men who are not comfortable with their ambivalence re aspects of gender - not sure where they stand Men with many varying views re human rights and who deserves these rights Men whose identity and self esteem are vulnerable in these spaces and discussions Men who think that women's concerns invariably take center stage and that mens needs are rarely if ever addressed Men with concerns about sexuality and what should be accepted Men who are feminists and men who are not Men who think gender equality is a nice idea but not realistic Men who only understand gender equality when it is discussed in the context of their daughter Men who will experience serious cognitive dissonance and the resulting anxiety and defence mechanisms Men who expect a blame game - that men are solely at fault Men who are angry and want to place blame on women Men whose need for affiliation and acceptance by peers over-rides their desire  to advocate, assert and be authentic regarding gender Men whose religious beliefs are in conflict with principles of gender equality And those are just some of the mindsets!! Lots of work to do.

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Being a man?

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Test

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Coming soon: CariMAN Chairman's Blog