Achilles Heel is a magazine produced by a group of men committed to an anti-sexist and pro-feminist position. This is number eight in the occasional series of AH's which have been produced in the last ten or 50 years, by a collective whose membership has tended to change after each publication.
The last few issues have dealt with particular themes to a greater or lesser extent. This one doesn't. This reflects partly the fact that a theme didn't emerge at the right time. But it is also related to a general uncertainty which we sensed concerning the position and role of anti-sexist men in the late 1980s. You can argue that in some respects the last decade has seen some of the arguments about sexism and patriarchy getting into the mainstream of debate. Yet, on a national and international scale it's clear that nothing has changed with respect to the basic lines around which power is drawn up, between rich and poor, and between men and women. And meanwhile, on a more personal level the problems of individual men trying to make changes in their lives, yet identifying themselves as part of the wider oppression of women, remain as acute as ever.
The political perspectives of the collective's members are quite varied. The process of creating from nothing a group which felt capable of producing an issue involved a number of painful arguments. Within the five of us there remain wide areas on which we disagree. Yet we can work together. In fact we see the variety as positive. It is certainly reflected in the range of material which we've printed. However the basic principles behind the group are that we affirm our fundamental support for the women's movement and we do so from a broadly socialist perspective. We have tried to reflect the fact that men's responses to this movement may take place on lots of different levels and in different forms. We have achieved this through seeking contributions from many sources beyond the collective, from both individuals and organisations.
Only one member of the present collective has been involved in previous issues and, as a result, the production of what you are holding in your hands has been quite difficult. In the process of moving from enthusiasm to print, a number of other men have been involved, and we would like to thank all those men who have participated in the meetings over the last eighteen months for their contributions. It is a matter of sadness to us that sometimes the relationships in the group didn't work, that people left, and that their efforts were thus partly lost. We want to encourage their involvement in future issues as well as that of other readers. At the early stages we also received help and encouragement from members of former collectives for which we are grateful.
Issue 6/7 of AH contained a piece entitled 'Achilles Heel - what next?'. In what seems now like days of heady optimism the piece proposed better quality production, larger circulation, full-time workers and a national network of readers' meetings. For a variety of reasons these developments never happened. This issue started out almost from scratch and is an attempt to regain some of that optimism. Since the last issue a number of important things have occurred which we have not been able to cover but which we want to note. We have seen the media treatment of AIDS move from a peripheral American gay matter through the 'gay plague' era to at least a slightly more realistic analysis from some quarters. Our concern over our failure to cover this issue here has been tempered somewhat by the wide coverage it has received elsewhere. Earlier the Warnock Report, the development of new reproductive technologies and the debates which followed them raised fundamental questions for all men. A third area in which we feel a weakness is in the absence within the anti-sexist men's movement, and within this issue, of pieces on Race and on Class. None of the collective is black or working class. We have noted with enthusiasm the plans for a future edition of the American magazine Changing Men which will be devoted to the issue of third world men, and we have reprinted an article from Inside Asia in this issue. All the above are matters we would like to see covered in the future.
We are aware of the importance of the issue of accountability to women and other men. However, our desire to be accountable is complicated by the diversity of the movement to which we wish to account. We welcome and would respond to anything which women wish to say about the contents of the magazine. We seek contributions from women. We also want to be accountable to anti-sexist men, in the sense that the magazine should be a forum in which they can express their considered views and feelings whilst being accessible to as many men as possible.
We are encouraged that many of the pieces in this issue are by men outside the collective. It is easy to feel isolated in a group producing a magazine. Beyond a certain point it is very hard for other men to get involved. What we are looking for now is a response to this issue which is both positive and critical. If you like it, tell us. If you don't, help us change it!
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