Achilles Heel is produced by a small collective of men. Our aim is to act as a forum for discussion about men, their sexuality, their identity, and their place in society. We do not wish to reinforce the traditional views of masculinity, or the traditional ways of relating, but to reclaim ourselves and other men as individual people, with individual strengths and vulnerabilities.
We believe there needs to be a new personal politics for men that does not seek to oppress women, and that does not oppress ourselves or each other as men. This is a tall order. We support the advances made by feminist women, and recognise the issue of accountability to women. Therefore we welcome contributions and comments from women, when they are offered. We also support the advances made by sections of men such as the gay liberation movement, and would like to help to heal the rift between heterosexual men and gay men. The collective contains men of all sexual orientations.
Achilles Heel first appeared in 1978, as a result of what seemed at the time like a burgeoning movement for the re-evaluation of male sexuality and identity. The first issue coincided with a "London Men's Conference", and there was much discussion about a "men's movement".
The magazine contained a variety of articles, information and expressive art such as poetry, and was intended as a forum for men who were at the very beginning of a difficult and sometimes very painful re-definition of themselves. It was successful, and built up a steady (although narrow) readership. The collective evolved, and by the mid-eighties felt confident enough to think about expanding. But then, for various reasons the magazine collapsed. The previous optimism was replaced by a general uncertainty about the role, position and validity of anti-sexist men. A new collective formed, and the new collective suffered from the same doubts, and ultimately the same fate as the new one.
Since 1987, there has been an upsurge of interest in tackling the problem of masculinity. Much good work has been done with young men and with offenders. There have also been some very frightening developments such as Section 28 of the local government act, and the government's stated emphasis on 'family life'. These are happening at a time when more and more men are questioning what their role is and should be. What has traditionally been labelled the "men's movement" has seen more groups and meetings starting, and an informal network is growing around Achilles Heel, Men for Change, and other groups. At last we could be seeing the start of a real movement for the re-evaluation of men and their position in society. We are therefore optimistic about the future. We do realise that there is a long way to go. Men in general still have to find ways of working that are strong and assertive but not oppressive of women or each other. We also have to be sensitive to criticism and genuinely self-critical. At the same time we need to learn to love ourselves and each other. This issue attempts to reflect these viewpoints, but we are aware that there are many omissions, and we hope to make these up in future issues.
We want this issue to mark a change in Achilles Heel. We envisage a role for the magazine as a bi-annual review on the subject of male sexual politics. This is to complement Men for Change, a magazine which can be more of a network and contacts publication. We need help from our readership, in the following ways:
Guidance as to what topics you would like to see covered;
Comments and criticisms on the magazine, and how we can improve it;
Contributions. We are looking for personal perspectives, rather than purely academic analysis. Contributions from gay and/or black men are especially welcome. Our only strict rule is that we will not publish anything we consider to be sexist, racist or anti-gay
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