Men and women form the main focus of this issue, with articles aiming to reflect some of the diverse views on sexual politics today. When the Collective came to draft an editorial we found a rich diversity of views. Rather than attempt to construct an anodyne statement around which we could all agree, we have taken the unusual step of presenting two of the principal arguments put forward in our discussions. We hope they will stimulate debate both inside and outside the Collective.
Women and men are changing. In terms of personal identity and social status, there are no clear, simple or generally agreed upon definitions of gender. The feminist perspective that emerged in the 1960s can be seen as contributing both the biggest impetus to the breakdown of the old gender stereotypes as well as the first in-depth articulation of this process.
Yet the momentum of change, in Western culture at least, seems to have begun years before. Three obvious examples are the acquisition by women of the right to vote, the replacement of men by women in traditional male jobs during the two world wars, and the acceptance of and putting into practice, the idea that all children ought to receive an education. These changed not merely the status, expectations and possibilities available to women but, in doing so, inevitably changed the position of men.
Although there is still a reluctance for men generally to accept and acknowledge these changes, it is obvious from the examples above that men were not merely bystanders but active participants in this process of change. It is as if there is a general impetus towards a transformation of and movement beyond gender stereotypes, which can be seen as an historical shift that has its own momentum and offers a step into the unknown for men and women alike. From this viewpoint it becomes necessary for men to recognise and accept both the changes that are taking place and their implications. Also, men and women need to recognise that we are in this together, and that we need to participate in the process as partners, not rivals. The inclusion of homosexuality as part of this process of redefinition seems essential: simply being gay challenges traditional ideas of gender. Furthermore, gay culture in all its diversity has had a considerable influence on popular culture, particularly in music and fashion, where perhaps the biggest changes in the popular images of men and women have taken place.
Taking this perspective, the reduction of sexual politics to a simplistic anti-sexist stance becomes both reactionary and counter-productive. This is not to deny the importance of anti-sexism or to dismiss the courage and integrity of those who take active steps to challenge sexism: on many levels women are oppressed by men and many women are victims in a very real sense. Rather, it is to set this within a larger and more complex context that includes other social structures such as race, class, sexuality and age. When we weave in the personal history including family, school and environment that each individual brings we have a multi-structural swirl of identities, roles, status and values in which men and women live and manage their relationships with each other. Sexual politics needs to reflect all this, embracing political power and personal identity within a multi-structural framework. It also needs the support and active participation of men and women together. Then it may truly serve as a guide into the unknown future of gender and relationship.
The roles, opportunities and relationships of men and women are indeed changing. That feminism has been a key driving force of these changes is surely beyond question. If women had not campaigned for their right to vote, it is unlikely that men would have ever agreed to extend the suffrage. If women had not protested about sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence and child abuse, these would not be taken as seriously as they now are.
It is impossible to discuss men and women today without recognising the continuing prevalence of sexism. A few examples: on average, women still earn less that three-quarters of men's incomes; women are grossly under-represented in parliament and management; an estimated one in four women aged 18-54 has been raped; domestic violence against women is estimated to occur in 25-50 per cent of all relationships; women still do the bulk of childcare and housework.
Yet sexism hurts men too. Not as dramatically or obviously as it hurts women, but painfully nevertheless. Just as patriarchy attempts to keep women oppressed and powerless, so it works to oblige men to live out the roles of providers and protectors. Just as women are expected to be physically weak, ornamental, soft, emotional and caring, men are supposed to be strong, hard, independent and unemotional. Both roles are incomplete and unauthentic. They also leave most men and women feeling chronically powerless, vulnerable and inadequate.
Indeed, few men actually feel as if we have the power ascribed to us by feminists. When women talk about male supremacy, we can wonder who or what they are talking about. We may be victims ourselves of other sorts of oppression as black, Jewish, gay, disabled or working-class men. We may even believe that women have power over us, perhaps because of how we have been treated by the divorce courts, or because women seem much more adept in the world of emotions and relationships.
Yet when men feel victimised, vulnerable, powerless or scared we often act angrily, aggressively or violently. We seek to behave powerfully and to assume control. As men, we need to acknowledge that we live with and within a profound contradiction: we can feel powerless yet we can also act powerfully, with obvious economic, social and personal consequences for both ourselves and women.
We need also to find ways of listening to, acknowledging and responding to women's experience of powerlessness, while at the same time acknowledging the complexities of our own feelings and realities. We can help ourselves and support women by engaging in a process of personal self-examination and growth as well as by making active changes in our lives - doing our fair share of the washing up and parenting, giving up pornography, allowing women the space to decide for themselves how they wish to tackle sexism and accepting that women who wish to work separately have the right to do so. Giving up the material benefits that come with being male in our culture could be a small price to pay for a deeper, much more rewarding sense of self-worth and connectedness.
Copyright © Achilles Heel Collective
