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ARTICLES

What Is The True Cost Of The Patriarchy?

National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS)

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The Men’s Liberation Movement such as the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS) which is an activist organisation that advocates supporting positive changes for those who identity as male. This social and political movement has been criticized by James Fell claiming that those who identify as male are not in ‘danger of losing the overwhelming privileges society bestows upon us’ (2014). However, a critique on Fell’s statement is that this should not be viewed as gender oppression but the ‘(cost) of being on top’ (p22, Kann, 1986, cited in Messner, 2000). This is because the patriarchy arguably has had far more negative repercussions on all the genders who do not identify as a cis-man because it historically has embodied male superiority thus fuelling the term toxic masculinity resulting in ‘sexual aggression, substance abuse, negative mental health, domestic violence, and negative parenting techniques’ (Tsuneta, 2019).

 

Psychologist Jack Sawyer further supports this arguing why Men’s Liberation movement are needed with other movements such as feminism to ‘create a system that provides equality to all’ (pp32-33, 1970), thus abolishing the gender stereotypes by ‘reducing violence against women’ and ‘raising awareness about male suicide’ (Barth, 2018). This quite frankly is a discussion western society is lacking; the patriarchy is a systemic problem. This has informed my opinion because I disagree with Fell on the basis that the patriarchy works in favour no one, which is a concept that I have reflected in my practice, specifically my artwork Chaotically Empty (2020) by incorporating Sehgal's practice and a form of socially engaged art of those who identify as men.

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References​

  1. Barth, B. 2018. The good men: inside the all-male group taking on modern masculinity. The Guardian. [Online]. 18 June. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/18/the-good-men-inside-the-all-male-group-taking-on-modern-masculinity [Accessed 27 April 2021].

  2. Fell, J, S. 2014. The Toxic Appeal of the Men's Rights Movement. Time. [Online]. 29 May. Available from: https://time.com/134152/the-toxic-appeal-of-the-mens-rights-movement/ [Accessed 27 April 2021].

  3. Messner, M, A. 1997. Politics of Masculinities: Men in Movements. Maryland: Altamira Press.

  4. Sawyer, J. 1970. On Male Liberation. Liberation. 15, pp32-32.

  5. Tsuneta, A. 2019. How Patriarchy Negatively Impacts Men. Medium. [Online]. 30 July. Available from: https://medium.com/v-a-l-l-e-y/how-patriarchy-negatively-impacts-men-1d04d348f6a5#:~:text=Patriarchal%20society%20perpetuates%20toxic%20masculinity,negative%20parenting%20techniques%20and%20expectations [Accessed 27 April 2021].

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IMG_4554_edited.jpg

Figure 1, Chaotically Empty (2020)

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