Continuing with this week’s theme of Shameless people doing awesome things, I’m incredibly excited for the launch of Tuval Dinner‘s new blog, masc!
masc is an alternative magazine for guys that aims to be a positive space for men to explore how masculinity affects their lives, examine stereotypes and talk about gender, sexuality and health. The first few posts are up already.
It’s maybe a little odd to promote a magazine for men on the website of a magazine for girls and young women, but in many ways masc is committed to the same feminist goals as Shameless.
Feminism is partly about advancing the rights of women, but it’s also important to note that a lot of the societal structures and stereotypes that create obstacles for women do so for men too. Men are expected to be tough, to be sexually forward, to hide their emotions, and that can be really problematic for men who go through life displaying what society considers “effeminate” qualities. Men are mocked for working in “feminine” professions like nursing or childcare, and companies are often no more amenable to men working shorter hours or taking time off to spend with their kids than they are to women.
So feminism is about men too. Making it possible for women to pursue their careers without judgement or obstacles means working to make it acceptable for men to stay at home with the kids, work less demanding jobs, cook dinner. And spaces where men can get together and share their progressive ideas, and meet other men who don’t want to drink beer and watch sports all day like commercials and sit-coms insist they should, are incredibly necessary.
So if you’re looking for a new addition to your RSS feed, check out masc magazine, or send the link on to the guys in your life (there’s also a pretty awesome blogroll down the right hand side)!
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two comments
Thanks for the positive write-up Cate. Its awesome to be supported by shameless since it really was the inspirational seed for the masc project.
I do just want to clarify that although I've been a part of getting this project going it isn't really my blog since we have about 7 contributors at the moment and are open to guest submissions as well.
I hope people check out the site, leave a comment and join the discussion.
Posted by tuval
February 19, 2009, 11:20 AM
Wow, this is something that I need. Thanks for telling me about this awesome website!
Posted by Amanda
March 21, 2009, 11:21 PM
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