Transforming masculinities

Many people experience violence, also in the Netherlands. In relationships, at home and on the streets. Far too many women and lgbtqia+ people become victims of sexual or physical violence or abuse. Men are the most frequent perpetrators of violence: towards women and lgbtqia+ people, towards other men and towards themselves. Violence is strongly linked to rigid beliefs about masculinity.

The appreciation and distribution of labor and care is imbalanced. Care tasks and other unpaid labor are seen as women’s tasks, paid labor is considered a man’s domain. Even within unpaid and paid labor, there is a highly gendered division between hobbies, studies and professions that are considered ‘for men’ or ‘for women’. This idea is deeply rooted in our society. It is good for partners, children, men themselves and society as a whole if men care more, and it is good for men if that becomes more normal. That way, everyone can do what they feel comfortable with.

Gendered norms about sexuality are central to problems such as sexualization, pornification and sexually transgressive behavior. Solving these problems requires more than teaching people to set and accept boundaries. Comprehensive sexual education should pay attention to gender norms and their consequences, and teach people to discover what they themselves find pleasurable.

Lgbtqia+ emancipation has not yet been completed, not in the Netherlands nor anywhere else. Homo-, bi- and transphobia are strongly linked to ideas about masculinity and what it means to be ‘a real man’. ‘Gay’ is still the most commonly used swear word in schools. Such swear words are used to punish men if they are not masculine enough. There should be more focus on and space for sexual and gender diversity. When masculinity standards become broader, everyone benefits.

These are the core themes Emancipator is working on. But masculinities and engaging men for gender justice is about much more, touching on most – and perhaps all – issues that people and organizations are working on. For example: equal opportunities in education, the climate crisis, equal representation in politics, but also racism and other structural marginalizations, decolonization, economic inequality and capitalism are all closely related to ideas about masculinity.

Jens van Tricht, founder and director of Emancipator, wrote a book about our work: “Why feminism is good for men” . Het verscheen eerder onder de titel Waarom feminisme goed is voor mannen (2018). Het boek verscheen ook in het Duits, Egyptisch-Arabisch en Koreaans, en als e-book in het Engels.

Emancipator is a feminist organisation. We work to engage boys and men for gender equality and social justice.

On this page we give insight in accountability issues, dilemma’s and pitfalls in our work, our principles, shortcomings and reflections. You can also find our code of conduct there.

Everyone is born as a vessel full of human potential. But we are implicitly and explicitly forced to hide half of it, and magnify the other half. This creates problems.

Men and women are more similar than they are different. And the differences between men as well as between women are greater than the difference between the average man and the average woman.