MASCULINITY AND PATRIARCHY Allan Hunter, Dept. of Sociology, SUNY Stony Brook (AHUNTER@CCVM.SUNYSB.EDU) [A course proposed for Spring 1993] This is a feminist course about men and masculinity. To some people, that may seem contradictory: if it's a feminist course, why are we going to spend the entire semester talking about men? But feminists are talking about men and masculinity whenever they talk about male chauvinism, sexism, women's oppression, and patriarchy. It is assumed from the beginning that students in this course are interested in hearing and understanding what feminists are saying about men, what their complaints are, and how they see the male gender. However, feminists will not be presented as unquestionable authorities whose ideas are to be memorized and repeated back. You do not have to be "politically correct" in your opinions and beliefs in order to be in this course. In fact, the first lesson in feminist thought is this: your experience counts as knowledge. This will be a discussion-launched course. Although there is a fair amount of reading for the course, most of the topics will be introduced by an initial discussion in which we talk about the ideas from our own experience and our own opinions and beliefs first. The content that might ordinarily be delivered in the form of a lecture will still come from me, the teacher, but I want to present it as my views, opinions, and experiences, not as "facts to take notes on and learn for the test." (I have a big mouth so I figure I'll be able to say the things I want to say in a discussion format!). At times, you may be called upon to talk about personal experiences ~ events and feelings ~ and to listen to others do likewise. A respectful and sensitive willingness to hear about other people's lives and feelings is asked of everyone, but nevertheless some people are not always comfortable and there is no guarantee that you always will feel comfortable and secure in this course. After the general discussions, we will read things that have been written by other people, mainly feminists, to see what they have to say about these topics. Since I, the teacher, picked out the readings, you can be sure that I did so in order to fill out and add depth to my presentation of my own views, which is one of the nice privileges of being a teacher. We are not here to study the books and articles themselves in order to become experts at the books and articles, though. In this class, I would like for us to think of the authors not as authorities by definition but as people who have something to say. The books will be available at [name of bookstore, e.g., Stony Books] and the reader, composed of excerpts and articles, will be available at [probably the little print shop over there close to Stony Books] for [price]. Attendance is critically important, since what you say and what your classmates say is part of the "text" for the course. Roll will be taken and name tags worn in each class, and attendance will count as one third of your grade. There are no tests in this class. There will be two paper assignments, which will be designed with your participation, of 4-6 pages each, and these will each count one third of your grade. SCHEDULE [numbers refer to days of a 30-day semester-length course] Section One 1 Introductions: students, teacher, course. 2 Discussion: masculinity / being male / being "a man" 3 The "desirable" qualities: autonomy, courage, initiative. 4 Liberal feminism and patriarchy: women wanting to exhibit / claim the "desirable" qualities. 5 Simple equality. Read: Margrit Eichler, The Double Standard 6 Simple privilege. Read: Michael Korda, Male Chauvinism! How it Works. Bring stats on income, employment, net worth. 7 Discussion: fairness and equality in principle and practice. Class opinions, beliefs. 8 What masculinity isn't. Read: Sheila Ruth, excerpts from Issues in Feminism. [pp. 45-55 in the first (i.e., red) edition] 9 Discussion: liberal feminism and fairness and whether or not masculinity restricts males 10 Socialization. Read: Warren Farrell, Why Men are the Way they Are and Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Growing Up Free. Section Two 11 Masculinity and Opposition/Polarization. Discussion: Proving you're not "effeminate". Being different from the girls and women. The imperative of believing in difference. 12 Masculinity and Opposition/Polarization. Read: Nancy Chodorow, "Feminism and Difference" [the original article upon which Mothering was based: in Mary Roth Walsh, ed., The Psychology of Women: Ongoing Debates, Yale University Press 1987] and Dorothy Dinnerstein, The Mermaid and the Minotaur 13 Discussion: Masculinity as fear of and contempt for femininity. Implications: misogyny. 14 Misogyny. Read: excerpts from Andrea Dworkin, Woman Hating. [excerpt selection unpicked at "press time" -- skim and pick good exemplary stuff] 15 Gender, Sexuality, and Heterosexuality. Discussion: What if there aren't any "real" diffs? 16 Gender, Sexuality, and Heterosexuality. Read: Marilyn Frye, "Sexism" and "The Problem that Has No Name" [these are both in The Politics of Reality" Essays in Feminist Theory, Crossing Press 1983] and Catherine MacKinnon, "Introduction" in Feminism Unmodified 17 Gender, Sexuality, and Heterosexuality. Read: Adrienne Rich, "Compulsory Heterosexuality", and Kate Millett, excerpts from Sexual Politics. [the material on Jean Genet and Henry Miller] 18 Audiotape: listen to Pink Floyd's The Wall. [listen to it yourself while thinking of it as a critical perspective on masculinity and masculinization, and of the fate of "sissies".] 19 Gender, Sexuality, Heterosexuality. Read: Allan Hunter, "Same Closet, Different Door". [available. AHUNTER@SBCCVM or, if I've graduated already and gone, write first class mail c/o Dept of Sociology, SUNY at Stony Brook NY 11794 and they'll forward it to me. All of which is assuming that I haven't been able to get the damn thing into print yet! Check 1992 issues of Gender and Psychology for a special issue on heterosexuality in which I hope to see this piece...] 20 Discussion: Sexuality under patriarchy / reactions to the readings in this section. Section Three 21 Masculine Rationality and Control. Discussion: the value of objectivity, rationality, scientific certainty. Are there any problems with this? 22 Discussion: the state of the world as we know it. What (if anything) is wrong? 23 Masculine Rationality and Control. Begin reading: Marilyn French, Beyond Power . Read: excerpt from Andrea Nye, Words of Power. [chapters 1-3, 10, and Conclusion] 24 Masculine Rationality and Control. continued. Keep reading French. 25 Masculine Rationality and Control. Finish reading French. Discussion: Is the attempt to control everything a pathological problem? 26 Emotions versus Rationality. Read: Anne Wilson Schaef, Woman's Reality. 27 Emotions versus Rationality. Read: excerpts from Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. [pp. 60-62, 65-71, 98-102, 112-113, 160-164, 168, 170, 183-188, 190-191, 196, 199-200, 207-215, 208, 221-226, 232-233, 236-242, 247.] 28 Detachment and Death. Read: excerpts from Mary Daly, Gyn/Ecology [pp. 27-31, 42-72, 107-112, 130-133, 153-177, 354-384] and Andrea Nye, Words of Power. [chapters 7-9] 29 Discussion: patriarchy. how the parts fit together. the personal is political. 30 Discussion: patriarchy. our lives. what to do about it. responsibility in our personal lives.