Privilege Judo had a post (with comments) awhile ago noting how there aren’t men’s spaces for non-reactionary men to discuss oppression and freeing people of oppression. I concur.
Though, I wonder if this is a start (Barometer article from Thursday):
Speaking the unspoken language of men at OSU
A new four-part series of dialogues will explore what it means to be man; first session begins tonight with Larry Roper at the helm
By Ashley Slocki
Western culture is known for stressing the importance of men being “men“; the hunters, gatherers and people of few words but many head nods, high fives and half hugs.
Tonight from 5 to 6:30 p.m., MUPC will host an evening with Larry Roper entitled “A Dialogue Among Men in the MU lounge.“
“Four meetings are set once a month until May,“ said Dorien Michaels, one of the organizers of the event. “All will have different themes and topics of concern.“
According to Michaels the dialogues will be a forum where men can get together and just talk about issues that are bothering them. Things females talk about on a daily basis, but are supposed to remain hush-hush among their male counter-parts.
Michaels said the idea came to him when talking to Don Johnson, MU assistant director of programming and marketing, about how blind they are about what men on campus are talking about.
“I shared with Don that I noticed that most of the campus organizations are run by and full of women,“ Michaels said. “It makes it seem as though men are not present, but it turns out that a lot are involved off campus, and I wanted to bring that up.“
Larry Roper, vice provost of student affairs, will be leading the discussion in February and May. Johnson will lead the April’s discussion. The mediating spot for March’s dialogue is still open.
Each conversation will build off the next. The last event, held in May, will be built toward casting a vision for your life.
“Larry Roper is someone that if you are in a room with him for more than two minutes you start to realize he is different,“ said Michaels. “He is a great guy and perfect for this, so is Don. They are both uniquely suited for a task like this.“
Roper said he was probably picked because he has been known to facilitate conversations in the past.
The dialogue is said to touch on subjects that in our society men are not supposed to talk about.
“It is helpful for someone to stop and ask what kind of challenges you feel you get as a man, and what benefits,“ said Roper. “We just want to discover what it means to be a man.“
This is the first year that something like this has been attempted by the MUPC.
“This is probably a long awaited opportunity that hasn’t existed in the past,“ said Johnson.
Even though the conversation will be based on men’s issues, women are still welcome to join.
“Women are welcome — faculty, staff or students,“ Michaels said. “The more the merrier.“
The event is free of charge and attendees are asked to RSVP by e-mailing MUPC.Admin@oregonstate.edu.
“I am very proud of this event, and I am really looking forward to it,“ said Michaels. “It is going to be rewarding whether one person or 100 people show up.“
I really wanted to go, but I already had a meeting at that time. Hopefully next time.
*Cross-posted to personal blog
