‘Males’ - A Global Perspective
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 10:30AM 
With special guests:
- David Dufour
- John Forsyth
- Dr. Miles Groth and
- David Helmers.
Long gone is the notion that radical feminism in the twenty first century, stands for equality and social justice for women. What has become very obvious however, is the relentless push for dominance and control by today’s radical feminists around the globe.
In order to achieve their objective of total dominance and control over men in every area of endeavour, the male now finds himself under, both overt and covert attack and ridicule, on many fronts on a daily basis.
While the vast majority of thinking women are appalled at the way the character of their fathers, partners, brothers and sons are under constant attack by their radical sisters, many males have great difficulty in coping with the denigrating, demonizing and stereotyping rhetoric they are forced to endure.
This week we take a look at how the precarious status of maleness is addressed in various parts of the world.
First up we speak with David Dufour, ‘Media Dads’ an American documentary maker, who joins us in the studio to film the Dads on the Air show, as part of his International documentary about what it means to be male in 2010.
We then speak with Scottish journalist John Forsyth from the ‘Men in Scotland’ campaign, who speaks about the Scottish Crime and Social justice Survey 2008/2009: Partner Abuse module, which found equal percentages of male and female victims in the past 12 months.
We next speak with ‘Professor of Psychology at Wagner College’ New York City, Dr Miles Groth, about the great need for ‘male studies’ programs to become part of the discourse in contempary society, in order to better understand males and to help address the growing problem of misandry which ultimately stands to endanger both genders.
Last but not least, we discuss the Australian innovation of the Men’s Shed, with David Helmers of the ‘Australian Men’s Sheds Association’ (AMSA). David speaks about men’s sheds and men’s health in general and about the recently announced men’s health policy, which saw $3 million in funding go to his organisation.
Dr Miles Groth, was a host and speaker at the recent Male Studies Symposium at Wagner College, NY, USA: A gathering of academicians drawn from a range of disciplines met on April 7, 2010, at Wagner College, Staten Island, New York, to examine the declining state of the male, stemming from cataclysmic changes in today’s culture, environment and global economy. The live teleconferenced colloquium was co-chaired by Lionel Tiger, PhD, Rutgers University Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology, and Christina Hoff Sommers, PhD, from the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.
It encompassed a broad range of topics relevant to the study of boys and men in contemporary society ranging from their roles in the family and workforce, as well as their physical and emotional health, to the growing problem of misandry—the hatred of males, an unacknowledged but underlying socio-cultural, economic, political and legal phenomenon endangering the well-being of both genders. Now the flame has been lit, the groundwork has been laid and there is no turning back.
He also presented at the two recent Australian National Men’s Health Conferences in Adelaide and Newcastle in 2007 and 2009.
His current interests include the psychology of being male, especially the experience of boyhood and the transition to manhood.
He is currently Editor of The International Journal of Men’s Health and Editor-in-chief of Thymos: The Journal of Boyhood Studies. Miles says, “I would say that my major interests and areas about which I would have most to say is the status of boys and young males (35 and under) at this time in the context of a changing social setting. My expertise is psychology of boys and men and the need for male studies to understand the EXPERIENCE of being-male vs. the recent interest (men’s studies researchers) on behavior only. I’ll be talking about the interdisciplinary initiative of Male Studies, which as you know, I am taking a fairly large part in.”
WHAT IS A MEN’S SHED?
AMSA was established in 2007 by the Australian independent community based Men’s Sheds to represent, support and promote the Men’s Shed Movement and to act as a central hub for information exchange. With over 400 Member sheds representing an estimated 30,000 men, AMSA is the largest men’s support organisation in Australia.
The modern Men’s Shed is an updated version of the shed in the backyard that has long been a part of Australian culture. Men’s Sheds are springing up all around Australia. If you looked inside one you might see a number of men restoring furniture, perhaps restoring bicycles for a local school, maybe making Mynah bird traps or fixing lawn mowers or making a kids cubby house for Camp Quality to raffle.
You might also see a few young men working with the older men learning new skills and maybe also learning something about life from the men they work with. You will see tea-bags, coffee cups and a comfortable area where men can sit and talk. You will probably also see an area where men can learn to cook for themselves or they can learn how to contact their families by computer.
So what is so special about this new type of Men’s Shed? Most men have learned from our culture that they don’t talk about feelings and emotions. There has been little encouragement for men to take an interest in their own health and well-being. Unlike women, most men are reluctant to talk about their emotions and that means that they usually don’t ask for help. Probably because of this many men are less healthy than women, they drink more, take more risks and they suffer more from isolation, loneliness and depression. Relationship breakdown, retrenchment or early retirement from a job, loss of children following divorce, physical or mental illness are just some of the problems that men find it hard to deal with on their own.
Good health is based on many factors including feeling good about yourself, being productive and valuable to your community, connecting to friends and maintaining an active body and an active mind. Becoming a member of a Men’s Shed gives a man that safe and busy environment where he can find many of these things in an atmosphere of old-fashioned mateship. And, importantly, there is no pressure. Men can just come and have a yarn and a cuppa if that is all they’re looking for.
Members of Men’s Sheds come from all walks of life - the bond that unites them is that they are men with time on their hands and they would like something meaningful to do with that time.
A good Men’s Shed has a co-ordinator who has both the technical and social skills to develop a safe and happy environment where men are welcome to work a project of their choice in their own time and where the only ‘must’ is to observe safe working practices. All in a spirit of mateship. Because men don’t make a fuss about their problems, these problems have consistently been either ignored or swept under the mat by both our health system and our modern society. It’s time for a change and the Men’s Shed movement is one of the most powerful tools we have in helping men to once again become valued and valuable members of our community.
The number of Sheds has grown rapidly but in the early days there was no central reference source and a great deal of duplication and “wheel re-invention” occurred. In April 2007 The Australian Men’s Shed Association (AMSA) was set up to act as a resource centre for all Sheds and to promote the idea of Independent Community Men’s Sheds. The Association represents and promotes the Shed movement, and acts as a communications hub using this website and the regular newsletters, copies of which are archived on this site.