Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Wrestler and the Cornflake Girl

Ring legend Mick Foley explains how Tori Amos changed his life (links to article)
(by Mick Foley, compliments of Slate Magazine)

Mick Foley and Tori Amos are two of my heroes. I have never been into wrestling beyond when I was a very young girl but have seen Tori Amos almost every time she has ever played live in Central Florida. If you haven't seen her--you should at least watch her play two pianos at once online. Lyrically, she straight up slithers into your soul but has typically been considered "chick music." I was lucky enough to know musicians who appreciated her talent and skill and transcended stereotypes quite willingly. But it wasn't until I learned about Mick Foley from a student who took a Theories of Masculinity course with me that I gained a greater appreciation for the incredible power of commingling--the most stereotypically masculine man and his counterpart, but oh so talented and compassionate and real and so much in common when one may never guess or imagine and that is the lesson. One of them anyway... This is a story that has many stories but he and she are worth exploring further if you don't know them. They are feminist activists against sexual assault, rape, trafficking, and sexism. They are intriguing, brilliant, compassionate individuals who defy stereotypes and expectations. And they both inspire the hell out of me. 

Monday, February 20, 2017

Toxic masculinity (from the GeekFeminism Wiki)

Toxic masculinity is one of the ways in which Patriarchy is harmful to men. It refers to the socially-constructed attitudes that describe the masculine gender role as violent, unemotional, sexually aggressive, and so forth.
A well-known masculinity/men's rights movement that is not mostly anti-feminist has yet to appear. For a silencing tactic used to discredit patriarchy's harm to people who are not men, see Patriarchy hurts men too.