Domestic Violence and Masculinity

In the below video Jackson Katz gives a Ted talk in which he described gender issues, such as domestic violence and sexual assault, as “men’s issues.” He goes on to detail how the use of certain terms and the ways we discuss social problems, particularly when they are coded as “women’s issues,” has the effect of victim blaming and ultimately reduces the chances men will participate in finding a solution. Katz suggests a paradigm shift in which men, or non-perpetrators, monitor the actions of other men, a tactic he calls the “bystander approach to gender-violence prevention.” As Katz says in his speech, “We need more men with the guts, with the courage, with the strength, with the moral integrity to break our complicit silence and challenge each other and stand with women and not against them.” In this way, typical masculine traits of “guts,” “courage,” and “strength” can be employed in a positive non-violent way.