NI 444 - The changing face of masculinity - July, 2011

NI 444 - July, 2011

Subscribe from $15.00

The changing face of masculinity

A note from the editor

Nikki van der Gaag

Obsessed with women's rights?

‘Why are you so obsessed with women’s rights?’ my son George used to moan as I had another rant about rising rates of domestic violence or lack of equal pay. He paid me back as a teenager by putting a poster of naked women on his wall, knowing that it would provoke me. But his question masked a feeling that somehow I was not interested in stories of boys being treated badly, or men who were suffering, and he felt this keenly because he too was a boy.

Since then we have had many discussions and I think he understands much more why I feel women’s rights are so important. But he had a point. So recently I have been taking his advice and looking at this from a different perspective – a male one.

I have been talking to men from different countries about what it means to be a man and how this is changing. Men who want change, not only to ensure that we live in a more equal world, but because inequality damages both sexes. I also talked to women who were suspicious of the growing trend of ‘men for gender equality’. After all, they say, women are still abused, raped and discriminated against. Too right. Squaring this circle is never going to be easy. Which is why I wanted to explore the issue here.

There are other fascinating debates in this magazine, too – for example, the argument between Laurie Pycroft and Helen Marston about whether animal testing is needed to advance medical research. Danny Chivers writes about how big companies are moving in on biofuels, contributing to the global spike in food prices and depriving the Majority World of much-needed land. And Adam Beach, Canadian First Nations actor, talks about his new film Cowboys and Aliens.

Nikki van der Gaag for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

Men's work: Sonwabo Qathula works as a caregiver with the Siyakhanyisa HIV/AIDS support group in South Africa. Photo: Kristin Palitza

Men's work: Sonwabo Qathula works as a caregiver with the Siyakhanyisa HIV/AIDS support group in South Africa.

Photo: Kristin Palitza

Cooking up a storm

Change is brewing among men all over the world. Nikki van der Gaag investigates the promise this holds for both sexes.

Read this article



Features

Best mates: young men no longer fear showing affection.© ImageShop/Corbis

Redefining masculinity: why showing affection is no longer a fairytale

As society becomes more tolerant of homosexuality, men find the freedom to be emotionally open and physically tactile with each other, explain Mark McCormack and Eric Anderson.

Buy this magazine

The boys in Brazil's favelas who shun violence International Centre for Research on Women

The boys in Brazil's favelas who shun violence

Gender activist Gary Barker sees young men who respect woman and are connected fathers.

Buy this magazine

Biofuels - the good, the bad and the ugly

Biofuels - the good, the bad and the ugly

From wood to algae, biofuels have been around for years. But they're not necessarily all they're cracked up to be. Danny Chivers has the low-down.

Buy this magazine

Santa Elisa sugar cane farm in Sertaozinho, northeast of São Paulo. Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sugar and ethanol.Paulo Whitaker / Reuters

Where now for biofuels?

Can fuel crops ever be sustainable? Danny Chivers gives us the lowdown.

Buy this magazine


Blogs

My life at the New Internationalist co-op

My life at the New Internationalist co-op

To mark the International Day of Co-operatives (2 July), our longest-serving co-op member James Rowland reflects on his experience and our business model.

Read this article

Leave squatters alone!

Leave squatters alone!

The government ‘crackdown’ on squatting is a smokescreen for a full-scale attack on society’s most vulnerable, warns Rueben Taylor.

Read this article


Opinion

One of the unemployed millions: a homeless woman in San Francisco.Franco Folini under a CC Licence

The US is not teetering on the edge of bankruptcy

As Obama ushers in a new debit-limit bill, Mark Engler explains how the argument ‘We’re broke’ is used to justify the demolition of social safety nets.

Buy this magazine


Agenda

Canadian soldiers are reflected in a mirror hanging on a mud wall inside Canada’s Strong Point West base in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan.Reuters / Tim McKulka / UNMIS Handout

Canada quits Afghanistan, almost

Canadian troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan this month. In theory, at least, reports Wayne Ellwood.

Buy this magazine


Regulars

What is a 'true Egyptian'?

What is a 'true Egyptian'?

There may be no easy answer, but identity has become an obsession, discovers Maria Golia, among a people in turmoil.

Buy this magazine

Interview with Adam Beach

Interview with Adam Beach

The Canadian First Nations actor, star of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and US TV dramas Big Love and Law and Order, talks to Sian Griffiths about the importance of being a role model for young aboriginal kids.

Buy this magazine

Krystian Legierski: an interview with the Polish gay rights campaigner Tomasz Rykaczewski

Krystian Legierski: an interview with the Polish gay rights campaigner

Krystian Legierski believes the tide is turning in Poland. He speaks to James Gray about his struggles against a notoriously homophobic and xenophobic administration.

Buy this magazine

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

Until the beginning of this year, the West African nation seemed like an island of calm in a troubled region. Then everything changed...

Buy this magazine


Film, Book & Music Reviews

Viscera

Viscera

The new album by Norwegian artist Jenny Hval is astonishing - as much about poetry and story-telling as performance, says Louise Gray.

Buy this magazine

Book review: Metamorphosis

Book review: Metamorphosis

'Unmasking the mystery of how life transforms' - does Frank Ryan's book live up to its sub-header?

Buy this magazine

Film review: Blood in the Mobile

Film review: Blood in the Mobile

Nokia in the dock in a new film by Danish director Frank Poulsen.

Buy this magazine


Back