Developing a
Positive Masculinity Approach to Fraternity and Other College Men
On March 3 of this year, I posted
a response to Caitlin Flanagan’s “The Dark Power of Fraternities” to the ACPA
Men & Masculinities blog. The post briefly addresses a common occurrence
when discussing fraternity life in the American higher education system. Media
and commentators frequently highlight troubling statistics and pervasive
attitudes that exist within Greek Life; a means to devalue the positive and
developmental qualities we claim are espoused by fraternities. This often loud
and critical perspective on Greek life creates a need for self-preservation. In
the Winter 2014 issue of Perspectives,
a publication of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, Editor Heather
Kirk writes:
When the
media picks up an incident that seams sensational or shocking, we swing into
reaction mode. ‘How could this happen,’ we ask. ‘What were they thinking?’ ‘Not
again.’ Just as often, we say ‘But this is a small population; most of the
students do the right thing.’ Or, ‘But fraternities also provide leadership and
growth experiences.’ And of course, ‘The media is just trying to sell copies”
(pp. 3).
Kirk adequately describes the
current state of affairs within conversations regarding the future of fraternity
life in higher education. While we listen to external critics with little
knowledge of fraternal structure and transformative experience call for an end
to American Greek Life, we develop a “protect our house” defensive mentality
that does not serve a productive purpose. In my previous post to the ACPA blog,
I state:
Let’s stop debating the pros and
cons of fraternity life. We cannot sit down with the statistics of philanthropy
dollars raised and the number of sexual violence reports and decide on which
overshadows the other. Placing a quantifiable value on each positive and
negative action to prove our stance is not only impossible, but [also] harmful
to the overall discussion.
While I continue to believe that
we spend too much time defending the future of fraternity life, I am inclined
to clarify my perspective. The often-hostile back-and-forth that exists between
various campus and community partners adds little to the conversation. The time
has come to adopt a new perspective on our college men. We must recognize that
there are men inside (and out of) fraternities who are exhibiting dangerous
behavior and attitudes. While not disguising this fact, it is important to
affirm that most men are not responsible for such actions, and many college men
add positive value and advance the mission of higher education.
In “Affirming the Strengths in
Men: A Positive Masculinity Approach to Assisting Male Clients,” Matt
Englar-Carlson and Mark S. Kiselica (2013) note that existing research on
masculinity is problem-focused, emphasizing the “deficits of and the
difficulties created by men” (pp. 399). When discussing the culture of
fraternity men in “Beyond Bad Behaving Brothers,” Harper and Harris (2014)
perfectly highlight this deficit-based approach to masculinity, summarizing the
popular perspective on college men as follows:
They are drunken, promiscuous, academically
disengaged lovers of pornography, sports, and video games who rape women,
physically assault each other, vandalize buildings on campus, and dangerously
risk their lives pledging sexist, radically exclusive, homophobic fraternities (pp. 703).
When addressing men and
masculinities, research and scholars often develop a foundation within the
deficit model described by these previous authors. During the 2011-2012 academic
year, I was a senior Sociology & Gender Studies major at Washington &
Jefferson College. Through the senior capstone experience, I was able to foster
a basic understanding of and interest in the area of men and masculinities. While
fortunate enough to present my findings, titled Eliminating the Gender Gap: Research into Past and Present Achievement
Levels Between Students of Washington and Jefferson College, at the 2012
North Central Student Sociology Conference, the entire focus operated on a
deficit model. The paper cited decreasing percentages of males in higher
education as well as persistence to graduation, lower participation in campus
activities and leadership positions, and extrinsic factors as the motivating
force to higher education. While the idea of assigning negative characteristics
to masculine identity provides a foundation to the study of college men, we
must remember that there are those achieving healthy masculinities and engaging
campus opportunities (Harper & Harris, 2014, pp. 704).
Englar-Carlson and Kiselica
(2013) assert that our fixation on viewing men as defective has been culturally
fostered through historical notions of success and expectations of gender
performance. We assigned positive traits to women, inhibiting the productive
conversations we have with our male college students. Through socialization,
men are bombarded with biases that reinforce a preconceived lack of healthy and
adaptive behavior (pp. 401). In essence, we continue to allow the extreme
incidents of a few men to blind us from the empowering and productive
experiences of others.
How can we foster the healthy
masculinities that exist and promotes cultural competency? Englar Carlson and
Kiselica (2013) cite a shift in dialogue to allow all men to understand the
standards of which they can achieve.
Examples of this shift may include the “protector” role. A historical deconstruction
of this image reflects power, dominance over women, and physical strength;
however, reframing this to illustrate new understandings of traditional masculinity
can mean loyalty, responsibility, and courage (pp. 401-402). Using positive
psychology, college men counter stigmatizing language with specifics of where
and how healthy masculinity has been enacted. When we change discourse from
“bad-dogging,” as Jason Laker would describe it, to conversations on what
positive masculinity looks like in a community context, men are not felt to be
inherently flawed by birth.
It is important to develop an
understanding of a positive masculinity approach to college men before applying
this theory to segments of the campus population; however, the same concept
noted here can be implemented when fostering development in our fraternal
organizations. Just as men are not biologically damaged, fraternities are not
organizationally harmful. It is the culture of masculinity that has infiltrated
these societies and been allowed to persist over time that must be changed. The
foundation of fraternities is to bring together men to share in a common bond while advancing unique values. In
theory, fraternities provide a prime space to initiate and test the positive
masculinity approach. Refocusing the conversation to how our fraternity men
have upheld these immutable principles provide a context to the expectations we
require while reinforcing praise when healthy masculinities are achieved.
References:
Englar-Carlson,
M. & Kiselica, M. S. (2013, October). Affirming the strengths in men: A
positive
Masculinity approach to assisting male clients. Journal of Counseling & Development. Vol. 91, 399-409
Harris
III, F. & Harper, S. R. (2014). Beyond bad behaving brothers: Productive
performances
of masculinities among college fraternity men. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. Vol. 27,
No. 6., pp. 703-723.
Kirk, H.
M. (2014). Editor’s Note. Perspectives.
Association of Fraternity/
Sorority
Advisors. Winter. pp 3.
About the Author
Mike
Prinkey serves
as the Area Coordinator for Student Conduct under Residential Life &
Student Activities at Champlain College. While studying Higher Education
Administration at Northeastern University, Mike was the Program Assistant for
the Office of Fraternities, Sororities & Independent Living Groups at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as the Graduate Assistant to the
Office of Multicultural Student Affairs & GLBTQ Resources at Emerson
College. Mike is a proud alum of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity from Washington
& Jefferson College.
You can contact Mike through:
Twitter: @McPrinkey
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