Allegations of reprehensible conduct show unhealthy masculinity
This is a letter to the editor, from Jean Keller, CSB/SJU Chair of Gender Studies and Professor of Philosphy, and Sucharita Mukherjee, CSB/SJU Chair of Economics and Gender Studies instructor
In his article, “Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity” Men’s Studies expert Michael Kimmel states that “what men need is men’s approval” and that “women become a kind of currency that men use to improve their ranking on the masculine social scale.” He argues that men are afraid that “other men will unmask us, emasculate us, reveal to us and the world that we do not measure up, that we are not real men.”
These words describe well the actions of the residents of St. Patrick Hall who were so desperate for social status in the eyes of their male peers that they actively chose to rob their CSB classmates of their humanity and their agency by reducing them to points in a “sex competition.”
They actively chose to violate the Benedictine values of community and hospitality that made them decide to enroll at SJU in the first place. Rather than working to develop internally and in their external actions a sense of masculinity they, their family and their university could be proud of, they chose the cowardly path of perpetuating the worst of outdated sexist stereotypes.
The actions of the SJU students who engaged in this alleged conduct are reprehensible.
Just as appalling is the culture of silence that, so far, seems to have accompanied these actions, as some Johnnies seem to be reluctant to share with school authorities who was involved and what exactly happened so justice can be restored. Kimmel argues that men’s fear of being unmasked is what keeps men silent and “men’s silence is what keeps the system running.”
Justice and healing will require that all SJU students be willing to be the kind of men who refuse to be complicit with a system that harms their peers. They need to be courageous enough to step forward in the face of injustice, who speak truth even when it’s unpopular, who acknowledge and try to rectify their mistakes, and who are humble enough to acknowledge that, when it comes to respecting and valuing their female peers, they still have a lot to learn.
We know there are many Johnnies who already model this behavior for their peers. Clearly, we need more such students.
We insist that those with more information on these events step forward. In addition, we encourage all SJU students to learn more about developing healthy masculinity by, for example, taking GEND 360D: Men and Masculinities next spring, learning more about the campus initiative Project Embrace and/or seeking out the online resource Men Can Stop Rape (mcsr.org).