A feminist writer is set to host a martial-arts themed workshop to teach people to combat “hyper-masculinized approaches to journalism.”
“Heavy Breathing: Martial Arts for Feminist Journos” will be held this Sunday in San Francisco, Calif., and will be led by Sarah Burke, whose writing focuses on “art, identity, social justice, internet culture, feminism, and the intersections therein.”
Burke, who helped develop her feminist wits by co-founding Anti-Lab, an open resource center for “resistance projects that were anti-fascism, anti-racism, [and] anti-patriarchy,” designed the journalism workshop to empower women, according to the event description.
“In this experimental workshop attendees will collectively undermine the historic valorization of hyper-masculinized approaches to journalism,” it states.
During the free workshop, participants will learn “to value approaches of empowered passivity through practicing the feminist concept of ‘circlusion’ (the antonym of ‘penetration’) and the martial arts concept of ‘ukemi,’ the art of receiving a throw,” the description adds.
Burke told The College Fix that while “there won’t be actual martial art involved” during the workshop, participants will be asked to engage in “movement exercises based on martial arts principles.”
The workshop will be held by the Heavy Breathing initiative, which offers workshops every month combining physical activity with group discussions related to art. Previous workshops include a yoga-themed “movement session” and a “spoken word meditation” themed around the history of dance.
Body movement may help produce productive feminist discourse, according to the initiative.
“Critical discourse often feels heady, abstract, and divorced from the body,” the Heavy Breathing website states. “How do conversations change when we are moving our bodies and out of breath? What new modes of thinking become possible?”
While Burke was unable to comment further to The College Fix on her martial-arts themed session to fight masculinity in journalism, citing time constraints, the session does seem relatively popular for a local workshop, as 25 people have RSVPed and 150 people have indicated interest in attending, according to Facebook.
Heavy Breathing, the sponsoring organization, did not respond to requests for comment from The College Fix.
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Poster Comment:
I taught my daughters some martial arts when they were growning up. The youngest was on her way to Europe and I had fashioned a covert weapon that she could keep with her for self defense. At first she declined it, after all she had cold cocked her ex-boyfriend with one punch. So I grabbed her unexpectedly, lifted her off the ground and trundled her in a hold she couldn't break, nor could she get at me with her feet. After pointing out that she could at least do some damage with the weapon, she accepted it.
#1: Anthem To: All (#0)
Princeton’s new ‘men’s engagement manager’ to combat aggressive masculinity on campus
Toni Airaksinen - Barnard CollegeJuly 25, 2017
Are young men at Princeton University violent, aggressive, hyper- masculine, stalkers, or rapists?
A new position at the Ivy League institution indicates campus officials apparently think enough of its male students grapple with such problems that it warrants hiring a certified clinician dedicated to combating them.
The university is in the process of hiring an “Interpersonal Violence Clinician and Men’s Engagement Manager” who will work with a campus office called SHARE that’s dedicated to “survivors” of sexual harassment, assault, dating violence and stalking.
According to SHARE, one in four female undergrads experienced such misconduct during the 2015-16 school year.
The men’s manager will also launch initiatives to challenge “gender stereotypes,” and expand the school’s Men’s Allied Voices for a Respectful and Inclusive Community, a self-described “violence prevention program” at Princeton that often bemoans “toxic masculinity” on its Facebook page.
According to the job description, the men’s manager will develop educational programs targeting the apparent “high-risk campus-based populations for primary prevention of interpersonal violence, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, and stalking.”
The job posting implicitly refers to men as perpetrators and women as victims.
The position may also implement a mandatory “accountability program for students accused of sexual misconduct under Title IX,” it adds.
Princeton University’s communications office defended the position in an emailed statement last week to The College Fix. The school confirmed it is still working to select a person to fill the position, first advertised in late May.
“Princeton’s program is similar to programs at other colleges and universities and is consistent with established best practices that encourage both men and women to create and foster a culture in which there is no place for interpersonal violence and where safe and healthy interpersonal relationships are the norm,” the statement read.
Founded in 2013, Men’s Allied Voices for a Respectful and Inclusive Community program seeks to “promote healthy masculinity” through workshops and other educational programming on campus. The program also fights “toxic masculinity,” according to numerous Facebook posts, and subscribes to the feminist theory of “fragile masculinity,” which denigrates men for subscribing to traditional gender norms.
The successful candidate will also recruit and train students to “serve as role models for men-identified students related to the development of healthy relationships and healthy masculinity,” the job description states.
The successful candidate must have a masters or doctorate in a field related to social work or women’s studies, it adds.
The College Fix was unable to identify a corresponding clinician targeted toward women.
“The position you reference seeks to strengthen Princeton’s efforts to prevent violence among all campus populations, with a focus on how we can best engage men as agents of positive change,” Princeton’s communications office stated.
“The person hired for this position will support an existing initiative – Men’s Allied Voices for a Respectful and Inclusive Community – and will provide mentoring and guidance to help men serve as effective advocates for the prevention of violence and connect those affected by violence with the services and supports they need. We have seen increased demand by men on our campus to play a more active role in preventing interpersonal violence, and we are pleased to support this growing interest.
Anthem posted on 2017-07-26 18:12:12 Reply Private Reply
#2: rlk To: Anthem (#1)
Leave your nuts at the door when you sign up for the course.
rlk posted on 2017-07-26 20:11:59 Reply Private Reply
#3: misterwhite To: Anthem (#1)
Hmmmm. Seems to me they're looking for a female to be the men’s manager. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
But they want a female to “promote healthy masculinity”? Would they accept a man as a women's manager to promote healthy femininity?
You know, maybe colleges should go back to teaching math and science and stuff like that.
misterwhite posted on 2017-07-26 21:15:34 Reply Private Reply
#4: sneakypete To: Anthem (#0)
That should be funny enough they could probably get by with selling audience tickets.
I once had a radical leftist lesbian I worked with on a goobermint job threaten to have her butch girlfriend meet me out in the parking lot one day and kick my ass.
I told her "Go ahead and trot that nasty bitch out,and I'll spot her first shot. Then I will take her freaking head off. You bitches keep saying you want to be treated like men,so here is your opportunity. I promise to hit her just as hard as I would hit a man."
For some odd reason it never happened.
sneakypete posted on 2017-07-27 00:25:24 Reply Private Reply
#5: sneakypete To: rlk (#2)
Pretty much a requirement.
sneakypete posted on 2017-07-27 00:26:22 Reply Private Reply