Jackson Katz shifts perspectives on men's role in preventing gender-based violence

Jackson Katz, PhD, has long been a major figure and thought leader of men working to promote gender equity. Recent online campaigns such as #metoo and #Ibelieveyou have pushed his works to viral status.

In the wake of recent digital and institutional action on sexual violence, Jackson Katz’s arrival to the University of Calgary later this month is a timely way to kick off the final year of the Ask First: Creating a Culture of Consent Project. Katz is well known for his TED Talk entitled Violence Against Women — It’s a Men’s Issue, with more than two million views. His most poignant observation is the exclusion of men in conversation about gender-based violence.

“I’m going to share with you a paradigm-shifting perspective on the issues of gender violence,” he noted in his now renowned TED Talk. “[It has] been seen as a women’s issue that some good men help out with — but I have a problem with that frame and I don’t accept it. I’m going to argue that these are men’s issues, first and foremost.

“Even the term ‘violence against women’ is problematic,” Katz added. “There is no active agent in the sentence. It’s a bad thing that happens to women, but when you look at the term 'violence against women' no one is doing it to them; [men are excluded entirely].”

Jackson Katz presents The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help, unpacks toxic masculinity, the power of passive language and the impact of absolving men of responsibility — while calling on each of us to be leaders of change.

Ask First collaboration presents consent in engaging way

The Women’s Resource Centre (WRC), in partnership with the Consent and Sexual Education Club (CASE), launched Ask First in fall 2015 to attract students who hadn’t thought about consent before by presenting it in an important and engaging way.

“I think that the Ask First project has been immensely impactful on campus and vital to the wider conversation that is happening about consent and what that means,” notes CASE president Shelby Montgomery. “But the conversation doesn’t end there.

“When Jackson Katz speaks on issues of masculinity  he manages to bring to the table the ways in which an inequitable society and gender contribute to sexual violence, while providing the opportunity for anyone to engage in undoing these issues. Historically women have been doing this work. I think the big break we are making now is bringing men into the conversation — and Jackson Katz is leading that change.”

Free tickets available for Jackson Katz presentation

Jackson Katz presents The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help, will be held on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the University Theatre. Tickets are free to the public, but pre-registration is required as only a limited number will be available at the door.

Ask First is a three-year collaborative project between the Women’s Resource Centre and the Consent Awareness and Sexual Education Club. This event is part of the AskFirst: Creating a Culture of Consent project funded by SU Quality Money.