Students at Vanderbilt University were told that phrases like “man up” and “be a man” have some pretty serious consequences during “Healthy Masculinities Week,” a series of events sponsored by the school’s women’s center.
Yes, you read that right. The university’s women’s center was the main organizer and sponsor of the September event — the purpose of which was “to explore society’s notions of masculinity,” and discuss how the pressure to be masculine can negatively impact mental health.
According to women’s center director Rory Dicker, the week’s events were intended to further a campus conversation that was started when “anti-sexist male activist” Jackson Katz spoke at the university on Sept. 10.
“We expected Jackson Katz to share some provocative ideas about the ways that traditional conceptions of masculinity serve to harm men and wanted to provide a forum for people on campus to explore more deeply the assumptions and stereotypes associated with masculinity,” Dicker said in a news release.
The College Fix reported on Katz’s speech, in which he showed students how pop culture has impacted masculinity, referencing the increasing size of G.I. Joe’s biceps and the larger guns used by leading male characters such as Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Terminator” and Sylvester Stallone in “Rambo.”
Throughout the week’s events, students discussed “maintaining ‘bro’ status” with Vanderbilt fraternity members, and the portrayal of masculinity in the movie “Magic Mike.”
The story received national attention when Fox News picked it up. The hosts of Fox’s “Outnumbered” criticized the women’s center for holding an event to “demasculinize men.”
Host Andrea Tantaros said this is a theme that goes beyond Vanderbilt University.
“They — and by ‘they’ I mean the academics and the liberal left — are trying to turn men into thumb-sucking little beta males in skinny jeans,” she said.
