World's first males studies course.

[hazchem]

I'm kinda of speechless Males studies course at South Australian UNI
I'm not sure if I'm angry or confused. I feel like really it's unnecessary but don't know if I'm being baised because I think it's good there is women studies although I think most Unis have moved to gender studies now.

If it's backed by AVfM, then it's likely to be a balanced and truly academic study of the ishoos the modern man has in an overtly feminist world. Paul Elam is known to be completely reasonable, and not to publish online the personal details of women he just doesn't like very much. Or those uppity Feminazis who dare to suggest that just maybe rape is wrong.

I also have fairies living in my shed.

Actually, I'd be interested to see what exactly they propose to put on the curriculum.

The quotation about men being put off going to university because of date rape awareness seminars was (unintentionally?) hilarious.

They released this statement today
www.unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/Mens-health-certificate-fills-a-gap--for-allied-health-professionals/#.UtOR41swoTW

It doesn't seem anything like what the media were representing it as.

Thanks for posting the University statement.

From what I (vaguely) remember hearing from Aussie friends, the University of Adelaide is a respected place, and their statement shows restraint and clarity in pointing out that their actual short course on specifically male health issues for targeted at HCPs is unrecognisable from descriptions made by others not associated with the university.

It makes the commentators in the first link look rather silly, and careless of actual situations.

StUmbrageinSkelt thanks for finding the uni statement. That sounds much better. I'm particularly pleased with the "particular focus on rural health issues" This is a huge area in Australia that is underfunded and in particular men in these area get less help and have poor outcomes.

Australia feels quite hostile at the moment so I guess I felt that a horrific male activism course seamed oh so plausible.

Yes I am dismayed by how plausible it seemed. It was like of course they bloody are, of course they bloody are. The very fact that it seemed possible says a lot about what is going on these days.

How can one course across the entire globe make anyone angry? Did you actually mean 'angry', OP? Kick the cat, slam the door 'angry'?

I'll repeat myself. "I'm not sure if I'm angry or confused."

Doesn't seam like an unreasonable thing to say.

But if you really want to know. we have lost our office of women. It's under the Prime Minsters remit now. So the have a well respect university run a course on men studies as a way of counteracting feminism make me feel cross and confused. How have we come to this and why do we need it.

I think most Unis have moved to gender studies now.

(cough) Yea, I am sure it depends on the Uni but 'Gender Studies' could just as easily be renamed 'Feminism 101' in some (many?). You can always learn a lot about feminism in 'Gender Studies' and that's good of course, but about roots and signs of male depression and suicide, anger, inability to articulate emotions, male sexuality, male pride and ego, isolation. Well, good luck finding that in the course.

"Dadwashere" check out the second link. It's pretty much what the course will cover.

Although I think that lots of course in university have bias towards being the exploration of the male experience.

Actually, if you are Australian, the anger is understandable. I assume your universities are subsidised to some extent by the tax payer. What a load of pseudo-scientific bollocks.

I don't understand all the press this simple course on men's health is getting.

A) it seems to bear no relation to the anti-feminist stuff that is being reported in the media

and

B) men's studies courses and modules already exist at several places (eg here or here or here)

I should put my aussiness in my nickname. But then people will assume I'm a racist :)

It's worrying isn't hazchem? Never mind, now they can all assume we hate the menz.

Seriously though how this course was represented in the Australian media was bizarre compared to what it actually appears to be. Excuse some of us for going WTF? It did not appear to be a simple course on men's health, it appeared to be MRA 101 in reaction to feminism.

But it's totally like that over here. The media here is basically all Rupert Murdoch. Recently there has been a survey in the Sydney Morning Hearld (not left wing but not Daily Mail like) and over 60% think that asylum seekers in Australia should be treated harsher. To give this some female perspective. If you have your period while on a island dentition center you must ask the guard for sanitary protection and will be give one or two at time. High risk pregnant women are routine given no or little antenatal. oh and if you are a child born in dentition you are not allow a birth certificate with your birth place only your boat number so you are born stateless.

I can't see the problem if there was a course that explored all aspects of being a man. Discussions on male suicide rates, homelessness and man on man violence seem sensible and exploring what are the keystones behind them. Surely within gender studies there are two genders and both deserve to be understood, otherwise I am sending a message to my boys whatever you face in life has no value because others think only women's studies within the bounds of gender studies are worth while. Sorry but if we want equality surely both sides need to be understood and valued.

Never mind, now they can all assume we hate the menz.

Is that not what some in radical feminism would want? What is the background of the author of the piece the OP quoted, Tory Shepherd?

Bit confused.

I know shitloads of people who study what I suppose could be called 'male studies' (they usually call it 'masculinities'). I know someone who's just brought a book out on fatherhood as a cultural phenomenon and I've just been looking at it, and it's fascinating.

This should be completely separate from twits trying to pull of the whole 'men's rights are like women's rights' thing. But it is a perfectly valid thing to study.

(Guess I'm saying similar to jac).

Although it does piss me off that women's studies tends to become gender studies - not in terms of 'how dare you include menz in my academia', but because studying 'gender' as a real phenomenon isn't compatible with quite a bit of feminism, and from what little I've seen, it is often 'gender as a reality' rather than 'gender as a construct'.

Yes but it was presented in the Australian media as a men's rights are like women's rights type OMG course.

Nobody has an issue now that the uni has said, errrrrrrr, it is so not that at all. Except for the issue of why this was presented in the way it was.

We're quietly confused as to what Rupert wanted as well ;)

Yes, I get that - I was more commenting out of confusion about terminology on this thread, because like jac, my first thought was 'uh ... but it isn't, why would they pretend it was'.

Looking at the university's statement it seems as though the course is just in male health issues, not MRA 101 at all. Personally I'm meh about this. There's solid statistical evidence that men - particularly young, poor men - have pretty bad health outcomes on a number of fronts and given that it's not massively unreasonable for a healthcare education provider to run a course in those specific issues.

Although it does piss me off that women's studies tends to become gender studies...because studying 'gender' as a real phenomenon isn't compatible with quite a bit of feminism, and from what little I've seen, it is often 'gender as a reality' rather than 'gender as a construct'.

Agree wholeheartedly with this.

The actual content of the course will be extremely useful, especially the health promotion aspects of it. Traditionally single men aren't too good at taking themselves off to the GP if they display worrying symptoms, and it can never be a bad thing that they understand that x is not good, and to speak to a HCP.

The way the first article described it was that it was MRA 101, and who in their right minds wants anyone taught anything so hateful?

Sorry I sent everyone on a bum steer with the first post.

On a related but slightly different note. Do you think it would be better to teach "pure" feminist theory (including its cross discipline uses) as a separate course to gender studies? I've just been thinking about things like trans identifying teenage girls fit in withing a feminism.

Oh and not sure if this should be another thread but... If you start looking at things through a feminist lens is it ever possible to stop? I'm studying sociology at the moment and I keep asking myself but "what about women?" when I look at the other theories.