The site currently lists 11 cities, though one imagines the intention is to eventually branch out. This is a good example of the kind of coordinated effort that can occur when funds are brought to bear and help support the work that is happening on the front lines. Also, the web site design is A+.

I think RWJF and Family Violence Prevention Fund have framed the discussion perfectly, not just for that age group, but for the nation at large: ending violence in a culture steeped in violent behavior which masquerades as “normal” and “acceptable” ultimately means defining (and teaching) what constitutes healthy relationships.

I look forward to viewing more of the site when I find the time, and to watching the program grow.

Such was the case of one DaPhamily – a screen name; I don’t know his real name, nor his real age (though a colleague estimated him to be about twelve, and that seems accurate enough to me). But he posted a video on YouTube a couple of weeks ago on the occasion of nude photos of Vanessa Hudgens being posted online.

You’d think it was Christmas morning the level of enthusiasm that he exudes. Not to mention the display of blatant sexism and sexuality that would be disturbing under normal circumstances and is even more so on the face what appears to be an innocent, little boy.

His video can be seen here:

YouTube – New Vanessa Hudgens Topless photos!!! over like 10!!! August 2009

There are almost two thousand comments, and many of them are disturbing bordering on reprehensible.

However, YouTube also allows the posting of video responses. Since I didn’t have the luxury of the means of production as a teen, I’m trying to make up for lost time by making use of them in adulthood, and I posted a video reply in which I try to impart some thoughts to this young man that he might not have heard from an adult before.

My response can be seen here:

Stephen Montagna-Men Stopping Rape – DaPhamily Response

the barely conscious drunk girlfriend in question is Caroline, the evil prom queen. An epic party at Jake’s place leaves her leveled. (“I have Caroline passed out in the bed upstairs,” Jakes muses at one point, trying to put his finger on what’s missing in his relationship with her, and why he feels drawn to Sam. “I could violate her 10 different ways if I wanted to.”

Ms. Benfer does a good job of upholding respect for Mr. Hughes’ skills in terms of his acumen for dissecting class, while acknowledging shortcomings on how he dealt with gender and sexism. This is the often over-looked aspect of dissecting the popular culture, we often have to take people who we revere in some ways to task for their less-than-perfect behaviors. It’s a well written, and thought-provoking piece.

It makes me want to rent the Hughes canon and view those films again, twenty years later, with an adult awareness, and with the eyes and ears of someone who has worked in the movement for nearly that long.

An article on EurekAlert – the news site for the American Association for the Advancement of Science – describes the research:

Middle-aged men who strongly idealize masculinity are almost 50 percent less likely than other men to seek preventative healthcare services, according to a study—the first population-based analysis of men’s masculinity beliefs and preventative healthcare compliance—to be presented at the 104th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

The research actually has a Wisconsin connection:

Using a sample of 1,000 middle-aged men drawn from responses to the 2004 wave of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the researchers reviewed the respondents’ masculinity beliefs, socioeconomic status (as measured by education and occupational status) and receipt of three commonly recommended annual healthcare procedures for middle-aged men: a complete exam/physical, flu shot and a prostate examination. The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study is a large-scale study of the education, careers, health and aging of adolescent males and females who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. The study was administered again in 1964, 1975, 1992 and 2004.

As we’ve contended all along, examining issues of violence and gender is important for men not just because A) we’re statistically perpetrating the vast majority of these crimes, B) we know that women around us are being negatively impacted by misogynist attitudes and the violence associated with it, and C) we ourselves are negatively impacted by perpetuating gender stereotypes which de-value women and simultaneously cause us to shun our own humanness – including the vulnerability of our bodies. Still, I’m thankful for the heavy-duty numbers-crunching scientific types who put many hours in to come up with the evidence that supports this; I’m also thankful to Mr. Laxman Belbase of Men Engage-Asia who posted the link to this article in the Men Against Violence listserv.

Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-08/asa-mmb080409.php

Soon after the Virginia Tech slayings, I interviewed Dr. James Gilligan, who spent many years studying violence as a prison psychiatrist in Massachusetts and as a professor at Harvard and N.Y.U. “What I’ve concluded from decades of working with murderers and rapists and every kind of violent criminal,” he said, “is that an underlying factor that is virtually always present to one degree or another is a feeling that one has to prove one’s manhood, and that the way to do that, to gain the respect that has been lost, is to commit a violent act.”

I have no doubts that Mr. Sondini had mental health issues; but let’s not paint this as an isolated incident, but a sign of larger, unexamined patterns of masculine behavior that desperately need to be addressed.

Fine work, worth a read…

Op-Ed Columnist – Women at Risk – NYTimes.com.

Naomi Wolf: Busted, Pentagon: Why The Photos Probably Do Show Detainees Sodomized and Raped.

Professor Syrett does a very good job of putting fraternity behavior in historical and cultural context. This piece is a must-read for anyone doing prevention work.

My thanks to Amy Benfer of the Broadsheet at Salon.com for bringing this article to my attention (and for offering a very good overview of the salient points).

It’s also very instructive that the victim in this case did not come forward to report. Turns out there are reasons why someone who has been assaulted might not necessarily want to shout it from the highest hill. Perhaps male on male assault can teach us something about male on female perpetration…

4 teens charged as adults in locker room sexual assault case – CNN.com.

A good study that I support being done, though I worry that there is a risk here; though the article does note:

One significant factor that helped decrease the risk to girls was the presence and influence of caregivers, the authors found.

It also falls back on one of the typical statements about female behavior:

That risk is tied not just to an avatar, but to the overall image a girl projects online, they say. On sites that don’t use avatars, such as MySpace or Facebook, simply compiling suggestive photographs or narrative descriptions can increase girls’ vulnerability, they say.

… without examining or commenting on the behavior of males online – ie: that females open themselves up to this type of attention, but that the attention itself is expected and “normal” apparently.

Perhaps that’s the next study? Let’s hope…

Study: Abuse, provocative images increase Internet risks for girls – CNN.com.

Apparently, proponents of the bill are following the same logic of the anti-gay-marriage movement: not only is marriage between one man and one woman, but “traditional domestic violence” occurs between men and woman only. 

I’m glad the article includes a statement from the national spokesman for Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays, Steve Ralls. He said:

“We are astounded that there are those who would prioritize their own homophobia ahead of the safety of the young people of South Carolina.”

Couldn’t agree more. Let’s see if the S.C. Senate can redeem their state image by killing this bill in committee.

The Associated Press: SC House nixes mention of gays in date-abuse bill.

My thanks to the folks at Prevention Connection for tweeting this…