Two cutting-edge documentaries by men challenging masculine violence examine how our cultural construction of masculinity pressures boys and men to be aggressive and suppress any feelings but anger. No one exemplifies this more than Donald Trump, says Thomas Keith, in his new film, THE EMPATHY GAP: Masculinity and the Courage to Change. Keith gives a nuanced reading of the interplay between racist and sexist stereotyping in U.S. popular culture and offers evidence-based solutions.
Educator Jackson Katz points out that “Gender” issues are considered “women’s issues,” just as “race” is assumed to be a problem about people of color and “sexual orientation” is only discussed in relation to LGB people. “It’s as if people of the dominant culture have no race, gender or sexual orientation,” he says. In “TOUGH GUISE 2,” he proposes a radically different approach to gender violence, foregrounding and challenging the ways that boys are taught to be men.