U. of Texas Overhauls Program on Masculinity to Avoid Stigma

UT-Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is rebranding a program designed to enlist men in discussions about sexual abuse and dating violence. The program, MasculinUT, was put on hold last spring after conservative media outlets accused the university of treating masculinity as a mental-health problem.

That was never the case, the university insisted. But it has moved the program from the Counseling and Mental Health Center, which houses other sexual-assault-prevention efforts, to the office of the dean of students.

MasculinUT will continue to focus on drawing men into a conversation about how to reduce sexual assault, but some of the educational materials on the subject will be moved to a publicly accessible wiki page. That was one of several recommendations made by a steering committee of students and faculty and staff members in August, after the program became controversial.

“While constituencies may disagree as to whether, and to what extent, discussions about the different ways that people express masculinity relate to interpersonal-violence prevention, the program need not settle the matter itself,” the recommendations state. “Rather, by ensuring the inclusion of third-party publications on the topic, those interested can delve into scholarly research and come to their own conclusions.”

Redefining College Manhood

Male students enroll less, graduate less and more slowly, and misbehave more. With insights from “masculinity studies,” colleges are trying to teach them constructive ways to be a man. Critics on the right call the effort male-bashing. Critics on the left say it coddles an already privileged population.

• The Fight Against ‘Toxic Masculinity’
• You’re Screwing Up. You Can Do Better.
• The Futile Search for Role Models

The program, which began in 2015, differs from campus efforts that typically serve women who have been assaulted or abused. Men, who statistically are more likely than women to be the perpetrators of violence, are often left out of discussions about how to remedy the problem, said Christopher G. Brownson, associate vice president for student affairs and director of the Counseling and Mental Health Center.

It’s being moved “just to avoid any confusion or misinformation that might interfere with this program being successful,” he said. Preventing sexual violence “is largely seen as a women’s issue, and it’s very important that men are engaged in this conversation and that they’re a key part of the prevention effort.”

The committee recommended that the program’s website be overhauled to use clear, non-stigmatizing language. The university should also remove any responses to the allegations that it had ever treated masculinity as a mental issue, the panel said.

Campaign Was Ridiculed

The university is also hiring a full-time employee to support the program. The original job posting, which some ridiculed on social media, was for a “healthy masculinities coordinator.” That post has since been deleted. The committee recommended that the position be reposted as a “men’s engagement specialist.”

Critics also ridiculed posters that appeared last fall on the campus and that were intended to expand perceptions of what it means to be masculine. The posters suggested that it was OK for a man to wear a dress or nail polish, and that showing emotions isn’t a sign of weakness.

The idea was to challenge views of masculinity that some see as too rigid. Being a breadwinner is a worthy goal, but someone shouldn’t feel any less masculine if he isn’t, or if he doesn’t play sports or act in other stereotypically masculine ways, the campaign said. “Restrictive masculinity,” the program’s website said at the time, can cause men to engage in risky behavior like binge drinking and can result in violent or aggressive behavior.

A broader view of masculinity should include respecting women, communicating effectively, and seeking help when you need it, the website said.

One conservative outlet, PJ Media, lambasted what it called “man-hate dressed up with psychobabble that the University of Texas at Austin is pumping out.”

Several months after MasculinUT was put on hold, its steering committee reconvened to consider how to ensure that the program’s mission was “clearly defined and fully aligned with its original intent of reducing sexual assault and interpersonal violence.”

Last year the university released the results of a study that found that sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence are serious problems that warrant engaging men in discussions about masculinity.

Among the findings, 8 percent of students who had been “in a dating or marital relationship” on the flagship campus said they’d experienced psychological abuse, and 10 percent reported physical violence. Eighteen percent of students had experienced unwanted sexual touching, and 15 percent of undergraduate women said they had been raped since enrolling at Austin.

Even with the latest changes, the program is likely to continue drawing controversy, as reactions on social media indicate:

It sucks to see MasculinUT work so hard to rebrand and “clarify their message” when the bad press they got this summer was never a good faith misunderstanding, but an intentional misrepresentation of the program designed to get hate clicks from people who watch Fox News. https://t.co/bDU8nBySN9

— Miss Brightside (@SammieSaysStuff) October 15, 2018

For Longhorns embarrassed by the Politburo at UT, the national humiliation of the risible MasculinUT program resumes. Please, Lege, Fix this. ⁦@TXGOPCaucus⁩ ⁦@DanPatrick⁩ ⁦@GovAbbott⁩ ⁦@jbmilliken⁩ ⁦@TeamBettencourt⁩ ⁦ https://t.co/n7jfCN3VPx

— Mark Pulliam (@MisruleofLaw) October 15, 2018

Katherine Mangan writes about community colleges, completion efforts, and job training, as well as other topics in daily news. Follow her on Twitter @KatherineMangan, or email her at katherine.mangan@chronicle.com.