Intersectionality and social justice in programs for boys and men

ABSTRACT

Increased public attention to issues of gender injustice has led to a proliferation of community-based programs for boys and men designed to educate for gender respect and gender justice. An intersectional approach to this work is now seen as imperative. In practice, however, this approach is far from simple or straightforward. This paper presents data from a broader study of community-based programs in Victoria, Australia designed to support men and boys to adopt more inclusive and respectful masculinities. Drawing on Nancy Fraser’s three-dimensional framework of social justice, we foreground the economic, cultural and political justice concerns expressed by program leaders as impacting on boys and men. We argue that considering these forms of injustice within the context of programs for boys and men is important but potentially fraught in pursuing the goals of gender transformation and gender justice.

KEYWORDS:

• Intersectionality
• masculinities
• programs for boys and men
• social justice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Research for this study was supported by a program grant from the Victorian State Government, through the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS).

Notes on contributors

Amanda Keddie

Amanda Keddie is a Professor of Education at Deakin University (Australia). Her research examines the processes, practices and conditions that can impact on the pursuit of social justice in education settings. Amanda's qualitative research has been based within the Australian, English and American schooling contexts and is strongly informed by feminist theory.

Michael Flood

Dr Michael Flood is an Associate Professor at the Queensland University of Technology (Australia). His research examines men and masculinities, gender, and violence prevention. He is the author of Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention(2019) and the lead editor of Engaging Men in Building Gender Equality (2015) and The International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities (2007).

Shelley Hewson-Munro

Shelley Hewson-Munro is a masculinities practitioner and academic and is currently the Learning and Development Manager for Gender Justice and Men at RMIT University (Australia). Key areas of her work focus on the practice application of feminist theory to men's programs and activating identifying men at the community and personal level to engage in forms of allyship to increase their accountability to end gender base violence.