Episode 8

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Published on:

8th Dec 2021

Prof Bob Pease - Masculinities, Climate Change, and Men’s Relationships with Nature

What do men, gender inequality and the climate crisis have to do with each other? What role might masculinities be playing in contributing to environmental destruction? In the wake of COP26, hear Professor Bob Pease discuss why men need to recreate our relationships with nature in order to tackle global heating in this episode of Now and Men. 

Bob is an Adjunct Professor in the Institute for Social Change at the University of Tasmania in Australia, and an Honorary Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University. He is a pro-feminist academic and activist with a background in critical social work, who has been involved in research and campaigning around ending men's violence against women for several decades, and has recently been exploring the gendered dynamics of natural disasters and climate change.

The episode covers the following topics…

  • Bob’s reflections on the COP26 UN Climate Conference in Glasgow.
  • Why studying men and masculinities can help us to understand the climate and ecological crises, and how a pro-feminist lens offers solutions for tackling them.
  • How masculinities can affect and hinder men’s emotional responses to natural disasters, such as the bushfires in Australia.
  • Bob’s reflections on his participation in anti-sexist activism and research since the 1970’s, and how he came to be involved in the first place.
  • His advice for men interested in getting involved in pro-feminist, anti-violence work today.
  • Why men should want to work to undo male privilege.
  • What Bob does to maintain a sense of hope in the work he does.

You can find out more about Bob’s work here: https://rmdb.research.utas.edu.au/public/rmdb/q/indiv_detail_warp_trans/19205

He has written and edited more than 15 books during his career, the most recent of which include:

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About the Podcast

Now and Men
Current conversations about men's lives
What's it like to be a man in the 21st century? How are feminist issues relevant to men and boys? These questions are being discussed more than ever.

Our monthly podcast delves into these issues with experts such as practitioners, activists and academics. In each episode, you’ll hear in-depth conversations about masculinity, gender equality, and the lives of men and boys, with topics ranging from preventing violence against women, to promoting active fatherhood, to supporting men's health.

The podcast is created and hosted by Dr Stephen Burrell, Sandy Ruxton and Professor Nicole Westmarland, who are researchers from the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA), in the Department of Sociology at Durham University in the UK. If you would like to give us your feedback, suggest a guest, or have a question you'd like us to discuss, get in touch with us at nowandmen@gmail.com.

About your hosts

Stephen Burrell

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I am a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Durham University in the UK, and a Deputy Director of the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA). My research is about men and masculinities - especially preventing men's violence against women, and currently, engaging men and boys in caring for the planet. I'm also a trustee for White Ribbon UK and on the steering group for Changing Relations CIC. In my spare time I'm a big fan of drinking tea and being in nature.

Sandy Ruxton

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Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Durham University (UK). Independent researcher, expert on men and masculinities. Previous policy work on human rights, children and families, poverty and social exclusion, and asylum and migration. Programme experience with boys and young men in schools, community, and prisons. Steering Committee member, MenEngage Europe. Volunteer for OX4 Food Crew. Chess-player, bike-rider, tree-hugger. Great grandfather edited Boy's Own Paper, but was sacked.