Jackson Katz - Democracy, Authoritarianism and Violence: The Politics of Masculinity in the United States

Jackson Katz has long been a major figure in the growing global movement of men working to promote gender equality and prevent gender-based violence. He has also written and broadcast extensively about the central role of masculinity and gender in shaping political debates in the United States. With politics ever more polarised, authoritarianism and political violence – especially towards women – are becoming increasingly normalised, and figures such as Donald Trump and conservative media outlets are playing into patriarchal definitions of manhood and the family to appeal to the public.

Jackson is an educator, author, lecturer, and social theorist. He is the author of ‘The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How all Men Can Help’, and ‘Man Enough? Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and the Politics of Presidential Masculinity’. He has also created a series of educational documentaries including ‘Tough Guise’, ‘The Bystander Moment’ and ‘The Man Card’. In 1993, Jackson co-founded Mentors in Violence Prevention in the United States, a widely influential gender-based violence prevention programme which instigated the ‘bystander’ approach. He also has a PhD in Cultural Studies and Education. Jackson recently founded the online advocacy organisation and guerrilla think tank, ‘Men for Democracy’, as a way to amplify the voices of men who support reproductive justice and democratic governance, and oppose rising authoritarianism and the increase in violence and misogyny in politics. 

• Find out more about Jackson’s work: https://www.jacksonkatz.com
• The ‘Men for Democracy’ campaign: https://menfordemocracy.com
• Read Jackson’s commentary pieces at Ms Magazine: https://msmagazine.com/author/jkatz/
• Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jacksontkatz
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacksontkatz
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackson-katz-ph-d-b7785b3/
• Watch his TEDx Talk, ‘Violence against women – It’s a men's issue’, which has received more than 5 million views: https://youtu.be/KTvSfeCRxe8

We discuss the following topics in this episode:

• The extent to which men are facing a ‘crisis of masculinity’ in countries like the US today (01:32 - 10:14)
• Why Donald Trump appeals to so many people, especially white working-class men (10:14 - 16:29)
• How US presidential campaigns have increasingly become the centre stage for debates about masculinity (16:29 - 28:51)
• How media such as Fox News have exploited patriarchal gender norms and contributed to political polarisation (28:51 - 34:18)
• Increases in threats of political violence, especially towards women, and how men should respond (34:18 - 40:26)
• The - often ignored - relationship between masculinity and gun violence in the US (40:26 - 49:49)
• What gives Jackson hope and motivation to continue doing this work (49:49 - 58:04)
• Why pro-feminists should be more ambitious in countering the seductive appeal of ‘men’s rights’ advocates such as Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson (58:04 - 01:02:55)