Workshop Descriptions

"Putting My Man Face On": A Grounded Theory of College Men's Gender Identity Development

Keith shares an empirically based theory of college men's gender identity development grounded in poignant stories from research participants with video snippets to engage the audience. Participants will explore how college men learn, conform to, and perhaps begin to transcend traditional masculinity.The theory that emerged from this constructivist grounded theory study of 10 college men’s experiences depicts their gender identity as developed through constant interaction with society’s expectations of them as men.  In order to try to meet these perceived expectations, participants described putting on a performance that was like wearing a mask or “putting my man face on.” They described a process of learning societal expectations, putting on a mask to conform to these expectations, wearing the mask, and struggling to begin taking off the mask.

Aspiring Social Justice Ally Identity Development: Self-Interest, Altruism, and Social Justice
This session will discuss an aspiring ally identity development model as a possible framework of developing more effective allies. Individuals who are supportive of social justice efforts are not always effective in their anti-oppression efforts. Some who genuinely aspire to act as social justice allies are harmful, ultimately, despite their best intentions, perpetuating the system of oppression they seek to change. Different underlying motivations of those who aspire to be allies can lead to differences in effectiveness, consistency, outcome, and sustainability. The conceptual model presented here, using underlying motivation to frame the different issues and challenges facing those who are aspiring allies, is offered as a tool for social justice educators’ self-reflection and developing students as allies for social justice. This session should particularly benefit individuals seeking to develop their own ally behavior and those seeking a conceptual model to help inform the development of potential allies into true allies for social justice.

Establishing and Developing Student Organizations Focused on Men's Role in Ending Rape
Keith E. Edwards has successfully worked with committed students, faculty, and staff to develop student organizations focused on men’s role in ending rape and changing the rape culture on campus. When college men see that they are important and crucial in ending rape they rarely have places to engage in meaningful action and benefit from the support of other like-minded men and women. Student organizations can be effective and empowering places, especially for men, to engage in education, activism, and advocacy to end rape and the perpetuation of a rape culture. Student organizations that empower students to end rape offer an outlet for men and women to be proactive through education, activism, and advocacy, rather than simply asking women to respond to a campus where rape happens. men ending rape will explore the theoretical and philosophical foundations of these student organizations as well as share proven resources and strategies critical to establishing and supporting this type of organization on your campuses. Keith is willing to help your campus with its student organization. I provide consulting, training, and resources to help your organization at whatever stage it is at. Each campus is unique and so must each organization. There is no secret formula. However, I am available to assist student groups by offering them suggestions based on research and strategies that have worked for other organizations. Whether your looking to find a small committed group of individuals to begin the process or to grow an active organization already established on campus, I certainly look forward to designing a program and schedule that would meet the unique needs of your campus community.

Establishing and Implementing Social Justice Leadership Retreats
This session will outline the conceptual framework and pragmatic strategies in successfully creating, implementing, and institutionalizing a weekend long intensive social justice leadership retreat for college students. During the retreat faculty, staff, and graduate student facilitators use personal stories, models, simulations, films, and guided discussions to help students raise their awareness, explore their identity with regard to a variety of diversity issues, examine privilege on a personal and systematic basis, and discuss how they as student leaders can act as advocates and allies in the campus community. The presenter has successfully implemented these retreats at four distinct institutions and will share strategies for garnering institutional support both politically and financially, as well as, specific schedules, curriculum, timelines, and other materials for session participants to use as guides as they develop materials to meet their own unique campus needs. This session should particularly benefit those who are interested in taking the social justice education on campus to another level by implementing weekend long social justice leadership retreats as well as those who have attempted similar efforts and encountered institutional, logistical, financial, or political obstacles.

Homophobia as the Outer Bounds of Masculinity
This program looks at the role homophobia plays in defining masculinity. Unlike sex, gender is a socially constructed phenomenon that has no inherent meaning, but has powerful social meanings. Homophobia bounds the socially acceptable definition of what it means to be a “real man” and serves as the mechanism for punishing those who deviate from the social norms associated with masculinity for many male college students. Explore the impacts on campus of this dynamic on men’s violence, emotional well-being, sex, all-male subgroups such as fraternities and athletics, and gay men in an effort to better address issues of patriarchy and homophobia on campus. Homophobia is also socially constructed anger, fear, and resentment directed at homosexuals, but perhaps not exclusively or even primarily so. This program will examine the consequences, for all of us, of homophobia’s role in constructing the outer bounds of traditional masculinity and explore how student affairs professionals can act as transformative educators addressing issues of patriarchy and homophobia to the benefit of all students.

Man in a Box: The Intersections of Masculinity with Racism, Classism, and Homophobia
This session will explore the intersections of racism, classism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression in defining and enforcing a traditional hegemonic definition of masculinity which serves to oppress women, marginalize some men, and limit all men. Using interactive activities, participants will examine the ways other forms of oppression help socialize men into performing to a version of masculinity that fosters sexism; encourages overt racism, classism, and homophobia; and results in men’s loss of authenticity and humanity. By helping men recognize the limiting nature of traditional masculinity, educators can help men develop a selfish, as well as altruistic, motivation to transcend traditional definitions of masculinity as a means of working towards social justice. Applications of this approach in addressing men’s sexism, classism, homophobia, and racism will be discussed as well as implications for men’s high risk drinking, campus involvement, and academic recruitment, retention, and success. This session should particularly benefit individuals interested in exploring the intersections of racism, homophobia, and classism; examining how men are hurt as a result of their privileged socialization; and applying concepts to address issues on campus such as violence against women, homophobia, and men’s academic and personal well being.

Moving Beyond Good Intentions: Hurdles and Successes of Aspiring Anti-racist Whites
How can well-intentioned, White, liberals become active and effective anti-racist allies? This program will discuss personal hurdles and victories in striving for a White anti-racist identity. Through personal reflection and shared resources this program will seek to connect aspiring anti-racist, renew individual commitments and foster effective collective action to achieve racial equity and social justice.

She Fears You: Men Ending Rape
This workshop presents a successful program, which motivates men to be active in their efforts to end rape on campus and offers specific strategies and practices men and women can engage in order to change the culture around rape on campus. Far too often rape is seen as a “women’s issue.” Men can definitely be encouraged to play a significant role in ending the perpetuation of a campus rape culture. She Fears You is a successful workshop that identifies for men what they have to gain from ending campus rape, empowers college students to see the messages all around us that foster a rape culture on campus and in society at large, and challenges all of us to confront and intervene in the rape culture. She Fears You uses provocative posters to capture the attention of men. Properly channeled, that attention serves as the turning point whereby men, provoked by their emotion, realize the obvious avenues for their energy and join with women to end rape for the benefit of us all. Strategies are offered that will allow men and women to play a part in ending rape according to their own comfort levels. Confronting t-shirts objectifying women, interrupting daily conversations describing women as sexual objects, challenging the party scene on campus often perceived to be led by fraternities and athletes which frames women as targets, and recognizing messages in the media which normalize seeing women as victims are some of the ways participants leave the session with a vivid understanding of the issues and tangible ways to make change happen. Please consider coed workshops that target general audiences, student athletes, fraternity and sorority members, or residence hall staff members. Workshops outlining the theory behind the development of the workshops are also available and encouraged for administrators on your campus.

Social Justice Educator Competencies: Advancing Social Justice in Student Affairs
Can anyone effectively engage in social justice education, or are there professional core competencies necessary in order to be effective and do no harm? We invite you to a forum to discuss with other social justice educators the core competencies of this “trade” related to motivation, self-awareness, identity development, content knowledge, ethics, and pedagogical competence. An ethic of social justice education continues to advance the student affairs profession. Many in this profession are charged with creating educational environments that engage students from all walks of life. Student affairs professionals are also often charged with the creation of interventions that invite faculty, staff and students to engage in conversations, workshops and dialogues that explore notions of justice and democracy towards a world that is free from oppression. However, not all of these efforts are successful. In fact, some efforts are harmful and contrary to the espoused goals. Can anyone effectively engage in this work, or are there professional core competencies necessary in order to be effective and do no harm? How is it that social justice educators understand what they do, or even how they name what it is they do? For what purpose and to what end? How can educators examine this “trade” and collectively raise the level of effectiveness of transformative education?