When the editors of Ms. asked me to guest-edit “Ms. on Men,” a feature section in the latest print issue highlighting key issues related to men and masculinity, I quickly understood the pressing purpose of this feature. There is an urgency to this unique section, especially following the 2025 election. The long-standing threat to American democracy posed by MAGA and right-wing populism was made possible by the overwhelming support Donald Trump received primarily—though not exclusively—from white men. And this time around, the winning pro-Trump coalition included a surprising number of young men.
To clarify, many boys and men are struggling. But the right has dangerously weaponized those struggles towards their relentless attacks on feminists, liberals, progressives and anyone else they can accuse of “wokeism.” Thus, it becomes difficult to address the issues of American men without getting muddled in the right-wing’s aggressive agenda.
The pieces in this section offer an alternative approach to this social phenomenon: a thoughtful blend of personal reflection and sober analysis that seeks to understand how men’s struggles are connected to larger questions about gender and power that feminists have wrestled with for centuries.
The first piece from the feature—going live on MsMagazine.com early Friday, July 25—will answer the question we’ve all been pondering: Why is the vice president sitting like that? Organizer and writer Garrett Bucks uses JD Vance’s seating posture as a jumping-off point to address the need for men, especially white men, to look inward as the first step toward social action.
In her piece, mental health clinician Jewel Woods invites readers to think about the ways that men’s health challenges, most notably “deaths of despair,” are linked to cultural ideologies about masculinity, as well as the need for ethnic and racial nuance in the analysis of men’s health.
My piece about the “bro-casters” argues that liberals and progressives need to move beyond the search for a “Joe Rogan of the left.” Instead, they must examine how the right has achieved a kind of narrative dominance in the online spaces that young men inhabit—and ultimately figure out ways to effectively counteract it.
Finally, the excerpt from my forthcoming book, Every Man, introduces readers to my work of interrogating and countering men’s violence against women. Why have so few men been actively involved in the struggle to end sexual and domestic violence? What can we do to change that? And how can altering deeply embedded perceptions lead to changes in personal behavior and political priorities?
You’ll find insights into these and many other questions in “Ms. on Men,” a section representing the diverse movement of pro-feminist men working to advance democracy and gender justice, all to improve the individual lives of women, men and nonbinary individuals.
“Why Is the Vice President Sitting Like That?” by Garrett Bucks will go live Friday a.m. here. (Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox—or order a single copy of the Summer issue as a standalone for just $5.)
Great Job Jackson Katz & the Team @ Ms. Magazine Source link for sharing this story.
