Poems, Links, and Resources RE: The Connections Between Masculinity and Violence

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In the spirit of this piece (sharing poems that might be useful entry points into conversations about white supremacy) and this piece (sharing poems reckoning with #MeToo, consent, and rape culture), I wanted to pull together some poems/videos, links, and resources for people looking to start more conversations about the relationship between violence (whether that’s interpersonal/domestic violence, mass shootings, and beyond) and masculinity.

Because as the left focuses on gun control, and the right (disingenuously) focuses on mental health services, I think it’s worth considering that there’s something deeper going on. It’s also worth considering that just because that “something” is a more complex problem than a single policy can fix, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing we can do about it.

 Reading Up: Articles and Essays
To find solutions, we first have to acknowledge the problem: there is something about the way we teach boys to be men (especially in a white, western, capitalist context) that encourages violence. When we only understand masculinity through the lenses of power, control, strength, and dominance, when our pop culture heroes are so often men (and so often violent men), when our views of “what it means to be a man” are shaped by racism and colonialism– this all helps create a culture in which violence can be committed, normalized, and even rationalized, again and again. More:

  • Don’t Blame Mental Illness for Mass Shootings; Blame Men (Politico)
  • Men Are Responsible for Mass Shootings (Harper’s Bazaar)
  • Boys To Men: Masculinity And The Next Mass Shooting (1A)
  • We will never address gun violence if we don’t address the root of the problem: masculinity (Feminist Current)
  • The Boys Are Not All Right (NYT)
  • Toxic white masculinity: The killer that haunts American life (Salon)
  • When We Talk About Police Shootings, We Need to Talk About Gender (Feministing)
  • Who Are The Majority Of Mass Shooters In The U.S.? (AJ+)
Having a Deeper Conversation: Poem/Videos
My work is about using poems as entry points to dialogue, since poems and stories are able to put a human face on issues that are, for some people, too easy to intellectualize or think about in an abstract way. With the above articles as context, my hope is that these poems can be resources for educators (or just people who want to start more conversations) to jumpstart some reflection, soul-searching, and community-building:
  • nayyirah waheed (from salt.)
    • This is the only poem on this list that isn’t a video, but it’s such a perfect entry point, one that sums up this issue elegantly and precisely.
  • Rudy Francisco: The Heart and the Fist 
    • This is a newer poem that powerfully makes the connection between gun violence and masculinity. This poem doesn’t just make that connection, though; it challenges us to see both why that connection exists and why it doesn’t have to. The link includes both the video and some further thoughts/analysis from me on the poem. (More classroom-friendly version here)
  • FreeQuency: Masculinity So Fragile
    • This is full of great lines, but also some incredibly insightful analysis.
  • Elizabeth Acevedo: I use my poetry to confront the violence against women
    • This is a TEDx Talk, but includes multiple short poems. When the national conversation focuses on masculinity and mass shootings, it’s important to keep a broader view of what “violence” means. It isn’t always headline-grabbing. It isn’t always reported. This conception of masculinity hurts people– especially women, trans people and gender-nonconforming people– every day.
  • Guante: Handshakes and Ten Responses to the Phrase “Man Up” 
    • I’m including both of these poems of mine here because they’re both explicitly about how so-called “little things” (habits, word choices, small actions, etc.) both shape and are shaped by the larger culture. Especially when we think about masculinity– our socialization starts so early, and is so insidious because those “little things,” if we don’t think critically about them, are so easy to never even understand as harmful.
  • Guante (NEW!): The Art of Taking the L
    • A poem, but also a link with a bunch MORE resources.
  • Donte Collins: Genderlect 
    • This is a great exploration of how the positive things we’re taught to think about men are so often rooted in the negative things we’re taught to think about women. Violence can take many forms– mass shootings, domestic abuse, sexual assault, any beyond– but it often starts in the same place
  • Sam Rush, Kwene, & Oompa of House Slam: My Masculinity
    • This piece could be a good introduction to talking about masculinity as a social construct, as opposed to something that is inherently/inextricably “male.”
  • Javon Johnson: Baby Brother
    • The connection between masculinity and violence includes more than just mass shootings. It’s about the violence we inflict on the people to whom we are closest, regardless of gender. It’s also about the violence we inflict on ourselves.
  • Alex Luu & Jessica Romoff: Masculinity
    • Like the previous poem, this piece explores the issue of masculinity’s connection to violence through family relationships– in this case, a father’s effect on his household.
Next Steps and Other Resources
“What we do” about this is a big question, and will shift depending on who we are, where we are, and what kinds of resources and audiences we have access to. So while “having a conversation” is not the only work to be done, it is an important starting point, and I hope the links and poems above can be useful. What follows are some examples of where people are taking this work:

As always, I’m far less interested in writing authoritative think-pieces as I am in just sharing resources and creating space for dialogue. So if you have other poems for the list, other links to share, or just some thoughts, feel free to leave a comment.