On the 28th of this month, AVfM contributor Jason Gregory wrote an article which included the following imperative:
“Put aside logical analysis of the bullshit for a moment and gauge what she says based on her passion. Those kinds of stories are the passionate stories that men must learn to tell about their lived experiences as objects of utility to a woman, to women, and to society in general. […] Even though 80% of the homeless are men, the statistic doesn’t matter.
The statistic makes men a caricature of a number, not a full human being with a lived experience, desperate for love, desperate for dignity, desperate for a meaningful existence that is callously denied to them by women who bestow upon them the title of loser, creep, hobo, scum, and whatever other demeaning and dehumanizing language can be used to shame men for failing to climb the dominance hierarchy, for failing to become satisfactory providers/protectors, for being men. It is time for men to speak, to find their voice, to find their self, their identity and their own meaning.”
Gregory is correct. Facts, as encapsulated by statistics of the workplace dead, or the homeless, or the male dominance in suicide – these will not move public opinion. People are moved by human connection. They are moved by human experience and emotion. Men need to tell their stories in thier own voices.
This leads us directly to a project started by my friend and colleague Neil Westlake. He and I will be collecting, curating and publishing a series of stories of male experience, in the voices of the men and boys whose stories these are. I am following Neil’s lead on this project, and he will outline it directly:
~ JtO
♦♦♦
I found men’s human rights activism in 1991. My ‘discovery’ came ironically through the gift of a book from a feminist. Perceiving that I had ‘certain issues,’ she gave it to me as a gift, in the hope that it would; using the language of the mythopoetic movement – ‘heal my male wound.’
It was an anthology of male experience, edited by Francis Baumli of the National Coalition for Men (NCFM), entitled ‘Men Freeing Men.’ Written a half decade before ‘Iron John,’ * Baumli brought together a variety of male voices, encompassing concerns which had not been heard before. These were testimonies which had been drowned out by the deadening noise of second wave feminism.
Subjects ranged from divorce mediation to the military draft; from penis size to the perils of the dating game, an entirely new terrain of male experience was now open to interpretation. For the first time, men’s inner realities were expressed in public.
Project Hermitage is a new initiative picking up Francis Baumli’s baton. Using his initial project as an inspiration, JtO and I will collect and showcase what we call ‘a new male voice’. As men, we are at a watershed period in the gender-relations tug-of-war. Ours is an environment populated by differing ideas and pitfalls. We are acutely aware of the disingenuous masquerade of popular gender ideology. Men are awakening to a red-pill view of reality in ever greater numbers. It is time for a new, authentic record of male experience to be a part of the sociological and cultural ecology. To this end John and I are soliciting personal stories from men, of all ages, sexual orientations and ethnicity as contributors.
The only firm requirement is that you convey your story in the first person. We request that you include a name or pseudonym, your age and your country of residence. In addition, it would be helpful if you could tailor your story so as to highlight one aspect of the ‘male experience’ whether it is suffering from prostate cancer (Health), or duking it out in the family court system (Law.)
Some ideas for subjects are: Addiction, Bereavement, Fatherhood, Law, Marriage, Sexuality, Health, Infertility, Workplace and Career Issues, Domestic Violence, Cultural Misandry, Parental Relationships, Pornography, Prostitution, Inter-male Bonding/Relationships, Political activism, Emotional and Psychological Issues, Feminism, Relationships with Women, War and Veteran Issues, Homosexuality and Transgenderism, Politics and Philosophy.
You are invited to write on a myriad of topics using separate submissions. All submissions will be held as copyright of Project Hermitage.
We all have a voice. Let’s make it be heard.
Neil Westlake
Archivist
Project Hermitage
limeywestlake@vancouvermra.com
