3 ms·

> In the nineties I joined a men's group retreat where we circled up and listened to each other's struggles, gave lots of support, and lots of hugs. Then we did

> In the nineties I joined a men's group retreat where we circled up and listened to each other's struggles, gave lots of support, and lots of hugs. Then we did some consciousness raising around circumcision and it's barbarity. We took our cue from the Feminist movement. They were getting their shit together and so could we. Gary Snyder read his gorgeous nature poetry, Peter Berg sold us on a green cities concept that would make our urban areas more livable. I remember this. I wasn't old enough to join up, but I'd not have. It was widely ridiculed at the time, and most folks didn't really respect it. It wasn't the MRM that killed your movement; it just never took off, and was never really positively received by wider society.

corinroyal 3y ago
This is true enough. We didn't get very far before the backlash set in. We were seen by some as feminized men who were traitors to our gender, which I take as a great honor. There were so many obstacles to overcome: * Straight and gay men talking about emotions and hugging * Men confronting unearned privileges * Men confronting their own unjustified anger and aggression * Men trying to gain emotional intelligence to understand and control their moods and triggers * Men grappling with women invading traditionally men-only spaces So it was absolutely a hard sell. But so is every other anti-oppression movement. No one expected to eliminate a millennia-old system overnight. The thing is, when you're right, you're right. Regressives can't keep a good idea down forever. The progress I've seen in my short lifetime confirms this. Even if anti-feminists succeed in their efforts to overthrowing democracy and bringing about a patriarchal authoritarian state the gain will be temporary and we will return in force. After denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, comes acceptance.

corinroyal 3y ago

This is true enough. We didn't get very far before the backlash set in. We were seen by some as feminized men who were traitors to our gender, which I take as a great honor. There were so many obstacles to overcome: * Straight and gay men talking about emotions and hugging * Men confronting unearned privileges * Men confronting their own unjustified anger and aggression * Men trying to gain emotional intelligence to understand and control their moods and triggers * Men grappling with women invading traditionally men-only spaces So it was absolutely a hard sell. But so is every other anti-oppression movement. No one expected to eliminate a millennia-old system overnight. The thing is, when you're right, you're right. Regressives can't keep a good idea down forever. The progress I've seen in my short lifetime confirms this. Even if anti-feminists succeed in their efforts to overthrowing democracy and bringing about a patriarchal authoritarian state the gain will be temporary and we will return in force. After denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, comes acceptance.