The Men's Movement, which began in the mid 1980s, seems to be a multi-focused call to examine the meaning and psychology of masculine energy, a movement to explore all "things" male, manly, masculine and patriarchal (and those are not synonymous adjectives).

Leaders of the men's movement, like Robert Bly and Warren Farrell, took some of their initial cues from the Women's Movement, which insisted upon the disruption of many of the antiquated social rituals between men and women and encouraged women to become aware of their self-definitions. Many women became vocal about wanting to be in relationships with "men who have feelings" and insisted that the hierarchal structure that defined social, political and economic relationships
was no longer acceptable. Partly as a response to these changes, many men  found themselves hurled into a whirlpool of questions of their own. And, as women several decades ago began recreating the images of femininity that our community
now takes very much for granted, the present day Men's Movement is seeking to dismantle the old brand of paternalism that brought to our community violence against women and men and a lack of equal economic opportunity for both sexes and
all races.

Many pinpoint the beginning of the Men's Movement with Keith Thompson's 1982 interview with Robert Bly in New Age Journal about "what men really want." Several years later, Bill Moyers' television chat with Bly gave a great boost to the movement as did the publication soon after of Bly's book, Iron John. This book was innovative in that it sought to describe the intracacies of the male journey in both psychological and mythological terms. Prior to this book, most psychological studies were conducted on white males, whose way of being in the world became the yardstick for measuring the experience of both men and women. Of course, using such a yardstick was detrimental to women whose different experiences thus became invisible. But it was also detrimental to men because seeing men as the generic sex does not yield the same information as does
perceiving them as a specific gender. Until Iron John, there was little attention paid to what distinguished men's struggles, victories and life cycle from those of women. Iron John not only presented a colorful, dynamic understanding of men
as a specific gender, but also challenged men to turn inward and find their life energy, their passion, their hearts..

Iron John was controversial in that it encouraged men to separate from the often overweening influence of their mothers and other women and instead, find their essential masculinity through the company of other men. Many women became frightened by this call to separate. Historical images of gangs of men plundering and raping women came to mind as well as did "men's
only" clubs, those smoke-filled rooms of powerful men who afford women second class or no class status. This was not the intent of Robert Bly nor of the Men's Movement, past or present. An overview of the writings of many of the authors claiming an affiliation with the Men's Movement or "men's work" reveals a desire among such men to find their inner strength leading to positive self-esteem, loving relationships with other men and women and productive career-focused energy. Contrary to the opinions of their critics, no authors subscribe to a return to the male-dominated cultures of times past; on the contrary, all advocate constructive co-equal relating between men and women.

At the core of the Men's Movement is a rethinking of outdated notions of masculinity that at their worst had fostered abuse, emotional deadness and lack of creativity. In order to set meaningful guideposts, early thinkers in the Men's Movement turned to the history books, anthropological chronicle, mythological narratives and poems and other literature in order to find authentic, positive images of maleness that might help chart a new course of thought, behavior and feeling for men. Accordingly, Robert Bly utilized the Grimm's fairy story of Iron John, believing, as did prominent psychological thinker, Carl Jung, that hidden
beneath the seemingly simple story of a boy and a magical woodsman, with hair tangled down to his feet, was a seminal truth  about men and the challenges of maturity. Native American traditions have also been the source of important lessons for those seeking new dimensions of masculinity. Utilizing images and ceremonies bespeaking a love of the natural beauty of the Earth, many men have found a way to shed some of the negative trappings of industrialized definitions of manhood, that focus on material possessions, getting ahead and frequently lack soul and self-respect, as well as, respect for the community and the Earth.

New paths toward masculine self-understanding and improved relationships with
others have been provided also by many other researchers and their images..
Robert
Moore, for example, utilized a revised Jungian framework to re-conceptualize
masculinity. By envisioning the masculine part of the psyche as a dynamic
expression of four archetypal energies, each labeled with a
literary/mythological
image (King, Warrior, Magician, Lover), Moore examines both the shadow
(negative)
aspects of masculine energy as well as the constructive, creative elements..
Through such an investigation he is able to explain the origins of the
misuse or
distortion of otherwise positive masculine energy. Most important, he also
suggests that through a conscious awareness of these archetypal energies
men (and
women, since masculine energy exists in them, too) can learn to access the
positive attributes contained within these images..

The psychological insights developed by such explorers lead them to develop
experiential forums in which men could incorporate these notions. These
present-day, male "consciousness-raising groups" can take the form of
evening,
weekend or even full-week activities, the latter two, often involving an
arduous
spiritual initiation. Judging from much of the media reaction, it is difficult
for many people to empathize with the power of these experiences: the
criticism
and ridicule seem to mirror the often negative reaction to the encounter/
growth/self-actualization movement of the sixties--a period in which many
women
were able to find their voices. Yet participants at the vast array of these
"men's activities" report them to be invaluable
in helping them open to new ideas and new ways of expressing their feelings
and
ways of relating more closely with
others in their group, as well as at home and at work..

I must admit it does get scary for me at times when men "get in
touch" with their emotions, especially those which Alan Alda
rarely or never expressed like rage,
shame, and outrageous silliness. For example, when men touch rage (a normal
human
feeling) they can scream very loudly and may seek to release the emotion
further
in what could be perceived as threatening ways. Yet if such men are invited to
express themselves in a conscious, loud, cathartic fashion in a safe
container,
they often eventually learn how to channel appropriately the expression of
these
feelings. They thereby cease to become the over controlled, repressed, silent
individual or the acting-out, violent, manipulative, harmful person. Thus,
when I
feel my fear welling up when in the presence of a newly expressive male, I
remind
myself that we women have more to fear from men who do not get in touch with
their "wild man" than from men
who never recognize the wild man and are thus possessed by the
"savage man."

Like the Women's Movement, the Men's Movement is not just a psychological
movement; it also encourages the rethinking of social mores. In several
controversial books, Warren Farrell discusses subtle (as well as not so
subtle)
acts of sexism against men in our culture. Critics claim that he is seeking to
take the spotlight away from the numerous unfair practices against women, and
that changes needed to produce equality for women will be forgotten due to the
new attention on the sexism against men. Others, however, are able to
comprehend
that Farrell is seeking to extend the cultural examination begun by the
Women's
Movement in an attempt to create equal treatment for all members of society..

To be sure, the Men's Movement does have its shadow as does the Women's
Movement
(when it celebrates male-bashing and betrays an obsession with victimization)..
For instance, men can become addicted to their wounds and thereby avoid
responsibility for eradicating social injustices. Homosexual men and men of
color
are not proportionally represented in the ranks of the new male. And
efforts are
lacking in getting men and women together in ways that directly challenge
their
stereotypes of each other..

Still, the Men's Movement is a catalyst for removing one of the final
barriers to
the development of quality relationships between people. Whereas the work
of the
Woman's Movement facilitated the initial demise of traditional patriarchal
thought and structures, the Men's Movement is continuing this effort by
separating the savage or destructive masculine from the self-affirming,
life-promoting wildman..

As a therapist who works with men and women, as the mother of a son and
daughter,
as a life partner for a man committed to his own psychological journey, and
as a
friend to many other men, I know that most of the men who are in any way
aligned
with this Men's Movement are the kind of men whom women for years have been
saying that they have wanted to know: men who display a great amount of
courage
and strength; men who are gentle but cannot be pushed around; men who are
open to
continue exploring who they are; and men who vigorously reach out to really
know
those other men and women around them. I say
"welcome" to the Men's
Movement--a tapestry is more interesting with threads of different colors..

Karen Kahn Wilson, Ed.D., is a psychotherapist who practices in the Suburban
Maryland area. She can be reached at (301) 365-2107..

Supporting the Awakening Man

All movements seem tragically encumbered by those who become judgmental
out of
fear their needs will be ignored or that their recently acquired status,
possessions, or clout will be destroyed by the new voices. Such has been
the case
with the evolution of the Men's Movement. But there is also a growing
number of
women who seek to support their male friends, family members or lovers in
their
quest to embrace the best of what men and/or the masculine spirit has to
offer..
These women, above all, resist the temptation to pit the thinking and
activities
of the Men's Movement against their concepts of womanhood or feminist
thinking..
Women seeking to support men must work with their male counterparts to find
ways
to weave both spheres of thought together. This process begins with the women
seeing, without prejudice, what Bly calls the "gold of
men" that is often hidden in rough hewn stone. Sometimes a
woman's support for a man takes the form of
verbal encouragement or reading new books with him; sometimes it takes the
form
of the woman becoming silent and respectfully withdrawing, allowing the man
time
to integrate these new ideas alone or with other men at his own rate and in
his
own time. Talking, challenging and debating are important when new
directions are
being explored; however, sometimes differences need to remain differences with
each party resisting the need to be the one who is
"right."

-Karen Kahn Wilson