Breaking the Ice: Male Allyship and Hypermasculine Sports Culture in Canada – Landon Kenney

The need to engage with men and boys about issues such as consent, healthy relationships, and preventing violence and abuse is more urgent than ever at a time when world leaders such as Donald Trump and spaces like the Manosphere are projecting dominating, destructive images of masculinity around the world. This certainly applies in Canada, where the spread of far-right politics next-door in the US is having a significant impact – and where Prime Minister Mark Carney is arguably demonstrating a different kind of leadership. 

Our guest, Landon Kenney, is someone who is working to show that men and boys don’t have to be angry, tough and violent – and that they can work together with women, girls and gender diverse people to create a more equitable and peaceful society. He coordinates the Male Allies Program for the Sexual Assault Support Centre of the Waterloo Region in Ontario (SASC), Canada.

In this episode, Landon tells us about the work that SASC and the Male Allies Program have been doing since 2008 to prevent sexual and gender-based violence with men, boys, and organisations such as Hockey Canada and the Ontario Hockey League. We discuss the importance of changing macho sporting cultures, highlighted by the sexual assault scandal in Canadian ice hockey in recent years. We also talk about hopeful shifts in cultural discourses about masculine norms, exemplified in the recent hugely popular Canadian TV series ‘Heated Rivalry’. We explore how masculinity is depicted in this powerful show, and the potential it has to help men and boys open up about intimacy, vulnerability, and sexuality.

Find out more:

• Sexual Assault Support Centre of the Waterloo Region
• SASC’s Public Education Resources
• The Male Allies Program
• Landon Kenney

Episode timeline:

• Intro
• What the Male Allies Program involves (02:41-04:29)
• How the program was initiated by the Sexual Assault Support Centre (04:29-07:48)
• Landon’s own journey into this work (07:48-11:00)
• Being accountable to women (11:00-17:36)
• The impacts violence prevention work has on men and boys (17:36-21:38)
• How Trump has affected Canadian society and Mark Carney's response (21:38-29:17)
• Break
• Working to create change in ice hockey and sport (29:26-33:07)
• Addressing hypermasculine sports cultures (33:07-36:46)
• The Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal (36:46-40:40)
• Heated Rivalry and its portrayal of masculinity (40:40-47:09)
• The impact of the show on Canadian society (47:09-50:53)
• Professional male athletes coming out as gay (50:53-53:34)
• The future for profeminist work in Canada (53:34-55:42)
• Conclusion (55:49-01:02:36)

More info:

• Gisèle Pelicot – ‘A Hymn to Life’
• Manon Garcia – ‘Living with Men’
• bell hooks – ‘The Will to Change’
• Steven Roberts – ‘Why straight men’s embrace of a queer sports romance TV show matters right now’
• Jacob Tierney
• EVAW UK: '100+ women’s rights groups warn against racist weaponisation of VAWG'
• Canada ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest