Episode 20: Politics of Masculinity with Steve Roberts

Why is the study of men, and the social the constructs of what being "a man" is, important to feminism? And why are the women at the Unfairer Sex talking about it? The simple answer – men being expected to behave in a particular way has a direct impact on the way women are expected to behave.  This week we have the pleasure of hosting Steve Roberts, a Professor at the School of Education Culture and Society, Monash University. He is a sociologist who specialises in youth studies and critical studies of men and masculinities. He discusses the impact that growing up with an abusive step parent had on him, his views on toxic masculinity and how he broke what could have been the cycle of abuse. We also explore elements of his research – looking at politics of masculinity and the promotion of healthy/positive masculinities among boys & men to help tackle harmful masculine norms & achieve greater gender equality. The first in a series of The Unfairer Professor,  Steve will appear in the future on The Unfairer Sex to give his academic opinion and views on the things we discuss as well as interview us about our experiences of sexist behaviour. *Just to note, we experienced a little tech problem around 30mins in so please forgive the slight change in volumes! Everything Steve said was all super important so we didn't want to leave anything out.* *** https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/steven-roberts https://twitter.com/SteveRoberts_ https://lens.monash.edu/2021/04/28/1383148/a-very-personal-call-to-action-for-non-violent-men-to-denounce-mens-violence *** As always, The Unfairer Sex is not sponsored so, if you liked our show, please show your support by liking, subscribing and sharing on all your favourite social media platforms! We'll send you positive vibes for being awesome human beings and helping us spread the word. The Unfairer Sex music was masterfully created by Artur Kondas: https://akondas.com Research, editing and artwork fulfilled by The Unfairer Sex.