While women's studies programs have been established for decades, state universities are increasingly broadening their programs to include men.
Several Women's and Gender Studies faculty at Ohio University are designing curriculum for a masculine studies course they hope to teach next year, said Lynette Peck, assistant director.
Because men are normative in society
it is rare that we study men as men Peck said. But it's an important field of study because masculinity guides personal choices just as much as femininity does.
Studying masculinity allows men to critically think about their gender roles and how they could change, said Robert Heasley, president of the American Men's Studies Association.
Men's studies entered academia in the 1970s but hasn't had the same success as women's studies, he said, adding that while no American university currently has a men's studies department, schools are increasingly adding masculinity classes.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard the argument that men's studies is irrelevant because everything is about men Heasley said. But what I'm emphasizing is that there aren't a lot of resources available that critically think of men as men
what gives them lore and what isn't accepted.
Men face harsher social consequences than women when they violate gender norms, Heasley said.
One example of this is criticism of men who break their masculine roles by becoming stay-at-home dads or pursuing an unconventional career, such as an elementary school teacher, he added.
Because men set standards in society, they are invisible and often aren't studied the way that women are, Peck said.
The broadening of the field is really exciting because it allows us to study the whole concept of gender
she said.
In the past, Ohio University has taught classes on the history of masculinity and masculinity in film, she said, adding that the women's and gender studies program would like to add men to its faculty.-
she said.
The women's studies department at Ohio State University recently added masculinity courses, said Linda O'Brien, OSU's undergraduate women's studies coordinator.
We made these changes in our courses because we thought studying both genders would encompass more of what we do
O'Brien said.
The school also offers a minor in sexuality studies, she said.
The women's studies department at Kent State University plans to add masculinity studies to its curriculum, said Kathe Davis, a faculty member who was the program's director for five years.
We're extremely interested in men's studies
Davis said. It's impossible to look at images of women without looking at images of men.
Both men and women can benefit from learning about masculinity, Heasley said, adding that AMSA will host an open conference at Wake Forest University next April.
While feminism provided an excellent example for critically observing gender, only concentrating on half the picture is ineffective, he said. If we only change women's lives and not men and women's lives
then we haven't changed the world
Heasley said.
