THE EDITOR, Sir:I was most disturbed by the article "The crisis in masculinity" by Peter Espeut, which was published in your paper on Wednesday 16th February 2005. There is no crisis in masculinity as he puts it, just as the male marginalisation thesis is a myth. It is Peter Espeut by the content of his letters, as well as men and women who think the way he does, who reinforce what is wrong with masculinity.
What is wrong is the behaviour, attitude and outlook of most men who see fit to sit down and blame women, the education system, the economy, etc. for where they are at, rather than seek to take responsibility for improving their circumstances. These ills are not just of concern to men, but are issues affecting the entire society, including women. Most women, however, have opted to look past the challenges and seek to help themselves.
I do not know of what jobs are the well known factors making men underachieve in education that Peter is alluding to. Women are the most underpaid and overworked in the society. Men who choose to pursue education do quite well and ultimately are usually better remunerated and attain the highest levels in organisations compared to women.
Academically versed
Those men who resort to other means detrimental to society may not always be versed academically, but they are certainly not fools, they have simply chosen to apply themselves in deviant areas.
As gender is both male and female, masculine and feminine, how then does Peter get to saying that "feminists have captured the gender agenda". If he knows enough to recognise that male is a gender then he ought to know that there are also male feminists. Is it that these men are not representing the concerns of other men, as he states "issues of men under-researched and under-studied?"
If that is the case, then he has been given a golden opportunity in the column to shed some light on the way forward for many of our men who have 'missed the boat', yet instead he opts to resort to sensationalisation of a very serious matter.
By so doing he undermines what men can achieve by resorting to definitions of masculinity which are passé, and particularly irrelevant in the Jamaican context. His presentation of man as provider/power wielder, is a eurocentric ideal at best, predicated on the nuclear family type (husband, wife and children), with the father bringing home the bacon/'jerk chicken' and the mother taking care of home and children.
As Caribbean feminists have been at pains to demonstrate time and time again, this has rarely been the experience in our region and particularly not in Jamaica. Women have always had to play the role of provider. Additionally, even when a woman is not the main financial support in a household, as a result of the neglect of many men of their role as nurturers, many women still carry the burden of providing for the family.
Dire circumstances
Teachers have been doing a tremendous job in the classroom, considering the dire circumstances (low wages, inadequate resources, poor parental care, etc.) which obtain there. Yet it is the women who are blamed for boys' underachievement in schools. Where are the male teachers? If men are in such a crisis why are not more men stepping in? As is usually the case, it is women who are expected to sacrifice and bear the burden of the entire society.
Mr. Espeut, shame on you for using the column to advance your own narrow way of thinking, under the theme of Black History Month. If you indeed wanted to help the numerous men in the society who have neglected their education, fathered children they cannot provide for nor intend to be a role model to, resorted to crime, violence, etc. then you would have given a call for them to look within themselves and see the need to love their children, be an example, etc.
There is not enough space in this paper to begin to speak about the challenges facing the society, men and women. However, an assault on either sex is hardly the place to start, Mr. Espeut. Let us all strive to be a source of encouragement and support to one another, male and female. Maybe then the way forward would become clearer.
I am, etc.,
NICOLA BARKER-MURPHY
Greater Portmore
St. Catherine
