JOIN EMANCIPATOR’S CAMPAIGN TO TACKLE GENDER STEREOTYPES!

Our favorite question at Emancipator is: What kind of man do you want to be?

On International Women’s Day we launched our “De man die ik wil zijn…” campaign, which translates to “the man I want to be…”. We have started this campaign to engage boys and men, to inspire boys and men to think about gender roles and to tackle gender stereotypes. So far, we are excited with the results and get many positive reactions.

We will be campaigning 365 days with ‘The man I want to be…’! Our goal: to show the versatility of men, masculinity and men’s emancipation to the world and inspire everyone to start asking themselves this question (and act accordingly)!

During summer we want to show our followers it is not just Emancipator on this mission, but organizations around the world. And to do so, we want to include the MenEngage network in our campaign with all of our ambitions, missions and amazing work. We would like to invite someone who identifies as a man from within your organization to join our campaign and register with the form below. If nobody identifies as a man within your organization, we would like to ask you another question (the men I wish to see…) so feel free to register anyway. This way we can still include your organization as well.

The form is more detailed than the one we use for our Dutch registration, simply because we want to highlight your mission as well and showcase the work that organizations like Emancipator do all over the world.

The campaign (so far in Dutch, but during summer in English) can be found on our Instagram.

If you have any remarks or questions or would like to know more about the campaign, do not hesitate to contact Joost Mallo via joost@emancipator.nl.

Thank you for joining!

Please note:

  • The photo with quote will be posted on Instagram and possibly on our other social media. If we want to use the photo and/or quote for other media expressions, we will contact you separately.
  • The photo we use must be free of rights. Ideally, it should be a photo with a light background.
  • Your contact details will only be used by Emancipator for campaign communications, unless otherwise agreed.
  • With your photo and quote you will make boys and men, and everyone they come into contact with, think and perhaps have a lasting impact on their view of masculinity.
20220221 Be the (hu)man ENG

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You can choose…

You can choose for yourself what kind of man you want to be. Men are influenced and limited by masculinity norms: rules, expectations and stereotypes that are part of masculinity. With this question, we hope to make you aware of these norms and their influence on you, show you an alternative and help you discover who you are and who you want to be.

Gender norms are not only restrictive, they are also harmful. Their exact effect and impact varies greatly for different groups of men. The central message, however, is always the same: boys and men should first and foremost be ‘real men’. But everyone has characteristics that do not fit into that ideal image. So there is a part of who you are that you are not allowed to show. The struggle to be ‘masculine enough’ is endless and impossible to win. This causes many problems for men.

It is not easy to get rid of all those rules that you have heard and learned all your life. And when they fall away, what is left? But it also gives you the freedom to do it your own way and to discover for yourself who you are. What kind of man do you want to be if you no longer have to be a ‘real man’? What kind of person do you want to be if you no longer have to be a man? And what do you need for that?

And you have to choose…

Power and privilege are unequally distributed in the world, and men have the most of both. Different groups of men have very different experiences and interests, related to their different identities. But men as a social group, and especially white cisgender heterosexual men, still have more power than women in governments, businesses and on the streets.

Other forms of inequality are also linked to gender and ideas about masculinity. All kinds of problems in the world are caused by the way masculinity is defined. This can and must change.

All men, especially those who are privileged in multiple ways, have the opportunity and thus the responsibility to make a difference. What kind of man you want to be is not just about you. The way you are a man has an influence on the people around you and on the rest of the world. That you have to choose also means that not choosing implies a choice: to do nothing.

What kind of man do you want to be in a world where gender-based violence and homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are common? A world in which social, economic and other inequalities are getting worse, in which racism and the reality of the climate crisis are becoming more and more visible? How do you contribute to a better world for the next generations?

The two sides of the question – the personal and the political – are in fact inextricably linked. By being aware of your role and position as a man in your personal life and by filling that role more broadly, you immediately have an influence on the world around you.

The influence you have is also different in every role and relationship. So the question of what kind of man you want to be is always different. What kind of father do you want to be? What kind of son? What kind of neighbour or colleague? In short: what kind of person do you want to be?

The man I want to be… (in Dutch)

What kind of human do you want to be?