Adam Segal Calls Us to New Narratives of Masculinity

Adam Segal

For this episode of The Plot I am joined by my friend Adam Segal. Adam is active with social justice work in Portland; his background is in creative writing, but he is also a cook and food distributor, and he currently facilitates small groups of fellow white people working to address white supremacy on behalf of Portland's chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice. Most relevant to this episode, however, is that he is also the founder of New Masculinities Group, a four-year-old project to engage men and people of all genders in difficult, yet necessary conversations about masculinity, gender, and sexuality, work he has begun to do professionally as a men’s accountability consultant.

In our discussion today, Adam examines how cultural narratives shape our understanding of gender—often without us even being aware of it—and the dangerous ways they can impact our concept of masculinity or expectations of what men are and how they should act. We’ll look at several examples from pop culture, from The Sandlot to Star Wars, to analyze their messages about boyhood and manhood. Then we’ll turn to how notions of masculinity intersect with social and political issues, like consent, food, and even prison abolition. These can be heavy subjects, but Adam expertly breaks them down in words that are clear, approachable, and encouraging. While we’ll acknowledge a variety of dangerous stereotypes, this is not a show about criticizing men, but rather a much more positive message, as Adam invites us to ask who we would be if there were no one telling us who to be. And while we’ll focus on the ways men confront that question, it’s also a question all of us, whether we are men or another gender, can learn to ask ourselves.

To learn more about New Masculinities Group, you can follow it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewMasculinitiesGroupPDX

You can also follow this podcast on Twitter at @_SeanDouglass_ and @ThePlotPodcast

For more on the issues raised in this podcast, Adam has also provided a reading list:

"Books for men who want to get started in working against patriarchal masculinity:
The Will to Change, by bell hooks
I Don't Want to Talk About It, by Terrence Real
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis
Men Explain Things to Me, by Rebecca Solnit
Amateur by Thomas Page McBee

Articles and Resources for a Healthier Conversation about Consent and Sexual Communication:
From #MeToo to #WeConsented, and The Pleasure Dome: Use Your Words by Adrienne Maree Brown
https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/the-pleasure-dome/me-too-reclaiming-consent

https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/the-pleasure-dome/use-your-words

Sex Toys Will Never Be Able to Do the Hardest Work For You, by Fancy Feast
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/fancyfeast/sex-toys-education-consent-positivity-gender

In The No, by Radiolab and Kaitlyn Prest
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/projects/no

Articles for learning about Abolition Feminism:
Against Carceral Feminism by Victoria Law
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/10/against-carceral-feminism/

Aching for Abolition by Camonghne Felix
https://www.thecut.com/2020/10/aching-for-abolition.html

Who Wins When We Incarcerate Brock Turner? by Erika Lynn and Lily Zheng
https://stanfordpolitics.org/2016/06/10/who-wins-when-we-incarcerate-brock-turner/?fbclid=IwAR0X9NkQiTaRr3a7oCd4L3jYDnwJQV9NSYBqbgjzr-6Uy6Go9X7GQp7FzEw