{"id":3680,"date":"2018-04-06T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T14:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.pages.roanoke.edu\/?p=3680"},"modified":"2018-04-06T10:00:57","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T14:00:57","slug":"man-question-challenges-perceptions-of-masculinity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/?p=3680","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Man Question\u2019 Challenges Perceptions of Masculinity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Bradley Bommarito<\/em><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, April 4, Wil Fischer and Michael Wilson from a New York City based organization presented in the Wortmann Ballroom to an audience open to students, faculty members, and the public. \u00a0The interactive event included skits, videos, and several hands-on activities involving the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe incorporate audience interaction and we provide an educational background on the history of masculinity,\u201d said Fischer.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to their website, Man Question is a theater-based organization addressing masculinity, building community, and creating possibilities for new gender expressions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe blame toxic masculinity without blaming men. \u00a0The interactive techniques come from the field of applied theater,\u201d said Wilson.<\/span><\/p>\n

The inspiration for Man Question came after Fischer and Wilson presented a thesis project for their graduate program in spring 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe finished the project and recognized the strong need for that kind of work. \u00a0We presented the project at a maximum-security facility for men, that was the first workshop,\u201d said Fischer.<\/span><\/p>\n

What started as a thesis project in the City University of New York\u2019s graduate theater program soon became the Man Question.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe became better at asking more pointed questions about the impact of mainstream masculinity. \u00a0We do work with college students, incarcerated men, and other audiences,\u201d said Wilson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Workshops are customized based on the intended audience, and current events surrounding gender are also discussed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recently conducted a workshop in NYC connecting the Man Question to the #MeToo movement,\u201d said Fischer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The duo takes a participative, light-hearted approach to complex topics such as gender norms and gender identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very silly. \u00a0We do goofy games to break the ice. \u00a0The conversation is more about finding solutions than blaming others,\u201d said Wilson.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMen are the victims of toxic masculinity and we are looking at its root causes,\u201d said Fischer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two presenters visited with several classes this week, and they will be attending tonight\u2019s RC Drag Ball.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Gregory Rosenthal, assistant professor of history, has worked with the founders of Man Question in the past. \u00a0They collaborated with Mrs. Sandra McGhee and Mr. Wes Brusseau from RC Student Health and Counseling Services to host a workshop on campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve participated in a Man Question event in NYC, and I performed at the New Masculinities Festival for the first time last year,\u201d said Rosenthal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to encourage men to begin having conversations and pushing the limits of what it means to be a man. \u00a0When I look at this campus, I just want to see a place where students feel like they can be themselves, where they do not have to put on a face,\u201d said Rosenthal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students that didn\u2019t get a chance to participate in Wednesday\u2019s Man Question workshop can still explore gender themes by attending tonight\u2019s RC Drag Ball, being held from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Wortmann Ballroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am hoping that the drag ball provides a free space to play with gender. \u00a0It is a great opportunity for LGBT students on campus to take on a leadership role,\u201d said Rosenthal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those who present an RC ID will gain free admission, and members of the public can get in for $5. \u00a0All proceeds are being donated to a local LGBT+ youth program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGender is a performance and drag is a fabulous way to play with this performance,\u201d said Fischer.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Bradley Bommarito On Wednesday, April 4, Wil Fischer and Michael Wilson from a New York City based organization presented in the Wortmann Ballroom to an audience open to students, faculty members, and the public. \u00a0The interactive event included skits, videos, and several hands-on activities involving the audience. \u201cWe incorporate audience interaction and we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}