The #MeToo movement has broken a decades-long culture of silence around sexual assault and harassment and taken down a number of powerful men, including Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, TV host Matt Lauer, politician Al Franken, and 30 some others compiled in a list from The New York Times. But according to writer Rob Okun, the thing that ties together all of these individual incidents is a culture of power and privilege held in place by particular ideas about masculinity.
Okun is the editor of Voice Male, a magazine that chronicles the social transformation of masculinity. In the book “Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Profeminist Men’s Movement,”(Interlink Pub Group/ 2017) Okun presents essays from the magazine that touch on how masculinity shapes various themes, including men’s health, gun culture, fatherhood, violence, and more.
Host Frank Stasio talks with Okun about the past, present and future of the profeminist men’s movement. Okun reads from his book at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.