51视频

02/01/2023

Media Contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations, Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

The latest spate of mass shootings can be understood, in part, as 鈥渧iolent extinction bursts of a dying form of masculinity,鈥� according to 51视频 philosophy Professor Carol Hay.

鈥淎lmost always with these shootings, the aggressor is an aggrieved man, motivated by a frustrated sense of entitlement, who is lashing out,鈥� said Hay. 鈥淰ery often, these men feel left behind by a world that is changing around them, one where traditional forms of masculinity are no longer necessarily rewarded, or even possible.鈥�

While there is no end in sight to this violence, Hay believes there is still reason for optimism. 鈥淚n the face of the violent men who commit these crimes,鈥� she said, 鈥渨e鈥檙e seeing a new kind of man step forward to stop them.鈥� Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old coder who averted more carnage at a second ballroom in Alhambra, California last week by wrestling the gun from the shooter鈥檚 hands, told reporters he had never seen a real gun before that night. Richard Fierro, the Army veteran who tackled the gunman at the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting last fall, refused all attempts to glorify his violent takedown of the shooter 鈥� expressing gratitude that his military training enabled him to protect his family but condemning 鈥渢he guys running around doing GI Joe stuff.鈥澛� 聽 聽聽

For Hay, whose research focuses on ethics, feminist theory and oppression studies, 鈥渢hese men represent a new form of masculinity, one that complicates old narratives linking masculinity inextricably with glorified violence or with an inability to express emotions.鈥�

In her recently published Think Like a Feminist: The Philosophy Behind the Revolution, Hay explores how society鈥檚 collective understanding of what it means to be men and women is evolving and how these new figures offer a 鈥渢antalizing glimpse into where a collective understanding of masculinity might be heading.鈥�

To arrange an interview with Hay, please contact Emily Gowdey-Backus or Nancy Cicco.听

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