For Valentine's Day: A Snapshot From The Men's Movement, Circa 1988

Just found this in the archives and I liked it so much I thought I would share it. In discussing how it is that some men became committed to feminism, John Stoltenberg told the 13th National Conference on Men and Masculinity, held at Seattle University on July 8, 1988:

“I’m thinking of men whose loyalty to a particular woman in their lives – a mother, a lover, a cherished friend – has brought them to an intimate, almost insider’s view of what life for women is like under male supremacy – and these men have made a personal vow to stand behind her and not abandon her, to wholeheartedly be her ally.”1

One can't help but think that Stoltenberg was thinking about his love for and commitment to his life partner, Andrea Dworkin, as well as making a more general observation about the other feminist men he had worked with over the years.

In other news, a bot or webtool of some kind, called "Websense," that is intended to find and eliminate stolen illustrations improperly posted to blogs, made off with the photograph of the town crier attached to last Sunday's Roundup. Fair enough. But it also took down my profile picture, taken by me and, I presumed, owned by me. Very strange. Perhaps I am wrong and I did steal this photograph of myself from someone else. I would be grateful to anyone who can explain this phenomenon, but until then, I will simply assume that it is the patriarchy doing its insidious work once again.

I have, however, replaced the stolen picture of myself which I apparently do not own with an informal shot of J. Edgar Hoover, taken in Miami Beach, which I am quite sure I do own (or at least in a limited way), since I paid Corbis-Bettman a fortune for it. So until I can find a new picture of myself, in the immortal words of Joan Crawford, "Don't fuck with me, fellas."

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1 See John Stoltenberg, “The Profeminist Men’s Movement: New Connections, New Directions,” a speech given at the 13th National Conference on Men and Masculinity, Seattle University, July 8, 1988; reprinted in Changing Men, #20, Winter/Spring 1989, 7-9.