Preventing Sexual
Violence on Campuses
Across Ohio
Alex Leslie
Men Can Stop Rape
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
Welcome
• What is Men Can Stop Rape?
• Positive approach
• Focus on Masculinity
• Sustained Work
• What is Primary Prevention?
Why is rape also a men’s issue?
• Men rape
• Men are raped
• Men know survivors
• Men are confined by rape, too
• Men Can Stop Rape
Dominant Stories of Masculinity
A dominant story as it relates to manhood is a narrative
representing the values and messages associated with a shared
understanding of what it means to be a man as defined by
traditional masculinity.
Examples of Dominant Stories
from Maxim Magazine Cover
Headlines
Sex Express!
How to spot the girl with the
condom in her purse
Two Billion Women… time to
Mind Control Made Easy!
get busy!
22 ways to make people do whatever
you want
Three Extra Inches Please!
Filthy Stinking Rich
Can surgery turn your toothpick
into a baseball bat?
Cash so quick it’s like stealing!
Any Woman Anytime
Border town brawlers fight for cash
and glory
8 pick-up tricks than never fail (we
bar-tested ‘em)
Mexican Gladiators
Take Down a Terrorist!
The tools and skills you need to take
control now!
Real Man & the Dominant Story
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Smart
Rich
No self control
Has an army to back him,
is an “Army of One”
Brags
Physically strong
Takes care of his own
Married
Wise
Straight/Homophobic
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White/Black
Self-made
Shows no emotions
Surrounded by women
Lots of sex
Demands respect
Takes up space
Invulnerable
Charitable
Has power over others
Proud to be an American
Definition of the Dominant Story of
Traditional Masculinity
A dominant story as it relates to manhood is a
narrative representing the values and
messages associated with a shared
understanding of what it means to be a man
as defined by traditional masculinity.
The “Strongest Man You Know”
Exercise
• Who is the Strongest Man you
personally know or knew?
• What are the attributes that made him
a Strong Man?
• How did he show strength through his
interactions with other people?
Appreciating the Positive Counterstories
that Already Exist
Strong men are…
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Considerate
Caring
Good fathers
Good partners
Able to Take care of us
Good listeners
Empathetic
Able to Provide for us
Able to Overcome hardship
Generous
Able to change
Able to admit mistakes
Able to stand up for what
they believe
Using the Counterstory to Overcome
Barriers and Challenge the Dominant
Stories
A counterstory is a narrative that resists the
values and expectations of masculinity’s
dominant stories and therefore represents a
moral shift.
--Adapted from Hilde Nelson’s Damaged Identities,
Narrative Repair
The Masculinity Tightrope…
Dominant Stories
Tough
Unemotional
Always in charge
Using force
Does whatever it takes
Counterstories
Responsible
Owns up to mistakes
Sacrifices for others
Good listeners
Able to change
The Strength Approach
Moving beyond just
physical strength
to include…
…STRENGTH as
speaking from the heart
…STRENGTH as
speaking up for what’s
right
…STRENGTH as a commitment
to others and community
MCSR’s Approach:
The Social-Ecological Model
Bystander Intervention
What do you think?
___% of college men “report some level of
discomfort when men use terms like
‘bitch’ and ‘slut’ to refer to women.”
What do you think the percentage is?
What do you think?
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
81%
*Berkowitz, 2003
Bystander Interventions
You are at a party at a friend’s house and have had
a few drinks. You see a guy you know about to go
upstairs with a woman who is visibly drunk.
How would you want the men you work with to
respond in this situation?
What would YOU tell them to do in that situation?
Bystander Interventions
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Challenge and confront
Clarification and question
Involve authorities
Invoke position and responsibility
Group intervention
Discuss consequences
Intervention Continuum
What can men do…?
• Listen (to women) and talk (to men)
• Be an ally
• Speak up and speak out
• Challenge victim blaming
• Educate yourself further
• Know your local resources
Thank you!
www.mencanstoprape.org