EVENT DATE: 14th October 2022
ABSTRACT DEADLINE: 31st July 2022

Recent social movements #metoo, #timesup and #everyonesinvited, have catapulted the issue of harmful masculinities to the forefront of public consciousness. And rightly so - men’s violence is one of the biggest single health risks facing women, girls and people of marginalised genders. Meanwhile, suicide is the biggest killer of men under 40, and men and boys also experience violence, including sexual harms, though overwhelmingly perpetrated by other men. Men and boys are also more likely to be criminalised, experience homelessness and drug dependence and are less likely to seek help than their peers raised as girls. For boys and young men of colour, working class, trans boys and gender non-conforming people these harms/risks can be magnified.

So what’s up, what’s good and what’s next for men, boys and masculinity? How do we end male violence and challenge the harmful masculine norms and cultures that harm people of all genders? Should masculinity be re-done, undone, left alone or sidestepped entirely?

This multidisciplinary, conference-event will be a space to share, showcase, troubleshoot and reflect on the inspiring work and research that’s going on in this area and offer a space to meet, network and connect with people engaged in this crucial work.

We invite expressions of interest - a title and max 250 word proposal - for workshops, talks, panel and poster sessions and creative interventions (see definitions of these below) around the following themes:

- Activism: mental health/gender equality
- Theorising/rethinking/redoing/undoing masculinity/ies
- Ending gender-based violence
- Trans and queer masculinities/masculinity and transition
- Intersections of race, racism, masculinity
- Digital masculinities/Work with boys around/through technology
- Men’s health, mental health, suicide and suicide prevention
- Ritual and rites of passage
- Sport - engaging boys and young men through sports and movement
- Intimacy, loneliness and anxiety
- Sex, sexuality and porn
- Fathering/Parenting/Raising boys and being a young dad.

For all of the above themes, we invite contributions that reflect on practice, activism and/or research. We are interested in the challenges of and insights in work with boys and young men in practice - AND what this means for how we think about young masculinities.


Definitions:

Workshops:  30mins - 1hr. A chance for people to experience the work you do. This can be hands-on, practical, involving movement, music, art… let’s keep it interesting and outside the box.

Presentations: A 15-20min talk with or without slides on your topic of choice whether theoretical or practical, reflecting on projects past and/or proposing ways forward.

Poster: An A1 printed poster showcasing your work/idea. Poster sessions will be informal - the presenter will stay by the poster while participants walk around and stop to chat by a poster that sparks their interest

Panel Session - A grouping of 3-5 presentation abstracts around a theme. You pull together the team, theme and host the session.

Stall - For organisations working with men and boys. For booksellers with books and zines on the topic.

Creative Interventions - Maybe you'd like to bring a poem, song, dance... Surprise us.