Terrorism and the cultural tradition of male violence
On Bastille Day, France's national holiday, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a truck through a crowd killing 84 people. The country's third attack in 18 months, the incident has many wondering about the underlying causes of such terrorism.
Helen Forsey from Pooch Cove, Nfld., is a mother and grandmother who has observed the relationship between violence and maleness prevalent across cultures, and feels it may play a part in these acts of terrorism. She shared her concerns with Checkup guest host Asha Tomlinson.
On terrorism, maleness and violence
In regards to the root causes of terrorism, I agree that there's many causes, but the one factor that I don't hear anyone mentioning is the link made across many cultures over the centuries between maleness and violence.
I have two sons and two grandsons and I know that male babies are not born violent—I know that for sure. It's cultural. In many cultures, to be a man is to be ready to put up your fists to fight or whip out your gun, and that's so wrong.
There is this idea that to be manly you have to be violent, or you have to be ready to be violent. Men have been saddled with violence one way or another through the centuries in war, wreaking violence on other men, women, and children. In domestic cases of violence, the majority of perpetrators have been men. It's very much a cultural thing and it has nothing to do with biology.
On preventing violence early
As far as what needs to be done about it, all of us need to be aware of this pattern and delink maleness from violence. Let's make sure that no little boy grows up thinking that to be manly you have to be ready to use your fists or your gun.
Whenever that stuff comes up we must make sure that we say that isn't about being a man. That's the way some people and often it's been males have behaved but it doesn't make you a man. In fact, you're a much better man if you don't opt for violence.
Additional reading on gender and violence
I want to mention that these ideas aren't just mine. Before 9/11 a book came out that was brilliant and very brave by Robin Morgan called "Demon Lover: On the Sexuality of Terrorism" and it's well worth reading. The book is a bit complicated, but reading it in the aftermath of 9/11 and the things that happened since is very thought provoking. I hope that some of the researchers on terrorism who are doing the academic work, the ordinary people, and the people in the media, will consider male violence as one of the many complex factors of terrorism and try and do more. This is something that each of us can do at the very immediate, personal level: delinking maleness from violence.
Helen Foresey's comments have been edited and condensed. This online segment was prepared by Champagne Choquer.