We all need support and encouragement to be aware of what we think, what we say, and what we do. Notice your opinions. If you find yourself becoming aggressive about your opinions, notice that. If you find yourself becoming nonaggressive, notice that. Cultivating a state of mind that does not grasp at right and wrong, you will find a fresh state of being. The ultimate cessation of suffering comes from that.
-Ani Pema Chödrön
We invite anyone interested in furthering sexual and gender equality within society to participate in an informal discussion group to study men’s issues. We are interested in learning and discussion, commit to actively confronting hatred and misinformation, and believe no idea is beyond scholarly inquiry. We are mostly students, and meet bimonthly in a colloquial manner. We welcome all those interested in the worth and dignity of every member of society.
Contact info@equalitycanada.com
Statement of purpose
Recognizing that:
the mortality rate due to suicide among men is 4 times the rate among women;
Canadian men, on average, live 5 years fewer than Canadian women;
Canadian men only account for 40% of university graduates;
We believe that a discussion of the distinctive needs and problems of boys and men is a necessary, yet underdeveloped, area of interest to students and scholars committed to furthering sexual and gender equality within society. Our immediate goal is to foster free exploration of these needs and problems, including physical and mental health, collective identity, societal functions, expectations, biases, academic underachievement, misogyny, misandry, and suicide.
Anyone – regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family status, ethnicity, creed, age, or disability- will be welcome. Our group will provide opportunities for discussion, workshops and seminars on topics such as sexual and gender equality from the perspective of boys and men, the collective identity of men, the history of men, how laws and law-enforcement policies affect men, the future of fatherhood, the functions of masculinity and the male body.
We recognize that misogyny is a problem, just as misandry is, and commit to actively confronting misinformation and hatred in all forms. Our group will promote learning and discussion, on both moral and scholarly grounds, however, it will challenge those doctrines in ideological forms that promote or tolerate misandry. This is in keeping with our conviction, as students, that no idea is beyond scholarly inquiry. We are presented with a unique opportunity to explore men’s needs and problems critically and carefully, without simply confirming conventional wisdom or any other kind of orthodoxy.
Our ultimate goal is the creation of a men’s resource centre focused on providing opportunities for discussion and advancing education through a lending library of literary and multimedia resources. Guaranteeing financial stability will largely concern matching the expenses of events (printing posters and paying speakers, etc) with their respective revenue (admissions and sponsorship, etc). Our hope is to cooperate with women’s and minority-issues groups, using cooperative working relationships to accomplish our shared goals.
We sincerely believe that the goal of sexual equality and respect for the rights of all people is best served by conducting inclusive conversations that invite discussion. Many of these conversations take place in the McGill community through exemplary clubs and collectives dedicated to raising awareness of issues faced by women and gender minorities in contemporary society. We, in aspiring to sexual equality, believe that McGill provides a perfect platform for our society, as with all those interested in the worth and dignity of every member of society. At the heart of our project is an affirmation of human rights as understood by the United Nations– acknowledging dignity as a universal human right that rests on acknowledgment of the common humanity that binds all people. It is with this in mind that we affirm the value of sexual equality and all other forms of equality.