The Gender Equity Center hosted a “Women Who Lead” panel on Tuesday in the Student Wellness Lounge at San Jose State.
A panel of five sat at the front of the room with three female leaders and two male ally leaders at SJSU.
“I believe it’s important for folks with privilege to dismantle systems,” said Chris Yang, director of the MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center.
As a cisgendered male, Yang said while it is easy to believe that, it is usually people being oppressed in society who take a stance against the system. He added that those with privilege have a responsibility to help.
“I do believe that toxic masculinity is one of the most problematic things in our planet,” said Yang. “It leads to a lot of violence, it leads to a lot of problematic results.”
Yang challenged men, who are looking to be advocates for women, to reflect on themselves and their actions.
“Be willing to challenge your own biases. We’ve all been socialized with a patriarchal system, which means we all have preconceived notions about what it means to be a leader,” said Yang.
Jordan Webb, student engagement coordinator for SJSU, also spoke about his role in being an advocate and supporter for the women around him.
“I thought of two different statements as far as being a male advocate: One, knowing that you don’t know, and you can never truly understand the experiences of a woman,” said Webb.
Instead, Webb said men need to provide women a platform to share their experiences, so that men’s perspectives can be enhanced.
“[The second statement is] knowing there are times you are going to be wrong,” said Webb. “I think the default position is to double down, ignore it or get upset.”
Webb explained that patriarchy is deep rooted, so it might not be a conscious decision for a man to do things that are hurtful to the women around them.
“But by someone calling you into that conversation, as [Associated Students President Ariadna Manzo] was saying, they’re giving you that chance to take a reflective note,” said Webb.
Webb encouraged men to embrace the confrontation and take it as a vehicle for societal change and personal development.
Manzo also commented on bringing more men into the conversation of gender equality.
“If we want to call men into the conversation, we need to stop calling them ‘trash,’ ” said Manzo. “We have to have those [meaningful] conversations.”
Manzo explained that having men be a part of those conversations includes confronting problematic sexist behavior, which condemns the action, rather than the person.
“Maybe it’s explaining to them what trash is, but not calling them ‘trash,’ ” said Manzo. “Because it’s not about the person, it’s about the action. So we need to focus more on the action.”
In response to that, Yang said men should respond to being called “trash” by using it as an opportunity for self-reflection.
“Think more so along the lines of like, ‘Oh, I screwed up. How can I do better next time?’" Yang said.
