In November 2004, after sixteen years of training women for gender equity, the Institute of Women’s Studies (IWS) turned its attention to men and ventured into a gender sensitivity training for men.  Believing that men’s understanding of the way women are oppressed as a sector of society, and their witting or unwitting participation is key to the equal rights and status between men and women, the Institute designed a three-day sensitivity course that sought to: (1) articulate the participants’ vision of society and identify the roles men

play in this, (2) revisit concepts of masculinity and how this contribute to gender inequity, (3) analyze the male journey and discover the etiology of their manhood, and (4) reconstruct manhood to become more gender sensitive.
 

The training was held at the organization’s Women and Ecology Wholeness Farm in Mendez, Cavite.  Facilitators included Dr. Bobby Mendoza of De la Salle University’s Psychology Department, who discussed the sexuality, roles and scripts of males; Prof. Johnathan Rondina of Mass Communications Department of St. Scholastica’s, who tackled media and male construction; and Fr. Percy Bacani, MJ of the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies whose module explored archetypes and dominant male images, and the so-called “post-patriarchal man.”  An equally important part of the training was the evenings, which became a venue for male-bonding between the participants when the men freely shared their inner selves and their personhood — aside from their work. The highlight of the training was the song analysis on the last day of the “Superman” theme of the television series Smallville.  The music video included images of men embracing their children and other scenes that affirm men’s emotions and humanity.
 

The participants during the male-bonding and sharing of experiences activity

The training concluded with a liturgy prepared by Lilith Usog where participants wrote on lotus-shaped paper personal pledges. These were folded, and then set on the pond to float on the water. The lotus petals of the pledges opened as soon as they touched the water, portending their fruition.  The next gender sensitivity training for men is scheduled for March 2005. n