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Southbank festival asks: What is it like to be a modern man? Southbank festival asks: what is it like to be a modern man?
(about 1 hour later)
Are you a man who watches internet porn, covets a classic car and worries way too much about whether you come across as, well, too blokey? A new festival could be for you.Are you a man who watches internet porn, covets a classic car and worries way too much about whether you come across as, well, too blokey? A new festival could be for you.
All those subjects and more will be raised at a newly announced Being a Man weekend of talks and debates at the Southbank Centre.All those subjects and more will be raised at a newly announced Being a Man weekend of talks and debates at the Southbank Centre.
Jude Kelly, the centre's artistic director who came up with the idea, yesterday acknowledged there will be men who would rather run a country mile before debate what it's like to be a man. But she promises it does not have to be "embarrassingly touchy feely". She added: "It isn't all about unpacking your personal feelings. I think men are interested in hearing from each other, just as women are." Jude Kelly, the centre's artistic director who came up with the idea, acknowledged there would be men who would run a mile rather than debate what it is like to be a man. But she promises it does not have to be "embarrassingly touchy feely". She added: "It isn't all about unpacking your personal feelings. I think men are interested in hearing from each other, just as women are."
The idea sprang from the Women of the World Festival that Kelly began at the Southbank Centre four years ago which often became a forum where "men were constantly talked about - but they weren't present to talk". The idea sprang from the Women of the World festival that Kelly began at the Southbank Centre four years ago, which often became a forum where "men were constantly talked about – but they weren't present to talk".
"I've got a 23-year-old son I love, an ex-husband I love, a partner I love, a father I love. It just seemed to me lots and lots of men were searching for how do you live life as a modern man," she said."I've got a 23-year-old son I love, an ex-husband I love, a partner I love, a father I love. It just seemed to me lots and lots of men were searching for how do you live life as a modern man," she said.
The full programme will be announced in the new year but so far includes Billy Bragg and Nick Hornby on the pros and cons of blokey-ness; Grayson Perry on maleness and why men need to sit down for their rights; the theatre director and writer Topher Campbell on being a gay black man; and Martin Daubney, the former editor of Loaded magazine investigating porn and the brain. The full programme will be announced in the new year but so far includes Billy Bragg and Nick Hornby on the pros and cons of blokey-ness; Grayson Perry on maleness and why men need to sit down for their rights; the theatre director and writer Topher Campbell on being a gay black man; and Martin Daubney, the former editor of Loaded magazine, investigating porn and the brain.
Daubney said: "Is there really a 'crisis of masculinity', or have men been told it so many times we actually believe it? Can men even celebrate masculinity without being tried for misogyny?"Daubney said: "Is there really a 'crisis of masculinity', or have men been told it so many times we actually believe it? Can men even celebrate masculinity without being tried for misogyny?"
Other contributors include news reader Jon Snow. He said: "It sure is time to talk about men: men and change; men and women; and why many men fear both change and women!" Other contributors include the newsreader Jon Snow. He said: "It sure is time to talk about men: men and change; men and women; and why many men fear both change and women."
Kelly said she had staged a series of 'think ins' involving 250 men and they "all said they rarely had an opportunity to share dilemmas and hear from other men what their dilemmas were". Kelly said she had staged a series of "think ins" involving 250 men and they "all said they rarely had an opportunity to share dilemmas and hear from other men what their dilemmas were".
Some men perhaps feel threatened by women's march towards equality. Kelly said: "There has to be some element of men feeling they are supported and appreciated for being a man. I don't think women's equality equals men being diminished.Some men perhaps feel threatened by women's march towards equality. Kelly said: "There has to be some element of men feeling they are supported and appreciated for being a man. I don't think women's equality equals men being diminished.
"I just think it is a good time to allow men permission to talk about anything.""I just think it is a good time to allow men permission to talk about anything."
And it's not about men becoming more feminist, she said. "It is about men learning more about each others concerns and interests and debating it." And it's not about men becoming more feminist, she said. "It is about men learning more about each others' concerns and interests and debating it."
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