THE MASCULINITY CONVERSATIONS: David Belt on Facilitating Men of Strength Clubs in Kansas City

We at Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR) believe that stereotypical masculinity (or any other term you might choose: traditional masculinity, hypermasculinity, hegemonic masculinity, dominant masculinity) is still too much the air that we breathe. It’s something we often take in automatically, unaware. As one of the significant sources of violence against women across the globe, as well as other forms of violence, and as an unconscious source of conflict for many men, stereotypical masculinity causes great harm when it goes unrecognized. We all benefit from consciously developing healthier, non-violent masculinities. The Masculinity Conversations is intended to raise our critical consciousness by talking about masculinity. Let’s get the conversation started.

Patrick McGann, MCSR’s Director of Strategy and Planning oversees the Men Can Stop Rape Masculinity Conversations. If you would like to take part, send him an email.

This conversation takes place with David Belt, who has been facilitating both middle and high school Strength Clubs (or what MCSR calls Men of Strength Clubs) in Kansas City for the last two years. He went through a MCSR training in DC preparing him to facilitate. David is also the coordinator of the Man Up! Program for the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA), which serves as the Kansas City rape crisis center. He has over 10 years of related experience, including working as a therapist.

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