A leading men's group facilitator cites homophobia as among the reasons for increasing violence among New Zealand men. Dr Neville Robertson, Senior Lecturer in Community Psychology at Waikato University, has been facilitating men's groups for 15 years. He tells GayNZ.com the intense homophobia he sees there are part of a set of factors driving men's violence. Men fear being perceived as gay, and will get into violent situations to prove their ‘macho' quality, Robertson explains. “When challenged, many men think they must retaliate, so not to be seen as weak. “Very often in conversations with men who've been in violent situations, when I ask them ‘what would have happened if you hadn't retaliated?' the reply is something like ‘I'd be seen as a pussy'. Robertson sees ‘very intense' homophobic attitudes within men's groups. “Many do not see the need for gay people to have full human rights,” he observes. “As most, gay and lesbian people may ‘do their own thing', as long as they are not seen in public. The men's groups a very resistant to talking about LGBT visibility.” Robertson believes there are glimmers of hope for the future, however. “Young men now get more freedom than they had in the past. My son, for example, at 25, mixes in a context of a wider set of behaviours than I had at his age. He has a number of gay friends. He's growing up in a subculture I didn't have. “Visibility of gay and lesbian people at school is really important for all young people growing up. There are schools I know of at the moment where there's nothing there for LGBT people, and staff are concerned about the message that sends out.” More generally, men need a much more diverse range of models of masculinity, says Robertson. “We all need positive role models people can relate to, taking the fear and angst away.” Ref: GayNZ.com (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 5th October 2006 - 12:00pm