At Phallacies, we know that men have a vital role to play in actively fighting harmful messages about masculinity and what it means to be a man. We are here to support one another in rejecting sexism and violence and creating healthy masculinities and strong communities.
THE EPIDEMIC
The United States is struggling to grapple with an epidemic of violence. Every 1.6 minutes, someone is sexually assaulted. Every 2.5 minutes, someone takes a bullet—and one in three of them die. And the perpetrators of sexual violence and gun violence are overwhelmingly men.
Mainstream messages about masculinity hurt people of all genders, including men ourselves. Research has shown that the more overtly a man accepts these messages, the more likely he is to be violent, drive unsafely, refuse to use condoms, carry weapons, engage in high-risk drinking and drug use, and other unhealthy and dangerous behaviors.
In order for change to happen, men must be active participants in charting a new course—helping each other recognize and change unhealthy behaviors and reverse these numbers.
HOW WE WORK
Phallacies started as a group of men who wanted to engage in deep conversations about masculinity and change the way that we—and our wider communities—understood and experienced it. We began sharing our stories with each other, and those stories turned into performance peices that we took to the stage in order to share them with others. Our experiences were transformative.
Dialogue and theater arts are powerful tools to unlock awareness and empower change. We create space to compare stories and foster understanding across lines of race, class, culture, ability, sexuality, and other identities, and build a community of men who can actively support each other in challenging unhealthy behavior in ourselves and other men in our lives.
Now Phallacies is working to bring this model to other schools, groups, and communities. We provide trainings, workshops, and presentations that are transformative in their own right, and we are also hoping to kickstart Phallacies chapters in other schools and community organizations via consultation and program development. Learn more!
