Internationally recognized educator, author and filmmaker Dr. Jackson Katz will lead a workshop on Nov. 16 in the Kirkhof Center.

According to the event flyer, “Men, Masculinity and the Media” is “an interactive training to inspire men and women to work together to prevent abusive attitudes and behaviors.”

“We would hope a participant would walk away with the inspiration to make a difference either at the micro or macro level,” said Jo Ann Wassenaar, associate director of the Women’s Center.

Lesley Coghill, DELTA project organizer, emphasized the importance of education in a largely relationship-based community.

“Sharing Jackson Katz’s message with college students and the college community is a vital step in promoting safe, respectful and non-violent relationships,” said Coghill, a social worker at the Center for Women in Transition. “Through our DELTA Project program, we frequently collaborate with the GVSU Women’s Center and Eyes Wide Open to provide training and events that positively impact the college community and support the prevention of dating violence and sexual assault.”

Charisse Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Women in Transition, said Katz advocates that the burden of domestic violence is not for women to carry alone.

“He argues that they are men’s issues, about which all men should be educated and active, especially men in positions of family, community, professional and political leadership,” Mitchell said. “He will share strategies for inspiring men, young men and boys to work in collaboration with women to change the social norms that tolerate or condone some men’s sexist or abusive behaviors. He will also discuss media literacy in the prevention of gender violence and bullying.”

Katz co-founded the multi-racial, mixed-gender Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program, at Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. MVP is the first large-scale attempt to enlist high school, collegiate and professional athletes in the fight against all forms of men’s violence against women.

With a Master’s Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Ph.D. in cultural studies and education from UCLA, Katz created the award-winning education film “Tough Guise” and authored the recently released book “The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help.”

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