Redefining Masculinity
Society & Culture, Practice & Voice

Redefining Masculinity: One Woman’s Righteous Rant Helps Men End Misogyny




In 2016, when Stacey Craig composed an angry rant on her cell phone titled “An Open Letter to Men in Power,” she could not have guessed that it would result in an educational experiment at All Souls that is still going strong two years later.

Stacey wrote the letter and posted it on Facebook after seeing a video clip of then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump riding up the escalator in Trump Tower. An elementary schoolgirl, later said to be 10 years old, was riding down. When their trajectories intersected, Trump asked the girl a question and she responded with a simple “Yes.” Then Trump voiced the words that set off a bomb in Stacey’s head.

“You’d better be nice to me. I could be dating you in 10 years,” the candidate said.

Watch Stacey’s testimonial delivered at All Souls on September 30.

Twin Inspirations

Stacey said she thought that it was horrible enough that Trump objectifies women. “But for a grown man to be looking at a girl and seeing her as an object to be dated, not as a child to be celebrated for being a child, that made my skin crawl,” Stacey said. “It was the last straw for me.”

Even before the revelations of #metoo, 2016 had been a year full of media stories about men’s violence against women. Sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, ongoing allegations against Catholic priests sexually abusing children, and the story of a judge who gave Brock Turner, a Stanford swimmer, a light sentence after he was convicted of raping an unconscious college woman; it had been a horrendous year.

As Stacey wrote what she called her “righteous rant,” the image of her own daughters,  Katherine and Elizabeth, then 15 years old, never left her mind. “This is not the culture that I want them to grow up in. I don’t want them to come of age around men who are misogynistic, who will not look at them as individuals who are competent and worthy,” Stacey said.

Redefining Masculinity and Good Timing

Brian Turner
Brian Turner

One of her Facebook friends who responded positively to Stacey’s open letter was Brian Turner, a 74-year-old who was active in the leadership of the Men of All Souls group. After reading it on Facebook, Brian wrote that the Men’s Group was looking for a project and maybe they could help teach men to not be misogynistic.

Stacey said that it was humbling to her that Brian took her rant to heart and did something with it. “He saw it as a call to action. That was incredible,” she said.

Stacey’s letter and Brian’s response were posted to the closed Facebook page “Tulsa Feminists Unite!” where the education coordinator for DVIS, Samantha Wade-Jenkins, saw them. (DVIS is Domestic Violence Intervention Services.) Samantha wrote to Brian that she’d like to help facilitate a class. “When I saw the exchange on Facebook, I was struck by Brian’s willingness to tackle a difficult subject and redirect the usual focus on how women should behave to focusing on how men can help,” Samantha recalled.

Brian said he was relieved when Samantha volunteered her services because the men didn’t have to create curriculum from scratch. Samantha also brought in Shawn Jackson, another DVIS coordinator. Brian and a few leaders from the Men’s Group changed the course’s name from “Misogyny for Men,” a title Brian jokes about now, to “Redefining Masculinity.” As the course enters its third semester, the emphasis has changed from preventing violence to prevention of the emotional, financial, and verbal abuse of women.

2016 What Women Experience presented by Redefining Masculinity program

Register for Redefining Masculinity & join the conversation at Take Two on #MeToo

The 2018-19 session of Redefining Masculinity starts Wed., Sept. 12 and will meet until Wed., Nov. 14. The Redefining Masculinity class will host another panel discussion about women’s experiences with misogyny called ‘Take Two with #MeToo on Sun., Sept. 16 at 1 p.m.

This six-women panel discussion, led by Sarah Darby, will continue the #MeToo conversation to build bridges of greater understanding. This event is presented by the Redefining Masculinity program with opening remarks from Rev. Barbara Prose. The Men of All Souls group sponsors Redefining Masculinity.

Stacey, Samantha, and Brian are all gratified with the long-term results of Stacey’s rant. Brian said he has realized the “depth and perniciousness of the acculturation that we men, especially men my age, have been through.”

“Although I’ve been with the course for two years, I’m still always just one sentence away from expressing my white-male privilege. It’s the elevator music of my life, I don’t really notice it, but it’s happening in my head all the time. Redefining Masculinity has given me the awareness that I needed and I hope it will do the same for others, ” Brian said.


Cover image: Stacey Craig and her daughters, Elizabeth (L) and Katherine (R). Photo courtesy of Stacey Craig. 

Sallie Godwin is a regular contributor to beyondbelief.online. Read more from Sallie, including her story about All Souls food ministry, Moveable Feast. You can find her personal blog at salliegodwin.com.

Brian Turner shared his experiences with beyondbelief.online during the first Redefining Masculinity class. Check out his post, There’s Something Happening Here.

Read Stacey Craig’s An Open Letter to Men in Power

Watch Stacey’s testimonial delivered at All Souls on September 30.

4 Comments

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