Members of William Woods University's Multicultural Affairs Club have noticed some tension on campus along gender lines. With the goal of helping start dialogue on campus about harmful depictions in media, the club hosted a student discussion about masculinity stereotypes.
"We'd been seeing a lot of people having trouble with difficult dialogues," club member Anthony Bedford said. "(With the election), we came to a very vulnerable time in history."
Dozens of students, male and female, gathered in the Ivy Room in small groups. Club president Vickie Finn distributed markers and large sheets to each group and then facilitated the discussion.
"OK, list out every instance of violence you've seen in the media - TV, video games, whatever - over the last week and look for trends in them," she said.
Discussion was lively. At the end of each discussion session, the groups shared their findings, and Finn explained common trends.
"(The topic has) come up in club meetings, and I've heard some of the language used on campus," Finn said. "I want to make sure our campus atmosphere doesn't go to the wrong place."
Most of the discussion topics boiled down to listing stereotypes presented in the media regarding masculinity versus femininity. For example, one topic covered what's presented as male political issues versus female political issues.
"I think it sheds light on the stereotypical way of thinking," Bedford said. "I can stereotype you and not even know I'm doing it. Once you know the stereotypes, you can examine your own thinking."
Cyndi Koonse, the school's coordinator of multicultural affairs, said she was proud of the students for organizing the discussion.
"What's great about it is the opportunity for personal engagement with people whose views may differ," she said.
Overall, the students felt the discussion was useful.
"It's a reminder not to trust media," student Leana Smith said. "It shows that there are stereotypes, even if you aren't aware of them. And it actually got people talking, so that was nice."