Abstract
In this paper, I argue that anti-feminist backlash at Canadian universities is fuelled by, and has a significant impact on, anti-violence efforts on campus and, in particular, whether and how they engage with male students and normative constructions of masculinity.
Highlights
Over the past decade, sexual violence has become the subject of heightened public attention and calls for action in Canada and beyond, as evidenced by the popularity of #MeToo (Bogen et al 2019) and the response to high profile cases such as Jian Ghomeshi (D. Phillips 2017). is momentum has been partic ularly visible at Canadian universities and, in the context of ongoing student activism, five provinces have recently passed legislation mandating the cre ation of sexual violence policies and expanded insti tutional response mechanisms
I argue that antifeminist backlash is not part of the context in which contem porary antiviolence activism is unfolding in Canada but rather that it is fuelled by, and has a significant impact on, antiviolence efforts on campus, and, in particular, whether and how they engage with male students and normative constructions of masculinity
While this is by no means an exhaustive account of antifeminist backlash at Canadian universities, this paper begins to unpack the dynamic relationship between backlash and efforts to address sexual viol ence on campus
Summary
Sexual violence has become the subject of heightened public attention and calls for action in Canada and beyond, as evidenced by the popularity of #MeToo (Bogen et al 2019) and the response to high profile cases such as Jian Ghomeshi (D. Phillips 2017). is momentum has been partic ularly visible at Canadian universities and, in the context of ongoing student activism, five provinces have recently passed legislation mandating the cre ation of sexual violence policies and expanded insti tutional response mechanisms. Issue 41.1 / 2020 to the perception that specific feminist efforts are threatening the status quo (Faludi 2006) In this pa per, I argue that contemporary antifeminist backlash conforms to this definition to the extent that it re sponds, at least in part, to the perceived success of feminist activism in raising public awareness and passing provincial legislation on the issue of campus sexual violence. As BanetWeiser (2018, 33) points out, be cause “the legacy of patriarchy legitimates misogynistic arguments as common sense,” they can be converted into policy and legal discourse “with terrible effi ciency.” Examples of this version of antifeminism abound, ranging from opinion columns in main stream Canadian media I conclude that this backlash shapes what can be said and done about sexual violence on university campuses, and in partic ular, about its gendered nature, in ways that may ulti mately impact the potential effectiveness of antiviolence efforts
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