Men's project promotes new masculinity

What does it mean to be a man?

Senior Jackson Cabell has been leading an effort to answer that question since his freshman year of high school.

“[Unhealthy social standards of] masculinity [are] a prevalent problem that people overlook,” Cabell said. “The pressure men feel to conform to this single stereotype of what masculinity is results in social inequity and self consciousness.”

Cabell has put his beliefs into practice as leader of the “I Am a Man” project at Chapel Hill High School.

The goal of the project is to promote the idea that men do not have to conform to the patterns of society in order to be manly.

Chapel Hill High School alumnus Will McInerney founded the project after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He recruited members from the college and three high schools in the district.

In 2012, during Cabell’s freshman year, McInerney asked English teachers to select male leaders for high school chapters of the project.

Cabell said he was selected by then-English teacher Sara Botelho because he participated a lot in class.

Last year, McInerney turned leadership of the high school chapter over to Cabell, but stayed

Cabell said the single perception about masculinity he most wants to challenge is suppressing emotion.

“Stereotypically, it is not considered masculine for men to show emotion unless it is in the form of violence,” Cabell said.

Different members of the club joined for varying reasons.

“I joined the project because I strongly support gender equality and feminism, and I thought that being in a group dedicated to those things could be a great way to help spread around important messages about masculinity, femininity, and gender roles,” senior Finn Weber said.

Members of the project are planning a visit to Smith Middle School this December, where they will visit classes and encourage a more flexible definition of masculinity.

The club is also planning to create promotional videos that will feature members of the club interviewing people on the street in Chapel Hill and asking them questions about their views on masculinity.

The Chapel Hill Men’s project meets every Monday in English teacher Michael Irwin’s room during lunch. Cabell encourages all people who identify as males that want to make a difference to contact him about joining the project.

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