Dear all,
we document here all 18 issues of the ‚Männerrundbrief‘ (newsletter for men). Also, we invited a former editor of the newsletter to present and classify its main ideas. We also document the final statement published in 2002 and set up a list of online resources dealing with masculinity.
The Männerrundbrief was published by left-wing radical men in Germany in 1993 for the first time. On the one hand, the starting point was an increasing and stronger debate about sexism, heterosexism, patriarchal structures, concrete accusations of rape or outings of rapists within radical communities. On the other hand, the steady growth of the small men’s movement contributed to the emergence of the newsletter.
The Männerrundbrief informed about a huge variety of topics such as (hetero-)sexism, (homo- and hetero-)sexuality, pornography, patriarchy, male violence, racism, classism, pedagogy, antimilitarism, left- and right-wing men’s movements, research around masculinity, therapy and intimacy between men.
We have the impression that younger generations are not familiar any more with the newsletter and the discussions in it. However, some of these debates are still (alarmingly) relevant and up to date.
By uploading the newsletter, the knowledge is now available to a broader audience. We hope that this opens up new opportunities to continue debates that have been neglected after the disappearance of the radical autonomous men’s movement.
Critical engagement with masculinity by cis-men has always been marginal, even within left-wing and emancipatory contexts. At the same time heterosexual cis-men are addressed quite successfully from right-wing ideology and initiatives (ranging from esoteric groups to conservative parties and neo-Nazi organizations). Critical reflections on masculinity, that also have been elaborated on in the Männerrundbrief, can act as a counterbalance against right-wing and masculinist identity politics.
Feel free to forward this and spread the word.
We hope you enjoy reading and discussing the Männerrundbrief.