TO THE EDITOR:
The UNC Men’s Project is proud to join the University in celebrating body politics week.
The purpose of the Men’s Project is not to detract from the voices of women and other groups, but to recognize our responsibility in ending patriarchy and all of its accompanying violence, objectification and inequality. Men must speak out in support of the women and other individuals who have been leading the way for the last century. We hope that men will come to see themselves as natural allies of the feminist movement. The way our society has constructed the current state of body politics is constricting and damaging for all people, including men.
We live in a society that tells us that some bodies are more valuable than others, and that some individuals have less power over their own bodies than others.
The “powers that be” (white, cisgendered, heterosexual males) have crafted a system in which their own power — be it legal, economic, or personal — is written upon and reinforced within everyone’s bodies. This materializes in everything from birth control legislation to Top 40 song lyrics.
By engaging in body politics, we challenge power imbalances, affirm every person’s worth regardless of their identity and strive for a world whose institutions and attitudes reflect this dedication to equality— a world where each person loves and has full autonomy over their own body.
As we strive, let us remember that people are not issues; they are people.
If this resonates with you, we invite you to come to the Stone Center Auditorium tonight at 7 p.m.
