The Takeback: Meditations on Masculinity, Politics and Culture

The Takeback is the name of a new blog the focus of which is, as what my friend Ralph calls “the colonic” says, “A Meditation on Masculinity, Politics and Culture.” I am one of The Takeback’s contributors, though the only thing that’s up there right now is my bio. The editors–and this is an edited blog, which is exciting; I like working with editors–are insisting that we all use handles. Mine is Eagle Beak, a nickname I am reclaiming from my teen years, when my peers taunted me for having such a big, Jewish nose. The need for such a blog, the potential role it might fill in discussions of gender, politics and more is something we have discussed before here on Alas. So I’m hoping you will go and give The Takeback a try. This is from the About Us page:

Our Creed

The Takeback is a collective of diverse-minded, like-hearted males who each look at popular culture (music, faith, literature, politics, etc.) through a pro-feminist or male liberationist lens.  We see culture as both the problem of and the solution to oppression, and The Takeback as a tool to reexamine societal norms and shift the conversation to empower those of all gender identities.

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Our Manifesto

Take Back vt. /tak bak/  1. to make a retraction of (withdraw).  2. To regain ownership of (reclamation) To Abnegate.  Forswear.  Recant.  Renounce.  Repudiate.  Abjure.

The Takeback is most significant because it carries dual meanings.  In one instance, it means to retract something after thoughtful consideration.  Masculinity, or more specifically an abhorrent version of hegemonic masculinity, is responsible for disrupting the flow of commonality, community, and connectedness.  We can never fully take back (withdraw) all we’ve done to oppress the voices of others, but we can start to own up to our part.

Simultaneously, take backing also implies a regaining of something lost or stolen.  Alternative voices, like those heard in this blog, have only existed on the margins.  It’s time that we take back (reclaim) a masculinity that has been hijacked by those seeking to control marginalized people, especially women and gender non-conforming people.  But, we must always acknowledge the power of our words and our responsibility to use them for empowering others.  That is why we started The Takeback.

The Takeback is a meditation on the significant and the superfluous, the critical and the contrived, the tantalizing and the trite.  This is not your daddy’s blog (unless you are in elementary school).  We are advocates, artists, soldiers, counselors, athletes, politicians, entrepreneurs, parents, and teachers.  We are social critics, arm chair-anthropologists, believers, skeptics, free agents, free thinkers, street nerds, poets, and shameless self-promoters.

As we attempt The Takeback, we expect the push back.  No subject is off the table.  Music.  Politics.  Fiction.  Sports.  Religion.  Music.  Personal experience.  Family.  Consumerism. (oh, did we mention music?)  All we ask for is civil discourse.  We want you to be amused, informed, aghast, perplexed, persuaded, and convicted.  More importantly, we also want you to challenge, discuss, reflect, and change.  We invite you to participate in The Takeback.

I encourage you to check it out.