Interview with Juan Manuel Feito Guerrero, will be in charge of preparing and delivering the workshop 'Pedagogical Tools to Work with Adolescent Boys on Equality and Masculinity’
- What is your job with teenage males about, and what is the purpose of these courses and workshops you teach?
I basically listen to their experiences as men, young men, and their opinions. I try to create an atmosphere of trust by ensuring respect among them and from me to them. That is why I assure them that I will not judge or devalue what they say. I usually have something appreciative to say to each one and I try to make them all feel that their presence and contributions matter to me. In my opinion, these conditions are fundamental to encourage the boys to participate openly and sincerely. We deal with personal issues, and intimate matters often arise... that is my goal.
I am just another member of those groups, in the sense that we share the fact of being men. To focus on the subject and to bring them to the gender perspective from the male viewpoint, I explain about my educational work and that of our association, Piper Txuriak. I talk to them about the most basic features of male conditioning... of the male-"blue box" into which society and culture place us, limiting our lives, telling us how we should behave and think. All this at a very basic level, and in short doses. My "toolbox" includes short audiovisual aids, exercises, phrases and statements from traditional patriarchal masculinity, etc. With these resources, I intend to motivate them to intervene. Then, a lot of listening and tolerance on my part.
- Do they display interest in this subject? What do they think of these workshops?
Yes, most of them show quite a bit of interest. But I have to earn that because that is not the starting point. Keep in mind that this is a rather unusual and unknown subject. Not only that, but many of them often resist everything that smacks of equality and feminism (we should review how these messages and subjects reach them when we raise them). There is a great lack of knowledge about these issues and a lot of influence from the traditional macho discourse. When they experience the workshop, several usually ask me whether I will be coming back.
- What motivated you to take on this line of work?
Actually, I enjoy interacting with young people, and I always find it a privilege and a pleasure to be in this unique position of entering classrooms and meeting groups of youths through the role I play. I learn a lot by figuring out an effective way of conveying my message to them, finding a way through their resistance and mistrust, and I learn a lot also by listening to their lives and thoughts on these issues. It is a rewarding job and every minute that I invest in it transforms me as a person and helps me to better understand the reality of men. It brings me down to earth... technical or academic terms are no good with them. They force me to be honest, upright and clear, that is the key to open the door to me.
- Can you tell us something about yourself regarding your background in the field of equality and masculinity?
We founded the Men's Association for Equality 'Piper Txuriak' in 2009, and since then I have been coordinating the association, attending to the various requests that come our way, and providing a wide variety and range of activities to raise awareness. At the same time, I have worked as an equality agent for the Deusto-San Ignacio Psycho-Social Assistance Module focusing on deconstructing dominant patriarchal hegemonic masculinity and the elimination of sexism.
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