men

"Mahomed Kasim levelled the temple and its walls with the ground and circumcised the brahmins. The infidels highly resented this treatment, by invectives against him and the true faith. On which Mahomed Kasim caused every brahmin, from the age of seventeen and upwards, to be put to death; the young women and children of both sexes were retained in bondage and the old women being released, were permitted to go whithersoever they chose..."

"James Scurry, a British sailor, was taken prisoner by the French and was among the 500 British prisoners of war handed over to Haidar by the French Admiral Suffrein in June 1782. Scurry was barely sixteen years old then. After being lodged in Bangalore for a few months, he and several of his batch of prisoners were packed off to Srirangapatna. Here, after shaving off their heads, the unfortunate prisoners were to learn that Haidar had ordered for their forced circumcision and thereby a conversion to Islam. Scurry writes: ‘A mat, and a kind of sheet, was provided for each of us, wewere ordered to arrange ourselves in two rows, and then lie down on our mats. This being done, the guards, barbers . . . came among us, and seizing the youngest, Randal Cadman, a midshipman, they placed him on a cudgeree pot, when four of these stout men held his legs and arms, while the barber performed his office [circumcised him]. In this manner, they went through the operation, and in two hours, the “pious” work wasfinished, and we were laid on our separate mats.’56 Even as they lay writhing in pain and being fed a strong opiate, majum, priests were ushered in to instruct the ‘converts’ on the theology of their new faith and its tenets. The converted were then drafted into Haidar’s chela (slave) battalion. Their ears were pierced and a slave’s mark put on each of them. They were normally given excruciating tasks and many kept fainting while they did these. The chelas were bundled together in dank, dingy rooms, with little place to even breathe and surrounded by mounds of filth that was seldom cleaned. All of this led to the outbreak of numerous diseases and fatal epidemics.57 Scurry managed to escape only in 1791 and reached a small fort that was under Maratha control and thereafter joined a British detachment operating with the Maratha army near Dharwad. Another prisoner of war James Bristow recounts the horrific ritual of forcible conversion and circumcision that took place in September 1781 at the behest of one Sergeant Dempster whose name repeatedly occurs in all accounts as the collaborator conducting this act: This incident spread general terror amongst the rest of the prisoners, everyone apprehending that he might be the next victim devoted to Mahometism; nor were our fears groundless, for early in January 1782, the same persons entered our prison, accompanied by Sergeant Dempster, and made a second selection of fourteen, in which number I had the misfortune to be included. As Dempster was suspected of a share in this horrid business, at least so far as pointing out the objects on whom the choice ought to fall; every one of us were highly exasperated against him, and it was fortunate for him that he was protected by his guards. The treatment the first victim had undergone, served in some degree to apprise us of the inutility of resistance. With horror and indignation, we swallowed the narcotic potion, and those whom the dose had no effect upon, were forcibly seized and pinioned by stout coffres whilst the operation [circumcision] was performed (having previously shaved us in the customary manner). After the operation, our right ears were perforated and small silver rings with round knobs fixed in them, this being the mark of slavery amongst the Mahometans. As soon as we had recovered from this diabolical ceremony, we were transferred to what is termed the tyrant’s Chaylah battalions (that is, slaves), these are composed of such of his own subjects as have been condemned to perpetual slavery, and such unfortunate captives as he takes in war . . . after we had been made what was termed Musselmen, we neglected no opportunity of evincing our contempt for the religion of our tormentors, and the cruel force they had employed against us, by catching dogs and bandicoots and circumcising them publicly."

"During Malayalam Era 965 corresponding to 1789-90, Tipu Sultan crossed over to Malabar with an army of uncivilised barbarians. With a sort of fanatical love for Islamic faith, he destroyed many Hindu temples and Christian churches which were the custodians of precious wealth and religious traditions. Besides, Tipu Sultan abducted hundreds of people and forcibly circumcised and converted them to Islam - an act which was considered by them as more than death."

"The English prisoners also noted in their memoirs that they observed large numbers of Hindu boys and girls, too, being carried away from their homes and against the wishes of their parents, forcibly converted and married off at the whims of their captors. Recounting his experience from the dungeons in Srirangapatna on 10 March 1781, Captain Lindsay writes: ‘The greatest part of the houses and choultries [resting places for travellers] around us, we found, were full of multitudes of inhabitants of the Carnatic, all of whom Haidar had made embrace the Mahometan religion; about three- thousand of these unwilling proselytes, most of them being young men, were formed into different battalions, and were now exercised mornings and evenings upon the parade, upon the instructions of two or three Frenchmen . . . on another part of the parade there was about an equal number of women and girls, under the same description, confined together, and who we were informed, were reserved to be married to the boys, when they were grown up.’59"

"The reversion of Mangalore to the possession of Tipu was signalized by the forcible circumcision of many thousands of Indian Christians and their deportation to Seringapatam. A revolt in Coorg next year led to the same treatment of the greater part of the inhabitants the occasion being marked by Tipu's assumption of the tide of Badshah. ... A simultaneous rebellion occurred now in Coorg and Malabar, and the Sultan, passing through Coorg to quiet it, entered Malabar. Large parties of the Nairs were surrounded and offered the alternative of death or circumcision. ... Over 8,000 temples were also desecrated, their roofs of gold, silver and copper and the treasures buried under the idols amounting to many lakhs, being treated as royal plunder....His orders were, that 'every being in the district, without distinction, should be honoured with Islam; that the houses of such as fled to avoid that honour should be burned; that they should be traced to their lurking places, and that all means of truth and falsehood, fraud or force, should be employed' to effect their universal conversion. The following is a translation of an inscription on the stone found at Seringapatam, which was to have been set up in a conspicuous place in the fort:"Oh Almighty God! dispose the whole body of infidels! Scatter their tribe, cause their feet to stagger! Overthrow their councils, change their state, destroy their very root! Cause death to be near them, cut off from them the means of sustenance! Shorten their days! Be their bodies the constant object of their cares (i.e. infest them with diseases), deprive their eyes of sight, make black their faces (i.e. bring shame).""

"Tipu Sultan is probably the Muhammadan monarch who most systematically engaged in the work of forcible conversion.... early in 1789 Tipu Sultan prepared to enforce his proclamation (for conversion of Hindus) with an army of more than twenty thousand men.... Thousands of Hindus were accordingly circumcised and made to eat beef... most of the Brahmans and Nayars who had been forcibly converted subsequently disowned their new religion."

"'In consequence, the Hindus of Malabar had to suffer the most severe enormities the world had ever known in history' ... "When the second-in-line of Zamorins, Eralppad, refused to cooperate with Tipu Sultan in his military operations against Travancore because of Tipu's crude methods of forcible circumcision and conversion of Hindus to Islam, the enraged Tipu Sultan took a solemn oath to circumcise and convert the Zamorin and his chieftains and Hindu soldiers to Islamic faith.""

"Tipu imprisoned and forcibly converted more than a lakh Hindus and over 70,000 Christians in the Malabar region (they were forcibly circumcised and made to eat beef). Although these conversions were unethical and disgraceful, they served Tipu’s purpose. Once all these people had been cut off from their original faith, they were left with no option but to accept the very faith to which their ravager belonged, and they began to educate their children in Islam. They were later enlisted in the army and received good positions. Most of them morphed into religious zealots, and enhanced the ranks of the Faithful in Tipu’s kingdom. Tipu’s zeal for conversion was not limited only to the Malabar region. He had spread it all the way up to Coimbatore."

"Another British officer, who notes anonymously in his account, records many such details of forced conversion and circumcision of several English prisoners, as well as Hindu citizens, whom he calls the ‘Carnatic slave boys,’60 possibly captured in war. He notes that on 30 October 1781, ‘Duncan Macintosh and Donald Steward, privates, both of the 73rd Regiment, were forcibly taken out and circumcised.’61 On 19 June 1782, he records: ‘Arrived prisoners, fourteen European children, eight boys and six girls. It is reported that they were taken at Cuddalore.’62 Likewise, on 13 July 1782, ‘Arrived prisoners, five hundred Carnatic boys, in order to be made slaves, and to be entered into Haidar’s slave battalions.’63 Some of the youngest and handsomest boys were also selected and lodged at Haidar’s palace; some serving as dancing boys, others castrated as eunuchs.64 There are numerous such entries in this account, more like a diary, that records the making of slaves and forced conversions, right from Haidar’s time."

"Kozhikode was then a centre of Brahmins. There were around 7000 Namboodiri houses of which more than 2000 houses were destroyed by Tipu Sultan in Kozhikode alone. Sultan did not spare even children and women. Menfolk escaped to forests and neighbouring principalities. Mappilas increased many fold (due to forcible conversion).... "During the military regime of Tipu Sultan, Hindus were forcibly circumcised and converted to Muhammadan faith. As a result the number of Nairs and Brahmins declined substantially."

"But it was not only the Brahmans, who were thus put in a state of terror of forcible conversion, for, in this same month, a Raja of the Kshatriya family of Parappanad, also "Tichera Terupar (Trichera Thiruppad), a principal Nayar of Nelemboor (Nilamboor)” and many other persons, who had been carried off to Coimbatore, were circumcised and forced to eat beef. The Nayars in desperation, under those circumstances, rose on their oppressors in the south, and the Coorgs too joined in."

"The Mahomniedans are encouraged and exhorted to destroy all the emblems of idolatry they may see in Sinde. The degraded and unfortunate follower of Brahma, is denied the free exercise of his religion ; the tom-tom is seldom heard, being only beat when permission is granted ; and although there are a few temples without images at Hyderabad, the sound of music never echoes from their walls. It is in the power of any "true believers, by declaring that a Hindoo has repeated a verse from the Koran, or the words Mahommed the Prophet, to procure his immediate circumcision. This is the most common, and, by the persecuted class themselves, considered the most cruel of all their calamities ; while, as it is resorted to on the slightest pretence, and always performed with a mockery of its being for the eternal happiness of the sufferer, mental agony is made to add its bitterness to bodily infliction."

"It was at Kuttippuram, the head-quarters of the Kadattanad family, that this force surrounded 2,000 Nayars with their families in an old fort which they defended for several days. At last finding it untenable they submitted to Tippu’s terms which were “a voluntary profession of the Muhammadan faith, or a forcible conversion with deportation from their native land. The unhappy captives gave a forced assent, and on the next day the rite of circumcision was performed on all the males, every individual of both sexes being compelled to close the ceremony by eating beef.”"

"To begin the so much desired work of the conversion of the Hindoos and to seize on the Brahmins, ... and make them examples to the other inferior castes, in becoming Mussulmans, by suffering circumcision and being compelled to eat beef: accordingly many Brahmins were seized in or about the month of July 1788..."

"Cromwell Massey, who kept a secret diary during his captivity, wrote: "I lost with the foreskin of my yard all those benefits of a Christian and Englishman which were and ever shall be my greatest glory.""

"Tipu's proclamation created universal resentment and the whole country rose in rebellion. Fearing forcible conversion about 30,000 Brahmins alone fled to Travancore. The Kottayam and Kadattanand Rajas sought the English East India Company's protection. Calicut was attacked in November, 1788. Tipu's officers laid hands on the Karanavappad of Manjeri. The Nairs of Calicut and South Malabar headed by Ravi Varma and other princes of the Padinjare Kovilakam turned in despair on their oppressors. Tipu set 6,000 troops under M. Lally to raise the siege, but Ravi Varma could not be driven out of the field. Earlier, in 1789, Tipu himself came down to Malabar via the Tamarasseri Ghat to enforce his proclamation at the point of his sword. General orders were issued to his army that 'every being in the district without distinction should be burned, that they should be traced to their lurking places, and that all means of truth and falsehood, force or fraud should be employed to effect their universal conversion'. The Kadattanad Raja's fortified palace at Kuttipuram was surrounded and 2,000 Nairs, forced to surrender after a resistance of several days, were circumcised and regaled with beef. Several. Rajas and rich land owners fled to Travancore where the Dharma Raja rendered them all help to rehabilitate themselves in their new surroundings. The poor Nairs, however, retreated into the jungles and were relentlessly pursued by Mysorean troops. From their jungle homes the Nairs could engage themselves in a kind of guerrilla warfare against the enemy forces. Hence Tipu organised a regular and systematic Nair hunt with the help of his soldiers. He then proceeded to Cannanore and after celebrating the marriage of his son with the daughter of the Ali Raja, marched along the coast of Chowghat to overawe the native population by a show of his power. From there he retired to Coimbatore after making arrangements for the administrative reorganisation of the province and leaving a permanent army of occupation to frighten the population into passive submission.""

"Your two letters, with the enclosed memorandums of the Naimar (or Nair) captives, have been received. You did right in ordering a hundred and thirty-five of them to be circumcised, and in putting eleven of the youngest of these into the Usud Ilhye band (or class) and the remaining ninety-four into the Ahmedy Troop, consigning the whole, at the same time, to the charge of the Kilaaddar of Nugr…"

"I heard the following story from my father. There was an aristocrat, much respected (in his community). He enjoyed great credibility with the people. He was a middle class trader but people gave him great respect. His name was Ladar Mantji (Rudraman Ji?). He was summoned for circumcision, but he made humble supplication and feigned poverty. He requested that his head be tonsured in public, and a dependable witness be sent along with him to his house to verify that he had undergone circumcision. I did not accept his statement that he was a destitute. I opened his belt with my own hands and down came on the floor five golden coins concealed in his loincloth. I picked up the coins and asked him how these had come into his possession? He said he had brought these as a gift to be presented to me so that I allowed him to get circumcised in his own home. I tied the coins in one corner of his belt and made him sit with others in a special room to be called on his turn for circumcision."

"Thus all infidels, apostates and polytheists once again became Musulman. No person was left without circumcision or reciting the kelima. Infidels in villages and rural areas were also converted in the same manner. Only a very small group did not convert. Their fathers and forefathers had fled to Nagarkot during the reign of Sultan Sikandar, the Iconoclast. Some of them had settled in Kishtwar and others had fled to Jammu. As they had not converted to Islam, their descendants were spared the compulsion of conversion and were left in whatever condition they were"

"Ironically, the imperialist white-supremacist capitalist state, which claimed the black family would be healthier if black men headed households, had no difficult taking men away from households and sending them far away from families to wage war, to sacrifice their lives for a country that was denying them full citizenship. The Moynihan Report did not create gender warfare in black life; it simply validated the sexist beliefs of many African-American men and to a grave extent legitimized their efforts to subjugate black females."

"As a young Asian man, I shrank before white eyes. I wasn’t tall, I wasn’t fair, I wasn’t muscular, and so on. Combine that with the enormous insecurities any pubescent teenager feels, and I have no difficulty in knowing now why I felt naked before a mass of white people."

"What after all can the average young man, eager for action in the world of today, do? Duels, crusades, discoveries have come to an end. The "inner kingdom" of phantasy and imagination has been dried out by "sober thinking" or comics and movies. Naturally, there is religion and the Holy Folly of the Cross, there is intellectualism (the consolation of the intellect), there is alcohol and sex (the adventures of despair) or, finally, crime: the attraction of Blue Jaw Magoon's Purple Gang, the life of a "gorilla" or of an ace trigger man. The pent up energies of young man hood needs some sort of outlet in the stone deserts of Brooklyn, Detroit, or Chicago."

"To project ourselves into their final thoughts will require feelings about a special kind of death - the sudden death in fire of the young, elite, unfulfilled, and seemingly unconquerable. As the elite of young men, they felt more surely than most who are young that they were immortal."

"Equating talking about men with attacking others means that it’s safer to discuss negative aspects of masculinity than positive aspects, because that invites less confrontation. But there’s a lack of affirmative discussion about what we want boys and young men to grow up to be, and how we can empower young men to lead positive lives. A friend of mine is a lawyer who represents youth expelled from public schools… Most of the students she represents are male, and often these boys and young men get into trouble for fighting, inappropriate touching of girls, talking back to teachers, and generally disobeying the instructions of authority figures. My friend has recommended that schools and other organizations that work with male students try to develop programs and initiatives focused on encouraging healthy forms of masculinity. She believes more dialogue with boys about masculinity could help them mature and be more thoughtful about how they treat each other and their female classmates. But in response, she has been told that such initiatives would “promote patriarchy” and not be inclusive enough."

"Within the first month in prison, young men had to adapt in three different ways. Firstly, they had to adapt practically to life inside. There were a number of aspects of the prison about which they had to learn: they had to learn what they were entitled to and what they were not; what they were allowed to do in their cells and what they were not; and what time different events of the regime occurred, such as when they would be unlocked and for how long. They needed to know where to apply for employment within the prison or how to attend education, how to attend the gym or a church, or other religious services (for example, Friday prayers for Muslims). The canteen was another essential aspect of prison life: how much money could they spend and how did they go about spending it? They needed to know when they could shower, and how and when they could receive visits."

"By now, the abysmal patterns and statistics are so well known that they no longer evoke a sense of shock or disbelief. Black male youths are overrepresented in every educational category associated with failure (e.g. suspension and expulsion rates, dropout rates, special education placements, etc.) and underrepresented in every category associated with educational success. The patterns emerge early, even as early as preschool, and foreshadow those associated with adult Black males."

"They saw the growing peril to Britain and the rest of Europe but had no power to do anything about it. Most of them were under fifty; under normal circumstances, they and their contemporaries would now be moving into positions of influence and authority within the government. But there were far too few of them. Theirs was a lost generation, decimated by war. The other young men who likely would have shared their progressive views and their opposition to conciliating the dictators - their brothers, cousins, childhood friends, schoolmates - were lying in graves scattered throughout France and Belgium."

"The most important thing a young man ever does is to get ready. The key-note lasts to the end of the tune, and the foundation reaches clear to the finial. Beginnings are autocratic. No matter how long a man lives, he will never get away from his youth… A good many young men excuse themselves from ever becoming anything or doing anything by the fact that they always live where it is low tide. Perhaps that is because it is always low tide where they live. At any rate, the more I learn of the history of the men who have succeeded the more apparent it becomes that if they were born in low water they patched up their tattered circumstances and beat out to sea on a tide of their own making."

"Adolescent and young adult men do poorly on indicators of mental health evidenced by elevated rates of suicide, conduct disorder, substance use, and interpersonal violence… Evidence indicates that boys disconnect from health-care services during adolescence, marking the beginning of a progression of health-care disengagement and associated barriers to care, including presenting to services differently, experiencing an inadequate or poorly attuned clinical response, and needing to overcome pervasive societal attitudes and self-stigma to access available services."

"Every young man’s body is worth more to him than any fortune. He can squander it; he can waste it; he can throw it away. How can I burn into your minds and hearts the important duty of conserving this strength unless I make you understand what it costs to raise a boy? The wealth of [America] is not in the ground - it is above the ground. The most important wealth of this country is its manhood and womanhood."

"If the young transgender man finds himself on the wrong side of the law, this can be a very eye-opening experience for him, especially if he has socially transitioned and is living as male. He will be searched by female officers if he is taken into custody, and because the justice system has gender-specific juvenile detention centers, it may be that a young transgender man finds himself in a female prison if his anti-social behavior has increased to the point where he has been convicted of offenses. This will be a traumatising experience for a young transgender man, and has the possibility for severely impacting on mental health."

"And a very great evil has befallen a young man, when wicked men feel that they have a right to his acquaintance. When I see a gambler slapping a young mechanic on the back; or a lecherous scoundrel suffusing a young man’s cheek by a story at which, despite his blushes, he yet laughs; I know the youth has been guilty of criminal indiscretion, or these men could not approach him thus. That is a brave and strong heart that can stand up pure in a company of artful wretches, When wicked men mean to seduce a young man, so tremendous are the odds in favor of practiced experience against innocence, that there is not one chance in a thousand, if the young man lets them approach him. Let every young man remember that he carries, by nature, a breast of passions just such as bad men have. With youth they slumber; but temptation can wake them, bad men can influence them; they know the road, they know how to serenade the heart; how to raise the sash, and elope with each passion."

"As a group of young men in Riyadh point out, the easiest way to socialize with girls is through social media; thus if a young man wants to find a girlfriend, that is where he will look. In fact, most young men have girlfriends they found through social media, says one individual, but he stresses that they can rarely meet in public, He jokes that it is “top secret or like organized crime,” even though it is becoming more commonplace. According to an 18-year-old in Riyadh, “Everyone has a girlfriend, or boyfriend, these days, it is normal. Of course, we do not tell our parents because they would not understand.""

"As adults we can assume that "adolescence" is a problem that needs to be solved, in order to minimize the risky behavior that young men, in particular, are likely to engage in. We readily assume that to be young is to be “guilty,” as if young people are waiting to be blamed for whatever goes wrong in their lives. Implicitly we theorise as adults who “already know,” through a reason that a dominant masculinity alone can take for granted. In an Enlightenment vision of modernity shaped by a dominant masculinity, reason as the source of knowledge is separated from feelings and desires which are framed in Kantian terms as forms of unreason and determination. So “adolescence” as a category within a rationalist tradition is framed as the object of a scientific gaze. As a biologically defined stage of development, we come to know “adolescence” within rationalist terms according to which, as social scientists, we have everything to teach and little to learn."

"Young men are peculiarly sensitive to the effect of ridicule, and are easily laughed or bantered out of their opinions when they have not embraced them from careful inquiry and accurate investigation."

"To be sober minded, the young man must indulge in serious reflection. Placed in this world as he is - surrounded by so many objects of interest - amid intelligent beings like himself… He must turn his thoughts, now and then, from the scenes which constantly meet his eye to more serious meditations."

"Young working-class men are not hostage to the traditional predispositions held by their counterparts from previous generations. They embrace service work and its attendant demands, and do not present a masculinity that is out of step with the contemporary economy; rather, such attitudes represent a “new normal” for young working-class men. [However] despite evidencing a more inclusive version of masculinity that is required of them to successfully integrate into the contemporary work, they are far from able to engage in significant upward social mobility. Having dispositions that make emotional labour possible, even enjoyable, does not offer a “silver bullet” solution to unemployment, underemployment, or low-pay, low-skill work."

"The desire to create a close and loving family is rarely discussed in relation to young men, particularly young men in prison… Yet [many incarcerated young men] are concerned with presenting themselves as able to take care of others - parents, siblings, and real or desired offspring, reflecting both traditional traits and a certain kind of modern manhood."

"The negative reproductive health outcomes among Latino young men may partially be attributable to low levels of contraceptive use among this population. The 2002 NSFG reveals that across all ethnic/racial groups, young Latinos are the least likely to use a contraceptive method at various points in their sexual history. For example, 34 percent of sexually experienced Latino young men reported that they used no contraceptive method at first sex, compared to 22 percent of white and 18 percent of African American young men. Even more salient to HIV/STI prevention is the use of condoms. Sexually active Latinos in the NSFG sample were less likely to use a condom (60 percent) at first sex than African American (81 percent) or white (68 percent) young men."

"Of 1,500 young men aged 18–30, we found that nearly 1 in 5 thought about suicide in the past two weeks. Which young men were more likely to think about suicide? Those who believed in a version of manhood associated with being tough, not talking about their problems, and bottling up their emotions were twice as likely to have considered suicide."

"There is danger that a young man, who is suffered to grow up in a great measure uncontrolled, will form a habit of idleness. We do not find that children, if left to themselves, choose labour; and where they form the habit, it is usually the result of parental instruction, counsel, and perhaps authority, rather than of their own taste or inclination. You may look all the world over, and you will find, with few exceptions, that young persons who are allowed to do just as they please, show themselves disposed to do very little, at least little to any good purpose; and the consequence is, that, at no distant period, thy have a confirmed habit of idleness which rends them little better than mere cumberers of the ground."

"I have met plenty of shooters, even some killers. When I look carefully at what they have been through, in many cases I must admit that I might not have done things much differently than they did. Imagine that your early life was filled with deprivation, distrust, and trauma. Your main source of support is a small group of young men you grew up with. A rival kills one of them - your closest friend - and the police do nothing. Would you turn the other cheek? We all hope that we would make the right decision, but no one can be sure. David Kennedy once described these young men to me as “more trapped than evil,” and I agree."

"If young men only had to contend with the disappointment of parents, teachers, politicians, officials, and planners, this would be bad enough. But the unrealizable expectations that have been provoked amidst persisting severe inequalities - within states, across regions, and around the globe - can also elicit far more severe threats to young men’s standing. This is so because marginalized young men are also often portrayed as being dangerous. As Barker pointed out: “In many parts of the world, it has become something of a national sport to demonize young men, particularly low-income young men.” This kind of demonization has been associated with “punitive, unjust, and ineffective policies,” in particular the widespread increase in the incarceration of young men in Latin America, the English speaking Caribbean, the United States, and Europe. In the United States, the incarceration rates of young black men in particular, rose at a dramatic pace during the 1990s."

"Those who should be worried about interpersonal violence are those living in low-income communities. The violence is overwhelmingly directed inward: low-income young men against other low-income young men. If you are a young man between the ages of 15 and 24, living in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, and in settings like this around the world, you should indeed be worried about interpersonal violence."

"Studies show gay men usually recognized that they were somehow “different” from their heterosexual peers around age 5 or 6 and society is increasingly supportive of young men “coming out” in their early teen years; however, the individual decision may be fraught with tension and anxiety, and depending on the environment or geographical location, a young man’s peers may respond with diverse reactions ranging from nonchalant acceptance to physical violence perpetrated against him."

"Sean was 21 years old and homeless… At the age of 15, Sean was showing sexualized behaviour toward male adults. This concern, alongside reports from another boy, led to an investigation. Sean reported that he had been repeatedly subjected to sexual abuse by Mr. Lister, the head of care at the school. As head of care, Mr. Lister was in a central and powerful position in the school. This included making decisions about behaviour grades that would result in the provision or restriction of privileges. He also made decisions about permission to return home at weekends. He lived on the school premises in a cottage, to which he invited pupils and sexually abused them, In Sean’s case, the sexual abuse had taken place over a period of six to nine months. Sean was not aware that there were others being sexually victimised at the school by the same person. Mr. Lister disappeared during the course of the investigation and was believed to have left the country."

"Revolutionary potentials for openness and change in masculinities are likely to stem from the margin. In other words, it is those in the margin who foster the openness toward which men in the centre need to move. Indeed, it was with one man… a queer, working-class man in Germany - that openness and egalitarian, revolutionary practices, beliefs and commitments in relation to masculinity emerged. He modeled what could be considered a “caring masculinity,” defined as masculinities that “reject domination and its associated traits and embrace values of care such as positive emotion, interdependence, and relativity.” Locked out of the privileges of the closed centre, he adopted a radical politics of gender and sexuality, challenged dictates of closed masculinities, and had a strong commitment to care."

"Since approximately 1981, the emergence of AIDS has dramatically impacted the gay male community, from the tragic loss of hundreds of thousands of lives to the increased visibility, recognition, and influence of gay men in mainstream society."

"While gay men have often gained higher social profiles (particularly within the entertainment arena), they are rarely seen as homemakers or loyal partners, or viewed as a politicized cohesive unit (as we may view lesbians). It is this disconnectivity to ideas of family, long-term relationships, child raising, stable romance, and political cohesiveness that has denied gay men access to (hetero)normative worlds, with the general presumption that their aspirations and needs in life differ sharply from those of lesbians."

"Gay men often make friends with women they find attractive or beautiful. Contrary to the stereotype which holds that gay men are gay because they reject or hate women, many gay men have a real appreciation for beautiful women, whether she’s a movie star or his close friend. Gay men love women on many levels, and their simple, unabashed physical appreciation of their female friends is notable."