Recently the White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) publicly launched our version of the fundraising/awareness event, Walk A Mile in Her Shoes (WAMIHS).  Our launch seems to have re-stimulated a debate on various international list serves about the politics of these events.

In the spirit of open dialogue and ongoing learning, I thought I would share some of the process and consideration that went into our decision at WRC, and welcome any thoughts or feedback from the masc magazine community.

We invested a lot of thought and consultation on this issue prior to embarking on this event.  We wanted to understand all the issues and concerns, explore the benefits, and also hear what our partners and colleagues in the Canadian feminist women’s movement thought about these events. So first, here is a bit about our process.

Interestingly in Canada, prior to our upcoming event, WAMIHS events here were (to our knowledge) exclusively held by feminist women’s organizations.  Women’s sexual assault crisis centres, shelters and transition houses, and the YWCA in Calgary were among the organizers of these events across Canada.  We spoke with several organizations that had held these events, and while acknowledging some of the concerns addressed in previous posts, the feeling was that the benefits outweighed the concerns, and virtually all of these groups are planning to make it an annual event.

We also wanted to speak with some feminist women’s organizations who were not involved with a WAMIHS event, and we spoke with several, including a national women’s foundation, a local women’s shelter, our local YWCA, and a women’s violence prevention council in Toronto.  While there was a diversity of opinions on the politics of the event, some groups were quite supportive, and others were neutral.  There was consensus recognition that a) we need to try to get more uninvolved men engaged on the issue of men’s violence against women, and b) there were limited events/actions/activities that had been successful on a large scale so far.

Some of the considerations and observations we made in coming to the decision to hold this event.

- Fundraising is essential to our survival at the WRC.  We could do a generic gala event, or one that also raises awareness of the issue, and aligns with our belief that this change has to be personal for men. We feel this change is a process, and that “catalysts” like WAMIHS, or the White Ribbon, can be the starting point for thought, dialogue and critical reflection for men who might not otherwise think of the issue of men’s violence against women.  In addition, we know many men are influenced strongly by what they think other men think of them.  A large public display of men walking to end men’s violence against women may help shift the social norm or the perception that men don’t care about this issue, that men don’t have a role and a responsibility to play.

- We know that traditional methods of engagement and awareness-raising have not always been successful, especially in engaging men.  In a very unscientific poll at a recent black tie media industry awards gala with the Chair of my Board of Directors, we tested the idea of WAMIHS vs. discussing the details of men’s violence against women with many men at the event.  When my Board Chair talked about WAMIHS, men got very engaged, curious, committed and excited.  When I talked about power and masculinities, the various forms of men’s violence, and the shocking and discomforting level of men’s violence against women in Canada, I got a lot of “excuse me, I think I see my friend over there… good-bye.”  They could not get away from me quickly enough.

- Raising awareness of the issue of men’s violence against women at a WAMIHS event needs to strike a balance between fun and “not serious” and the very serious nature of the issue.  We are attempting to find that balance in all of our media materials, and in every opportunity to talk about the event.  The event should be “fun” but not “funny”.  We will also provide that balance at the actual event itself with information, stats, a strong community based feminist women’s groups’ presence, and ways for men to further their engagement on the issue following the event.

- We must be conscious of the potential for homophobia in our creative and brand approach to the event, and as such we have taken care to include representations that respectfully depict men’s ownership of their role in ending violence against women.   We have deliberately directed our creative partners to avoid queer or trans imagery in all of the creative.  As we have learned from many other social movements, progress on one issue must not come at the expense of continued inequality and oppression for others

- As much as there is a real concern around the re-enforcing gender stereotypes by men wearing women’s’ shoes, there is also an alternative view around breaking rigid gender norms for men.  We know that gender-based violence is deeply rooted in the way we construct masculinities.  Violence against women is rooted in strict gender norms associated with men's power and control.  That strict masculinity is often enforced through homophobia and other forms of "policing" men's gender roles.  By collectively wearing women's shoes, and making such a public statement about men's role in ending violence against women, we are helping to deconstruct some of those strict gender roles and expectations that are unfairly placed on men

- Provide clarity that the experience of walking one mile in women’s shoes does not in any way equate to suddenly gaining a full understanding of women’s lives and experiences.  It can offer a brief glimpse for men, and a way to open our eyes to a critical reflection on gender that most men never have to contemplate in their lives (except perhaps how to make their gender work for them, or how to avoid being policed by other men for stepping outside of “traditional” men’s gender roles).

At the end of the day, when we considered all of these elements and weighed against the costs of either doing nothing or doing a generic fundraising event, and after consultation with feminist women’s groups across Canada, we felt this was an approach we could move ahead with.  I welcome any feedback others may have. You can also check out our approach to the event yourself by visiting www.walkamiletoronto.org

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Todd is the Executive Director of the White Ribbon Campaign, gender justice activist, husband, father, dj and hockey player.