The Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity (SPSMM)

Division 51 Statement Regarding the Virginia Tech Murders

On behalf of the board of Division 51, I am please to share with you a statement that was drafted in response to the VT shootings. This was a collaborative effort with some very good discussion. I would expect that this statement will create some useful discussion around issues of male violence and ways that our division can continue, through our research and practice, to find ways to reduce the type of violent acts that was recently experienced at Virginia Tech. While this statement is coming several weeks after the shootings, the message of this statement can be generalized to other examples that fill our newspapers all too often. Division 51 is committed to understanding and describing the full range of masculinity from the loving, nurturing father to the men who deal with their pain in some very destructive ways. Your comments and discussion are encouraged.

Mark Stevens, Division 51 President

Statement Regarding the Virginia Tech University Mass Murder

The Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity

The Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity (SPSMM), a division of the American Psychological Association, condemns the horrific mass murder at Virginia Tech University. We send our deepest sympathies to the friends and families of the victims and survivors, and to alumni, employees, and friends of the university.

SPSMM wants to emphasize that the vast majority of men are not violent, and that there are many positive features pertaining to men and masculinity. Nonetheless, one fact about violence that tends to elude public scrutiny is that males commit nearly 90% of violent crimes (U. S. Department of Justice, 2003) and virtually 100% of mass murders (Hempel et al., 2003). Moreover, males murder their female relationship partners and ex-partners nearly three times a day in the United States, resulting in a tragic loss of the proportion of the Virginia Tech tragedy every 11 days (U.S. Department of Justice, 2003).

Therefore, although most men are not violent, most violent people are men who were influenced by exaggerated notions of masculinity, such as the beliefs that anger is the only acceptable emotion, that vengeful violence is justified, and that it is unmasculine to acknowledge loneliness, pain, vulnerability, or to seek assistance. There is a tendency to see violent tragedies like the one at Virginia Tech as solely the product of a disturbed individual, rather than as the interaction of individual factors within a gendered culture. Clearly there is a need to examine and redefine what it means to be masculine and men in the U.S.A. To this end, SPSMM calls for national discussion of notions of masculinity, an investigation of their potential relations to violence, and creation of an agenda for further developing positive conceptions of masculinity in the future.

The Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in the psychology of men through research, education, training, public policy, and improved clinical practice. SPSMM believes certain aspects of traditional gender roles for men are restrictive in nature and if followed too rigidly may lead to negative consequences and unhealthy interactions for individuals and society. SPSMM endeavors to point out constrictive conceptions of masculinity that have inhibited men's development, reduced men's capacity to form meaningful relationships, and contributed to the oppression of others. SPSMM supports the empowerment of all persons and believes this empowerment leads to the highest level of functioning in individual men and women.

In this vein, SPSMM is committed to the understanding and prevention of male violence. SPSMM researchers have studied the relation of masculine gender role socialization and violence for decades. This event strengthens our motivation to continue to seek solutions to the type of violence that Virginia Tech University recently experienced. Additional information about SPSMM is available at: http://www.apa.org/divisions/div51/homepage.html

References

Hempel, A. G., Levine, R. E., Meloy, J. R., & Westermeyer, J. (2003). A cross-cultural review of sudden mass assault by a single individual in the oriental and occidental cultures. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 45, 582-588.

United States Department of Justice (2003). Criminal victimization in the United States, 2002 statistical tables. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cvus0202.pdf.

Signed on behalf of the Board of Directors of Division 51

Mark Stevens, Ph.D.

President Division 51

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