Guiding Principles

The Masculinity Conference

Getting Involved

Welcome to The Masculinities Collective


 

Who We Are

The Masculinities Collective is a cross-department initiative that engages with the community to promote healthier forms of masculinities and to end interpersonal violence. The Masculinities Collective is open to everyone! Participants include undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty. 

Mission Statement

The Masculinities Collective at UCSB works to create a safe and respectful campus culture by encouraging healthy expressions of masculinities and by increasing engagement in efforts to prevent interpersonal violence with the goal of ending sexual assault.
 

Why the Masculinities Collective?

Traditionally, the movement to end interpersonal violence has viewed men and masculine-identifying folks as perpetrators. This program aims to engage with men and masc-identifying folks, bringing them into the conversation as allies to end interpersonal violence. Our coalition is diverse, representing how masculinities manifests in many different ways, and how one’s sense of masculinity is shaped by their social position, identity, environment, and upbringing. This group is open to all UCSB students, staff, and faculty.

Guiding Principles


 

Redefine Masculinity

Redefine masculinity by challenging rigid, binary gender norms and embracing fluid, healthy expressions.

Prevent Interpersonal Violence

Prevent interpersonal violence through education, advocacy, and active intervention.

Foster Community Spaces

Foster community spaces that welcome vulnerability and build supportive connections. 

Encourage Men to Take Action

Encourage men and masculine-identifying individuals to take active roles in addressing and dismantling systems of violence by offering pathways for healing, self-reflection, acknowledging past harm, and supporting proactive, meaningful change within themselves and their communities.

Acknowledge Intersecting Factors

Acknowledge that masculinity is shaped by intersecting factors, including ethnicity, class, sexuality, cultural background, and more. We center diverse experiences and promote inclusivity and equity in all our work.

The Masculinity Conference


 

Our 2025 Masculinities Conference, held on Sunday, April 27th, 2025, was designed to build community with a coalition dedicated to promoting new forms of masculinity. It welcomed anyone who believes that historical expectations of masculinity are outdated and recognizes that unhealthy portrayals of masculinity are hurting our culture. We had speakers whose work focuses on masculinity as well as breakout sessions to discuss how masculinity intersects with race/ethnicity, violence, and LGBTQ+ experiences. We also provided snacks and held a community dinner to close out the night. Join our email list to be notified about what we're doing next!

 

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Ways to Get Involved


 

Programming Requests

Want us to come speak to your organization, club, classroom, or dorm floor? Email masculinitiescollective@sa.ucsb.edu to request a presentation!

Upcoming Events

Sign up for our email list to hear about what event we have planned this quarter!

Join our email list!

Newsletter

Join our shoreline to be added to our newsletter and receive updates on events and opportunities! You can also view our past newsletter series written by our 2024–2025 Men’s Engagement Educator, who reflects on educational resources and personal experiences, exploring how they align with the goals of the Collective.

Newsletter Archive