March 29, 2024

Kilmartin Pens Column About Masculinity, Mass Shootings

Christopher Kilmartin, professor of psychology emeritus

Christopher Kilmartin, professor of psychology emeritus

Christopher Kilmartin, professor of psychology emeritus, co-authored a column titled “Reducing mass shootings requires changing expectations of men and their private pain,” which ran in the Akron Beacon Journal. “Thus far, there have been more mass shootings than days in the United States in 2023, forty within a three-week period, according to one report …,”  the article states. “What is problematic is the masculine beliefs that men who are failing must keep their pain to themselves, and that revealing and sharing one’s pain forfeits their “man card,” representing the same level of failure as not providing, protecting, or partnering. If we want to prevent future mass murders, one part of the solution is changing masculine expectations to permit men to express their pain without being mocked or belittled for feeling this way.” Read more.