John Stoltenberg - Biography

John Stoltenberg (born 1945) is an American radical feminist activist, scholar, author, and magazine editor. He is the managing editor of AARP The Magazine, a bimonthly publication of the United States-based advocacy group AARP (formerly American Association of Retired Persons), a position he has held since 2004.

Stoltenberg was life partner to Andrea Dworkin for thirty-one years (eventually marrying), although he considers himself gay.

Career

Stoltenberg holds a degree in fine arts and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. He is well known as a feminist activist and author. He has written a series of books and articles criticizing traditional concepts of manhood or maleness, such as Refusing to Be a Man: Essays on Sex and Justice, "Why I Stopped Trying to be a Real Man," and The End of Manhood: A Book for Men of Conscience.

Stoltenberg created "The Pose Workshop," which entailed men adopting the poses that women strike in pornographic shots (intended partly for men attending Christian retreats), a version of which was broadcast on BBC television.

He was Andrea Dworkin's life partner for thirty-one years. They began living together in 1974; in 1998 they married (see Andrea Dworkin's relationship with John Stoltenberg).

Stoltenberg is a founder of the group 'Men Can Stop Rape' and developed the group's 'My Strength' campaign which aims to educate young men on sexual relationships, consent and rape. He also creative-directs the group's 'My Duty' sexual-assault-prevention media campaign, which is licensed to the United States Department of Defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.

Stoltenberg is credited with the quote: "Pornography tells lies about women. But pornography tells the truth about men."

Stoltenberg has described how, as a feminist male, he has had to reevaluate and even discontinue relationships with some of his male friends.

Books

• Disarmament and Masculinity: An Outline Guide and Bibliography For Studying the Connection Between Sexual Violence and War. Published by Frog in the Well (Palo Alto, CA) in 1978.
• Refusing To Be a Man: Essays on Sex and Justice. First published by Breitenbush Books (Portland, OR) in 1989 (ISBN 0-93257-673-7), it was revised and republished by UCL Press in 2000 (ISBN 1-84142-041-7), in some cases with the altered subtitle Essays on Social Justice (ISBN 1-84142-062-X).
• The End of Manhood: A Book for Men of Conscience. First published by Dutton Penguin in 1993 (ISBN 0-525-93630-0), a revised edition was published by UCL Press in 1999 with the altered subtitle Parables on Sex and Selfhood, in paperback (ISBN 1-85728-325-2) and hardcover (ISBN 1-85728-324-4).
• What Makes Pornography "Sexy"?. Published by Milkweed Editions in 1994 (ISBN 1-57131-201-3)

Reviews

• Sex, Porn and Conscience - A review of John Stoltenberg's Refusing To Be a Man by Michael Flood More (10 January 2009)

Articles

• Why I Stopped Trying to be a Real Man, originally written at the invitation of Consolidated for a fanzine released in connection with their album Business of Punishment (1994).

• Male Virgins, Blood Covenants & Family Values, article on the Promise Keepers in On The Issues: The Progressive Woman's Quarterly (Spring 1995, Stoltenberg is described as the executive editor).

• "Of Microbes and Manhood — Sexual risk-taking among young men in the U.S. increases the likelihood of their contracting and spreading a sexually transmitted infection. Everything is gendered when it comes to education, prevention, and treatment," published in Ms. 10, no. 5, (2000): 60

Contributions to anthologies

• "Refusing To Be A Man," "Toward Gender Justice," and "Eroticism and Violence in the Father-Son Relationship" in For Men Against Sexism: A Book of Readings edited by John Snodgrass. Published by Times Change Press (Albion, CA) and distributed by Monthly Review Press in 1977 (ISBN 0-87810-531-X).
• "Sadomasochism: Eroticized Violence, Eroticized Powerlessness" in Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis edited by Robin Ruth Linden, et al. Published by Frog in the Well (East Palo Alto, CA) in 1982 (ISBN 0-96036-283-5).
• "Other Men" in New Men, New Minds: Breaking Male Tradition: How Today's Men Are Changing the Traditional Roles of Masculinity edited by Franklin Abbott. Published by Crossing Press (Freedom, CA) in 1987 (ISBN 0-89594-219-4).
• "Pornography and Freedom" and "Gays and the Propornography Movement: Having the Hots For Sex Discrimination" in Men Confront Pornography edited by Michael S. Kimmel. Published by Crown Publishers in 1990 (ISBN 0-51756-931-0).
• "You Can't Fight Homophobia and Protect the Pornographers at the Same Time: An Analysis of What Went Wrong in Hardwick" in The Sexual Liberals and The Attack On Feminism edited by Dorchen Leidholdt and Janice G. Raymond. Published by Pergamon Press (New York City) in 1990 (ISBN 0-08037-457-3).
• "Pornography, Homophobia and Male Supremacy" in Pornography: Women, Violence, and Civil Liberties edited by Catherine Itzin. Published by Oxford University Press in 1992 (ISBN 0-19825-291-9).
• "Making Rape an Election Issue" in Transforming a Rape Culture edited by Emilie Buchwald, Pamela R. Fletcher, and Martha Roth. Published by Milkweed Editions in 1993 (ISBN 0-91594-306-9).
• "Pornography and Freedom" in Making Violence Sexy: Feminist Views on Pornography edited by Diana E. H. Russell. Published by Teachers College Press (New York City) in 1993 (ISBN 0-80776-269-5).
• "The Triangular Politics of Pornography" in The Price We Pay: The Case Against Racist Speech, Hate Propaganda, and Pornography edited by Laura Lederer and Richard Delgado. Published by Hill & Wang (New York City) in 1995 (ISBN 0-80907-883-X).
• "Pornography and Sexual Violence: Justice and Accountability to Victims" in Called to Make Justice: Collected Keynote Speeches From the First Bi-National Meeting of Advocates, Workers and Leaders from Religious Communities Who Work to Prevent Sexual and Domestic Violence. Published by Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence (Seattle, WA) in 1995.
• "'I Am Not A Rapist!': Why College Guys Are Confronting Sexual Violence" and "Healing From Manhood: A Radical Meditation on the Movement From Gender Identity to Moral Identity" in Feminism and Men: Reconstructing Gender Relations edited by Steven P. Schacht and Doris W. Ewing. Published by New York University Press in 1998 (ISBN 0-81478-077-6).
• "Learning the F Words" in Looking Queer: Body Image and Identity in Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transgender Communities edited by Dawn Atkins. Published by Haworth Press (New York City) in 1998 (ISBN 1-56023-931-X).
• "How Power Makes Men: The Grammar of Gender Identity" in Men and Power edited by Joseph A. Kuypers. Published by Prometheus Books (Amherst, NY) in 1999 (ISBN 1-57392-769-4).
• "Introduction" to Working With Men For Change edited by Jim Wild. Published by UCL Press London; Philadelphia) in 1999 (ISBN 1-85728-860-2).
• "Christianity, Feminism, and the Manhood Crisis" in Standing On the Promises: The Promise Keepers and the Revival of Manhood edited by Dane S. Claussen. Published by Pilgrim Press (Cleveland, Ohio) in 1999 (ISBN 0-82981-307-1).
• "Top Ten Ways the Campus Movement Against Sexual Violence is Misunderstood" in Just Sex: Students Rewrite the Rules on Sex, Violence, Activism, and Equality edited by Jodi Gold and Susan Villari. Published by Rowman & Littlefield (Lanham, MD) in 2000 (ISBN 0-84769-333-3)
• "Having Sex Outside the Box" in Male Lust: Pleasure, Power, and Transformation edited by Kerwin Kay, Jill Nagle, and Baruch Gould. Published by Harrington Park Press (New York City) in 2000 (ISBN 1-56023-981-6).
• "Feminists Should Oppose Pornography" position in Pornography: Opposing Viewpoints edited by Helen Cothran. Published by Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA) in 2002 as part of the Opposing Viewpoints series (ISBN 0-73770-761-5).
• "How Men Have (a) Sex", part of "Privilege Axis Two: Male Privilege", in Oppression, Privilege, and Resistance: Theoretical Perspectives on Racism, Sexism, and Heterosexism edited by Lisa M. Heldke and Peg O'Connor. Published by McGraw-Hill (Boston) in 2004 (ISBN 0-07288-243-3).
• "Towards Gender Justice" in Feminism and Masculinities edited by Peter Francis Murphy. Published by Oxford University Press in 2004 (ISBN 0-19926-724-3).
• "Confronting Pornography as a Civil-Rights Issue" in Theorizing Feminisms: A Reader edited by Elizabeth Hackett and Sally Anne Haslanger. Published by Oxford University Press in 2006 (ISBN 0-19515-009-0).
• "Foreword" to Gendered Outcasts and Sexual Outlaws: Sexual Oppression and Gender Hierarchies in Queer Men's Lives edited by Christopher N. Kendall and Wayne Martino. Published by Harrington Park Press (New York City) in 2006 (ISBN 1-56023-500-4).
• "The Politics of Refusal" in The New Politics of Masculinity: Men, Power and Resistance edited by Fidelma Ashe. Published by Routledge (London; New York City) in 2007 (ISBN 0-41530-275-7 and ISBN 0-20350-836-X).

See also

• Anti-pornography movement

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External links

• Living with Andrea Dworkin, Stoltenberg's account originally published in Lambda Book Report (May/June 1994)
• Imagining Life Without Andrea, transcript of Stoltenberg's extemporaneous speech to the Take Back the Night Rally Honoring Andrea Dworkin (30 April 2005).