This spring, Equimundo announced an open call to invite writers and advocates alike – with forward-thinking perspectives on masculinity and a passion for achieving gender equality – to apply to become a Equimundo Writing Fellow.
In our commitment to gender equality and social justice, we are proud to introduce the 2019-2020 Equimundo Writing Fellow cohort. Get to know each of our five fellows, below.
Over the coming year, the fellows will creatively explore modern masculinity and male partnership for gender equality using lenses of pop culture, politics, poetry, personal experiences, and the in between.
Together with our writing fellows, we aim to make progress toward our mission to advance gender equality create a world free from violence by engaging men and boys in partnership with women, girls, and individuals of all gender identities.
Meet the fellows:
Quentin Thomas
Quentin is a junior at Brown University with a concentration in Public Policy. On campus, he is one of the student co-coordinators of the Masculinity Peer Education program. The MPE program is designed to demonstrate how society shapes gender norms and expectations. Additionally, the program facilitates the cultivation of empathy towards ourselves and others. Quentin got started in this work through his involvement with Masculinity 101, an on-campus discussion group that provides space for people of all genders – men, especially – to be their full, authentic selves. This fall semester, Quentin is studying development and social change in Cameroon.
“I’m looking forward to further exploring the intersection between writing and social justice. I think there’s a lot of power to be harnessed from using writing as a tool for social change, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to maximize this potential.”
Hannah Place
Hannah is an artist, a writer and researcher deeply interested in the use of creative practices to tackle social issues. One such issue particularly close to her heart is masculinity. “As a woman who has always felt more comfortable describing myself as masculine than feminine, I am very interested in developing conversation which probes and deconstructs gendered expectations, while studying the serious implications of those expectations on individuals and social groups.”
Hannah sees becoming a Equimundo Writing Fellow as a brilliant opportunity to join a community taking an honest inquisitive consideration of an area of inquiry she is deeply passionate about. Hannahs’ most recent social art project is titled ‘MxMEN’, a London festival focused on asking the question “What are positive masculinities?”, through which she developed and explored conversations on a number of relevant topics, building healthy, open discourse.
Amílcar Sanatan
Amílcar is an artist, academic and activist invested in gender justice for Caribbean boys and men. He has created and facilitated workshops for youth advocates and development workers throughout the Caribbean on engaging boys and men for gender justice. Amílcar’s research and outreach focus on peace-building and challenging male privilege through creative pedagogies. He is a PhD candidate in Cultural Studies at The University of West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. After closely following the research and publications of Equimundo in the US and Latin America for his studies, Sanatan believes he now has the opportunity to contribute to further thinking about transforming masculinities for boys and men in the Caribbean, as a Equimundo Writing Fellow.
“I want to show the power of creative writing and telling stories that connect us to wider communities and movements of people seeking social change and equality. ”
Keith F. Miller, Jr.
Keith is an award-winning educator, storyteller, and artist-researcher dedicated to using multimodal art to transform toxic, dehumanizing narratives about boys and young men of color into healing narratives that uplift, affirm, and transform as communities of color heal, grow, and thrive through trauma. Keith is founder of The Pillow Talk Project, a social movement using the fearless stories of men – and those who love them – to redefine masculinity and rediscover the healing power of everyday intimate conversations. Keith is currently developing an arts-based, healthy masculinity curriculum and community-based intervention, Feel to Heal.
“More than ever, we’re in need of healing centered and transformative voices dedicated to not only deconstructing toxic elements of masculinity on the path to gender equality, but pushing us all to think and dream beyond preconceived notions of what’s possible. The Equimundo Writing Fellowship is a platform to do just that, learning, collaborating, and growing with top thinkers around the country who are mutually invested in changing the world we live in for the better.” Keith is a National Writing Project Teaching Consultant, National Afterschool Matters Fellow, and a Forward Promise Fellow. He has a B.S. in Gender Studies and Dance from Northwestern University and an M.S. in Educational Psychology from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Slam The Poet
Slam the Poet is fascinated with the sensuality of words, and loves exploring the effect of their sights, sounds and textures. This curiosity has led them through performance, bookmaking and essaying, with a thirst for experimentation deeply rooted in a joy for collaboration. Ultimately, their work is underlined by an interest in people: the individuals and communities that build and box us. The result is writings that plumb for commonality, through a caring and speculative approach.
“I’m really excited to take a rigorous look at patriarchy and its effects, using concrete research to delve deep into the psyche of cis-men. As a philosopher by training and poet by trade, I very rarely use empirical data as the basis for my work. This fellowship is a great opportunity to blend my speculative, pragmatist style into a rigorous, evidence-based practice.”
We believe this cohort of exceptional thinkers, writers and creatives will bring to life a broad spectrum of research and data on masculinities and gender quality, and utilize their lived experiences and beliefs, to activate intellectual, inclusive, and diverse content to inform, engage, and ultimately advance the capacity of healthy masculinities, gender equality, and social justice.
