Expert: Running Into Danger, a New Form of Masculinity Exhibited During Mass Shootings

02/01/2023

Media Contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations, Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

The latest spate of mass shootings can be understood, in part, as “violent extinction bursts of a dying form of masculinity,” according to UMass Lowell philosophy Professor Carol Hay.

“Almost always with these shootings, the aggressor is an aggrieved man, motivated by a frustrated sense of entitlement, who is lashing out,” said Hay. “Very often, these men feel left behind by a world that is changing around them, one where traditional forms of masculinity are no longer necessarily rewarded, or even possible.”

While there is no end in sight to this violence, Hay believes there is still reason for optimism. “In the face of the violent men who commit these crimes,” she said, “we’re seeing a new kind of man step forward to stop them.” Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old coder who averted more carnage at a second ballroom in Alhambra, California last week by wrestling the gun from the shooter’s hands, told reporters he had never seen a real gun before that night. Richard Fierro, the Army veteran who tackled the gunman at the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting last fall, refused all attempts to glorify his violent takedown of the shooter — expressing gratitude that his military training enabled him to protect his family but condemning “the guys running around doing GI Joe stuff.”      

For Hay, whose research focuses on ethics, feminist theory and oppression studies, “these men represent a new form of masculinity, one that complicates old narratives linking masculinity inextricably with glorified violence or with an inability to express emotions.”

In her recently published Think Like a Feminist: The Philosophy Behind the Revolution, Hay explores how society’s collective understanding of what it means to be men and women is evolving and how these new figures offer a “tantalizing glimpse into where a collective understanding of masculinity might be heading.”

To arrange an interview with Hay, please contact Emily Gowdey-Backus or Nancy Cicco. 

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu