Kai Eckenrode is a senior at Stetson University majoring in Communications & Media Studies with a minor in Political Science. He plays for the men's soccer team and is a representative to the Stetson Student Athletic Advisory Committee. He writes for the school newspaper, and maintains his own online blog. He is currently president of Lambda Pi Eta the national honor society for students in Communications.
Kai discusses masculinity and the social construction of gender as it relates to American Society today. He believes that feminism is for men too. In fact feminism is for everyone, because it advocates for equality among all people. However, as our culture is currently structure, white male privilege means that certain groups of people are taken more seriously than others. This is why it is important for men to advocate for feminism alongside women. The current notion of masculinity is restrictive in that it only allows for certain traits and emotion to be deemed as "manly." Kai believes that the idea of masculinity today can be constructed in more beneficial and egalitarian ways, and identifying how gender is constructed is the first step in the process.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
