By: Nicholas Renard
These days, social conceptions of feminism tend to steer men away rather than invite them. In turn, this effectively counteracts one of feminism’s most basic doctrines: equality.
But through dedicated activism and commitment, one KU student is hoping to change that.
It’s hard not to notice JT Hammons when he walks into a room. His large stature and fiery-red beard instantly command your attention. Before sitting down, he lights a cigarette with a monogrammed Zippo and unbuttons his suit jacket.
“I always dress for a serious situation,” he says. “If you look like you’re exerting power, men will listen.”
JT Hammons, sans beard, KU senior in philosophy and African studies. Photo courtesy of Nicholas Renard.
Hammons is 23 and will graduate KU this month with a double major in philosophy and African Studies. He’s been here five years now and is moving to Buffalo in August to study law at University at Buffalo SUNY.
It’s hard to find Hammons without a suit on these days, and he likes it that way.
But he wasn’t always as serious, or as well-dressed, as he is now.
“I was a bad student when I started here,” he says. “I really had no idea what to do.”
After moving here from Portsmouth, Va., Hammons’ family moved once again to Valley Falls, a rural town north of Lawrence. He didn’t have much of a choice for schools and figured KU was his best bet.
After beginning his university career as a psychology student, Hammons found his major dull and quickly allowed his extra-curricular activities get the better of him, spending his nights partying and playing video games instead of studying.
Before long, he failed a class and found himself on academic probation. But in the spring he enrolled in an introductory political science class, kindling a new interest.
“I became interested in political theory, especially government practices and economic theory,” he says.
Hammons’ appreciation for politics soon grew. He educated himself on tax reform and social inequality, dubbed himself a “Democratic Socialist” and began to confront problems. His grades improved, too.
Then, in the spring of 2011, KU Student Senate ceased funding for the Willow Domestic Violence Center, a Lawrence shelter and counseling service for victims of domestic abuse. This didn’t sit well with Hammons.
“I thought it was contradictory of the most liberal university in Kansas,” he says.
He subsequently worked with campus organizations to gather signatures and raise awareness about the funding cut. Their efforts were successful and funding was eventually reinstituted.
That fall, his on-campus involvement grew even more. He joined Senate Finance Committee and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and became an active member of both, volunteering, raising awareness and tabling along Jayhawk Boulevard.
In December of that year, he was elected president of CSW and honed his politics.
“Feminism is very holistic,” he says. “If you’re going to correct issues in a holistic manner you must engage men.”
His seeds of change took root with a bi-weekly Freaky Friday event on campus, promoting smart reproductive health and providing free contraceptives. He says he even became known as Condom Guy.
He says he got into people’s faces and discussed themes like male sexuality and male self-pleasure. He even provided diagrammed instructions for finding the male G-spot, which he articulately justifies.
“We live in a society that stigmatizes sex and glorifies violence when in reality, sex is natural and violence is unnatural,” he says.
Hammons’ attempts at a more male-inclusive form of feminism culminated this year with Bro-Choice, a social media campaign aimed at including men in the feminist movement through education and discussion.
“Society stipulates how men are supposed act,” he says. “Bro-Choice brings men into the reproductive justice movement and helps them understand the harmful effects of gender roles for men.”
Bro-Choice hopes to mitigate double standards and challenge gender roles, specifically on the subject of rape.
“Society says when a woman is a victim it’s her fault,” he says “But in reality it’s not a woman’s right to not be raped, it’s a man’s job to not rape her.”
Hammons’ ultimate goal with Bro-Choice is to educate men on topics like hyper-masculinity and the inappropriateness of sexual assault-centered jokes; things he feels are too commonplace.
“Just listen to XBOX Live,” he says “Young kids are saying ‘I’ll rape this, I’ll rape you,’ but rape is not a joke.”
In July, he’ll be leaving the small-town comfort of Lawrence for Buffalo to study civil litigation. He says he’s not interested in practicing, though. He’s thinking bigger.
“I’m going to law school for the skills and networking necessary to start political work,” he says.
After attaining a law degree, Hammons plans to campaign for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding for abortions. He’s also intent on establishing a national policy for comprehensive sex-education, something he says should be an important government responsibility.
“A good way to punish people for sex is with a child,” he says. “Why wish the birth of a child on high schoolers who haven’t even had a chance to graduate?”
Hammons is excited to get into the political game, and hardly nervous about leaving Lawrence. He says Kansas will always be his home, but he can’t quite succeed fully here.
“I don’t know what I’ll miss until I miss it,” he says. “My mom raised me to be very independent.”
It shows.
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