ManKind Project, The

The ManKind Project (MKP) is a nonprofit organization that leads training workshops in nine countries worldwide. These workshops, called New Warrior Training Adventures (NWTA), are aimed at helping men integrate their emotional selves into their identities and develop new self-schemas based on authenticity, accountability, and leadership. This topic is relevant for discussion of gender due to the overwhelming evidence that traditional models of masculinity lack this integration and are damaging both to men and to society as a whole.

The MKP was founded in 1984 by Rich Tosi, a former marine; Ron Herring, a therapist and college professor; and Bill Kauth, a psychotherapist. The MKP hosts mythopoetic initiation-style weekend retreats, [Page 502]NWTA, that bring men together to explore subjects that are most difficult for men to cope with when confined to traditional modes of masculine expression: anger, grief, anxiety, helplessness, and lack of life direction. NWTA focus on helping men understand and accept their feelings, develop a sense of integrity and accountability, and find greater purpose in life. NWTA are led by facilitators trained and certified by the organization, who may have begun their involvement with the organization as participants. The MKP has worked to establish over 40 interdependent centers where trainings and follow-up meetings are held.

Details regarding the content of NWTA are sketchy, as participants and organizers alike invoke confidentiality, ostensibly as part of an effort to preserve the mystery of initiation and prevent any preconceived expectations on the part of participants. However, the typical weekend retreat can be described as 48 hours of intense therapeutic interaction with peers and facilitators that may include limited contact with the outside world (no cell phones or television), large- and small-group discussions, games and activities, journaling, an initiation, and a call to action. Participants are invited afterward to attend an 8-week training (once weekly for 8 weeks) designed to help them integrate the benefits of the NWT into daily life. They are then encouraged to form or attend weekly meetings in their local area, called I Groups, or Integration Groups. Workshop graduates are urged to mentor boys in their local communities, and older members are encouraged to serve as elder role models.

The MKP and its participants seem to experience at least anecdotal success; however, its actual efficacy (as a source of what is essentially mental health education) has not been measured, and the secrecy of NWTA has led to criticism of the organization, including claims that it constitutes New Age or cultlike practice. However, the MKP's assertions that it accepts only willing participants, is nondenomina-tional, and lacks a central authority serve to counter those claims. Additionally, there is a cost to consider ($350 to $650). On the other hand, individual centers are free to set their own fee, and some offer scholarships, hold fund-raisers, or encourage graduates to sponsor other men.

The MKP is an important topic of study not only for its impact on its members but also in its potential application for preventative and rehabilitative criminal justice. For example, facilitators from the MKP have partnered with the Inner Circle Foundation, another nonprofit, to offer a training weekend for inmates at state prisons, and MKP members and graduates are encouraged to volunteer with other organizations such as the Boys-to-Men Network.

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