Men of the Stacks

 So, here's the thing - bunch of attractive, one might easily say handsome librarians - all male (obviously, given the title) are posing for a calendar called... Men of the Stacks  It's safe for work, pretty much - there's lots of skin and well honed bodies on display, but no actual.. y'know. So what's the idea behind it? I quote from the site: "We know what people think: Dewey, glasses, shushing, books, hairbuns, Party Girl and card catalogs.  Yes, we know what people think.  We know that the American, library profession is approximately 80% White and 72% female; and we know that tens of thousands of librarians are expected to reach age 65 in the next 5 years.  We also know that this is not us.

There is an entire population of professional librarians out there who disagree with the way the library profession is perceived in contemporary media outlets and in the historical consciousness of the American mind.  Different people and different associations will use different means to try to change those perceptions.  This is ours."

It then continues: "So, who are we?  What do we want to tell you about who we are?  What are these alternative images?  Easy.  We are, or course, professionals.  We are educators, programmers, project managers, entrepreneurs, program coordinators, contractors, consultants, and speakers.  We are academics.  We are authors, diversity officers, historians, administrators, deans, professors, and researchers.  We are creatives.  We are musicians, bakers, painters, and storytellers.  We are athletes, yogis, gym-rats, runners, and hikers.  We are passionate.  We are dog-lovers, radicals, conservatives, Christians, and Buddhists.  We are in our twenties.  We are in our forties.  We are in relationships.  We are perpetual bachelors.  We are privileged beings who try to use their advantages to better the lives of others. Who are we?  We are The Men of the Stacks."

It is of course a charity calendar All proceeds from this calendar are being donated to the It Gets Better Project™. This, I think we can all agree, is A Good Thing.

So, is it a good thing to have done or not? There's clearly two schools of thought on this - on the one hand we have "He can 'shush' me ANY TIME!!!!" and "“The Men of the Stacks is the Farah Fawcett poster for the millennial set: from now on “sexy librarian” is going to have to be considered a  gender neutral term.” And on the other hand we have "The target audience for this calendar is clear: lonely female librarians who sit at home, surrounded by their 20 cats and their hundreds of knitting projects and their cans of flat coke because god forbid they ever drink a glass of wine or a beer" taken from Tales from Libraryland.

Most of the discussions that I've seen have been very positive - mostly from women it must be said, and from my reading it's seen as being a bit of fun, amusing and entirely a good thing to do. While there's an element of sex it's pretty downplayed. Without wishing to go too far out on a limb I think it shows the difference between male/female attitudes towards semi nakedness - women enjoy it for fun, and men get turned on by it - and I wonder what the attitude would have been if it had been a calendar of half naked female librarians? I suspect - with no evidence at all, that it would have been rather different, but I'm happy to be put right on this.

You'll have to look at the images yourself really in order to make an informed opinion, but for me, they're failing at the first hurdle. Not because they don't look like librarians - if we're getting away from the stereotype we shouldn't *have* a look, but because, if it's a calendar going on a wall, there's nothing to associate them *with* librarians. Sure, Mr January (I think) is holding a well positioned book, one other is doing single armed press-ups while reading, and one is photographed fully clothed in the stacks. However, most of the other pictures have no direct or indirect reference to librarians, libraries or librarianship, and I think that if these guys want to really change perceptions they're going to have failed. Most people, looking at the pictures would I suspect think 'attractive looking guy' and move on, rather than think 'wow, a hunky male librarian, I really need to update my stereotype.' On the other hand, if it makes a news splash, and apparently it has, by being mentioned on Oprah, that's a good thing, right? Or does it simply say that you get attractive people working in libraries?

Does it tell us anything about what librarians actually DO? About the importance of libraries? Is it going to increase visits to libraries other than to those containing hunky librarians pictured? I really rather doubt it. I don't think it is, and as such, I think it's failing in its key aim. On the other hand, maybe it IS just a bit of fun and I'm way over-analysing it? I'm really in two minds - and I'd really like to see what other people think.

(Do I need to point out that this is MY opinion, and not that of any associations that I may be associated with? I hope not, but you never know.)

 

Related articles

• Librarians checked out in 'Men of the Stacks' calendar (guardian.co.uk)
• "He can 'shush' me ANY TIME!!!!" (slog.thestranger.com)
• Men of the Stacks - Librarians Worth Checking Out (queerlandia.com)

Comments

[John Kirriemuir]

On the plus side, it chips away at the misconception that many people bizarrely have, of all librarians being female and one of two extremes (either prudish, bun-haired senior susher, or young, buxom slut).

On the minus side, yeah - where were there any indications that these were librarians? They don't have to all be taken in a library, but one or two, surely? Possibly the ethos was to show that librarians hey have a life outside of the library, but it means that these could be people in any profession.

"Women enjoy it for fun, and men get turned on by it" - hmmm - possibly women are generally more subtle and controlled in their public reaction, despite what they are thinking / feeling? There's a few females (and am thinking of specific librarians who tweet) who would make unsubtle and anatomical reference to what they'd like to do to the librarians. But a calendar of female librarians would generate, perhaps, a much higher rate of "Phwoarr" "I would" "Look at the **** on that" comments from men-boys who see one square inch of cleavage and publicly lose it. As an example, the tweet-tsunami when the recent pictures of Scarlett J went online.

[Helen Murphy]

Great article,Phil! Here's my tuppence's worth. Speaking personally, I think it's JUST a bit of fun. I completely agree with you that it doesn't say anything about what librarians actually do, it doesn't say why libraries are important, nor will it increase visits to libraries. But I disagree with you that in not doing this stuff it's "failing in its key aim". I think this is perhaps an opportunity missed, but little more.

In fact, its key aim, if it indeed has one, is to raise some dosh for a brilliant cause. I hope for the sake of its cause it really, really succeeds. Instead of raising awareness of what librarians/libraries do, it's bashed the twinset-and-pearls stereotype about a bit, which is all very well and good. But I do like to think that in my day-to-day life I too bash that stereotype about a bit, as do most of the librarians I know.

I think we're analysing the calendar as librarians, and more to the point, librarians who are acutely aware that our profession is in a world of trouble. We're seeing every opportunity missed as a Big Deal. I promise you, I'm not for a second suggesting that it isn't. But I am saying that if it weren't Men of the Stacks but the frankly less pithy Men of the Double-Entry Bookkeeping Ledgers, if it instead featured a whole host of semi-naked accountants (who also suffer from a bit of negative stereotyping) then I think we'd laugh, tut, roll our eyes at the blatant sexism, and not worry too much about it.

[John Kirriemuir]

Alternately, you could just be grumpy because you weren't asked to be Mr October :-)

[Bobbi]

Phil
I think you're asking for an awful lot from a calendar. Sometimes things are just meant to be fun. It's fun. The proceeds go to a good cause, why don't have it to do more? like liberate male librarians everywhere and prove to legislators that libraries need more funding and secure our place in the digital world.

Oh and I think your'e mostly right had it been a calendar of women it would have been different. You hit the nail on the head -"women enjoy it for fun, and men get turned on by it". Woman can't really be semi-naked without getting sexualized but that's a whole different topic.

[Anonymous Commentor]

I agree that the reaction would have been quite different if the librarians had been female. So, I don't feel quite comfortable endorsing this myself. But if other people think it's great, more power to them.

[Lauren]

I can...kind of see what they were trying, maybe...? but my gut feeling is that in order to change perceptions of libraries and librarians, it needs to be about what we do as professionals, in our jobs, that makes us relevant and necessary, not what we look like, regardless of gender or ethnicity - clothed or otherwise. I could think harder about it, this is just my initial reaction. I'm happy they're doing something, at least - it's clear that hearts are in the right places :)

[Pam]

I understand what you're saying, but really, who's gonna shell out $20 for the danged thing if it's about "what we do as professionals, in our jobs, that makes us relevant and necessary."

[Phil Bradley]

Yes Pam - I think you're right. Which means that it's automatically failed in its primary objective, and ends up being a calendar of nice looking blokes. Which is fine of course, but not the point.

[@Bainofmylife]

We've all been here before. As a skinny, nearly approaching the hill library person I would like a few verbs in the calendar I would sign up for like - read (OK Passive but still relevant), search, learn, engage, talk(!), play, work, ask etc. and mix up the male with the fe-male and the patrons with the staff - its a mashup culcha ennit?

[Polyxena]

I haven't looked at it and won't be. I find the whole concept distasteful and can't see why anyone would be interested in it. I don't like this sort of project to reflect the image of any group and don't find it relevant to my profession as I want it to be.

[web design London]

I could think harder about it, this is just my initial reaction. I'm happy they're doing something, at least - it's clear that hearts are in the right places..